Women's Basketball 11/17/2015 8:23:00 AM

Women's Basketball Opens Home Season With Three Straight

Truman Women's Basketball Notes (November 11-16, 2015)
Twitter: @TrumanAthletics || @TrumanStateWBB || #BewareofDog || @TrumanGameday

Game #3: Truman (1-1) vs. Central Christian (1-3)
When: Wednesday, November 18, 2015 || 5:30 p.m.
Where: Kirksville, Missouri || Pershing Arena
Live Stats || Live Stats (Media) || Live Video (GLVCSN) || Live Audio (KRES)
2015-16 Stats: Truman | Central Christian

Game #4: Truman (1-1) vs. Missouri Southern (2-0)
When: Saturday, November 21, 2015 || 1:00 p.m. (FREE ADMISSION)
Where: Kirksville, Missouri || Pershing Arena
Live Stats || Live Stats (Media) || Live Video (GLVCSN) || Live Audio (KRES)
2015-16 Stats: Truman | Missouri Southern

Game #5: Truman (1-1) vs. Hannibal-LaGrange (0-3)
When: Monday, November 23, 2015 || 5:30 p.m. (FREE ADMISSION)
Where: Kirksville, Missouri || Pershing Arena
Live Stats || Live Stats (Media) || Live Video (GLVCSN) || Live Audio (KRES)
2015-16 Stats: Truman | Hannibal-LaGrange

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Truman Women's Basketball team will tip off their home season with a three-game stint in Pershing Arena starting on Wednesday night against Central Christian (Mo.) College from Moberly.

The Bulldogs are 1-1 after splitting a pair of games as part of the Great Lakes Valley Conference/Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Midwest Challenge over the weekend in Quincy, Illinois. Truman was defeated by Grand Valley (Mich.) State 77-61 on Saturday night but bounced back with a 71-54 win over Northern Michigan on Sunday.

Senior Courtney Strait led Truman over the weekend by averaging 15.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. She knocked down 10-of-15 (66%) shots from the floor including a 6-of-10 performance from beyond the arc. Senior Kasey Gassensmith averaged 11.5 points in the two games as she took the most field goal attempts (17) of any Bulldog during the weekend. Senior Michalina Tomczak also averaged in double figures (10.0/g) and registered three of the team's five blocks. Those three moved Tomczak into a tie with Jennifer Fisher (1999-03) with 63 and fifth place on the Truman career list.

As a team, Truman shot 43% over the weekend and was 9-of-30 (30%) from beyond the arc. Opponents shot 41% from the field and 29% from three (14-of-48).

#TSUvsCCCB
This will be the second meeting between the two schools with the previous one coming in 2007. That game was originally scheduled for Kirksville but was moved to the Moberly campus due to Truman Volleyball hosting the NCAA Volleyball regional. The change in location had no impact on the score as Truman won going away 102-20. The 82-point spread is the third largest in Truman history behind 93 (110-17 vs. Lindenwood in 1976) and 87 (111-24 vs. Harris-Stowe in 1997).

The Saints enter Wednesday's game with a 1-3 overall record. They won their season opener 79-14 over Great Lakes Christian College but have since dropped their last three to Grace Bible (91-51), Stephens College (86-49) and Ozark Christian (74-62). Last season, the Saints went 20-8 and played for the NCCAA Division II National Championship. They lost the title game 109-73 to Arlington Baptist College in Joplin, Missouri. Aaron Welch takes over as head coach of the Saints following the departure of Leann Dahlstein.

#TSUvsMSSU (2014 Box Score)
Truman took a one-game lead in the overall series (23-22) after dealing the Lions their first loss of the season last year in Joplin by a 67-64 score. The Bulldogs have four straight and six of the last seven against the Lions dating back to November of 2011.

The second half of last year's game saw nine lead changes and seven ties. Ashley Hartwig knotted the game at 64 apiece with less than a minute to play then following a Rachel Steinhoff steal, Courtney Strait buried the go-ahead jumper with 16 seconds left. Senior Allie Norton led Truman in scoring with 19 points while Strait (11) and Hartwig (10) joined her in double-figures. The Bulldogs shot 62% in the second half and 50% for the game. Junior Sharese Jones led the Lions with 14 points as the Lions entered the game ranked 18 in the WBCA/USA Today Top 25 Poll.

The Lions will host Minnesota State on Wednesday night prior to their trip to Kirksville. They enter the week 2-0 on the season after defeating Oklahoma Baptist (72-63) and Southwestern Oklahoma State (71-68) in the opening weekend. Jones leads the team in scoring at 23.5 points per gameand has been to the line 18 times, converting 17 in the first two games. The Lions were picked eighth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll and are under the direction of Ronda Hubbard.

#TSUvsHLG (2014 Box Score)
The final game of the homestand will be the Bulldogs hosting the Trojans of Hannibal-LaGrange College on Monday night. The Bulldogs opened up last season with a 103-62 win over HLG and has won all five previous meetings with the Trojans.

In last year's game, five Bulldogs scored in double figures and the team shot 56% from the floor in winning going away. Strait and Tomczak scored 13 points apiece and former Bulldog McKenzie Russell went 7-of-8 from the field for game high honors and 15 points. Senior Ashleigh Hurd-Spencer led all scorers with 26 points on 12-of-20 shooting. Junior Morgan Winker had 16 points in the game and is the leading scorer this season at 17.6 points per game through the first three.

Truman Opening Weekend Recap:
Grand Valley 77, Truman 61 (Box Score) – Truman trailed 14-12 late in the first quarter but the Lakers used a 13-5 run spanning 4:22 of the first and second quarters to building up their first double-digit lead of the night. Later, a 15-2 run pushed the lead to 64-42 early in the fourth quarter. Courtney Strait led all scorers with 18 points knocking down three, three-pointers. Kasey Gassensmith was 4-of-8 from the field for 10 points. The Bulldogs shot 41% for the game.

Truman 71, Northern Michigan 54 (Box Score) – A 9-0 run in the second quarter lifted the Bulldogs to a 71-54 win over Northern Michigan. There were five ties and four lead changes through the first quarter before the Bulldogs established control of the game. Truman led by 11 at the half and the lead would swell to 17 late in the fourth quarter. Four Bulldogs were in double-figures with Courtney Strait, Michalina Tomczak and Kasey Gassensmith each scoring 13 points each. Truman shot 45% from the floor.

About The Bulldogs:
Head Coach Amy Eagan (39-21) enters her third season at the helm of the Bulldogs who were 16-11 last year and 10-8 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Truman returns 10 players and four starters off of last year's squad including seniors Courtney Strait (13.2 ppg/6.0 rpg) and Michalina Tomczak (10.6 ppg/6.6 rpg).

Truman was picked third in the GLVC West Division preseason coaches' poll. Drury (Mo.) was tabbed first followed by Quincy and the Bulldogs. Missouri-St. Louis, Maryville, William Jewell, Rockhurst and Missouri S&T rounded out the divisional slate.

Strait started all 27 games last season and shot 38% from the field with 39 three-pointers and 90% from the foul line. She scored in 20 points in four games a season ago and had a season-high of 22 against Kentucky Wesleyan. She had a pair of double-doubles and is among the career leaders in free throw shooting and three-point shooting at Truman.

Tomczak started all but two games as a junior and led the team with 39 blocks, which was ranked third in the conference. It was the fourth most in Truman single-season history. Tomczak averaged 6.6 rebounds per game and notched four double-doubles. She enters her final season sixth on the Bulldog Blocks list with 60 and three back of Jennifer Fisher for fifth overall.

A pair of freshman, one true freshman, are the other two returning starters. Ashley Hartwig started 26 games and averaged 6.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game and Rachel Steinhoff started all 27 with a 4.1 points per game mark and dished out 42 assists.

Other returners include seniors Kasey Gassensmith, Tawny Tucci, junior Linnea Schmelzer, sophomores Kennedy Martin, Montira Mosby, Sam Andrews and Ashley Ploudre (redshirt). Gassensmith brings 70 games of experience into the season with a career 45% field goal shooting percentage. Schmelzer has seen action in 40 career games, 17 last year. Martin played in 13 games as a freshman, scoring 24 points, Mosby was in eight games and made five of 10 field goal attempts and Andrews played in 24 while making one start. Ploudre played in 11 games during the 2013-14 season. Brook Bailey is a redshirt freshman.

Of the newcomers, Cassidy Clark is a junior transfer from Coal Valley, Illinois, via Kirkwood (Iowa) Community College. Clark started 67 out of a possible 69 games at Kirkwood leading the Eagles to a 56-13 record. She averaged eight points, five rebounds while being named to the all-NJCAA and All-Region IX Tournament teams. At Orion High School, she scored a career record 1,375 points with a single-game mark of 36 while earning AP Illinois Class 2A All-State honors twice.

Bethany Daniels, Rachel Edmundson and Mackenzie Jerks are the three true freshmen on the squad. Daniels averaged over 10 points and nearly 10 rebounds as a post player at Tri-City High School in Buffalo, Illinois. Edmundson is from Eldridge, Iowa and North Scott High School where she was a three year starter and an all-state selection. Jerks was a four-year starter leading the Bay Port High School team in Green Bay, Wisconsin in assists.

2015-16 Rule Changes:
Several rule changes go into effect this season. Among the more drastic changes will be the adoption of the quarter system. The game will still be 40 minutes long but instead of two 20-minute halves, the game will be divided into four 10-minute quarters. This change is to cut down on the number of timeouts as only one media timeout per quarter is permissible.
                Time Outs – Each team will have three 30-second timeouts and one full timeout for a game. Timeouts called by the defensive team in the final minute of the fourth quarter and overtimes will allow that team to advance the ball to the offensive end for the inbounds play.
                10-Second Backcourt – The 10-second count shall reset on all stoppages of the game clock except when the defense causes the ball to be out of bounds, the offense retains possession after a held ball, or there is a technical foul assessed to the offensive team.
                The Bonus – The One and One is no more. A team is awarded two free throws following the fifth team foul in each quarter. They will shoot two free throws for the remaining of that quarter only and team fouls will reset with the start of each quarter.

Up Next:
Truman will head to Fayette, Iowa for a night before Thanksgiving game against Upper Iowa on Wednesday night. The Peacocks are coached by former Truman assistant Carol Russell (1995-2000), who is in her sixth season at UIU. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Following Wednesday game and the holiday, Truman returns home to face Culver-Stockton College in Pershing Arena on Saturday, November 28 at 1 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#12 Allie Norton: G; 5' 6"; Senior

#03 McKenzie Russell: G; 5' 8"; Redshirt Freshman

#40 Sam Andrews: F; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#30 Kasey Gassensmith: G; 6' 0"; Senior

#42 Ashley Hartwig: F; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#20 Kennedy Martin: F; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#35 Montira Mosby: F; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#13 Ashley Ploudre: G; 5' 11"; Redshirt Sophomore

#21 Linnea Schmelzer: G; 5' 8"; Junior

#32 Rachel Steinhoff: G; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#23 Courtney Strait: G; 5' 10"; Senior

#44 Michalina Tomczak: C; 6' 3"; Redshirt Senior

Players Mentioned

#12 Allie Norton
: 5' 6"; Senior
: G

#03 McKenzie Russell
: 5' 8"; Redshirt Freshman
: G

#40 Sam Andrews
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: F

#30 Kasey Gassensmith
: 6' 0"; Senior
: G

#42 Ashley Hartwig
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: F

#20 Kennedy Martin
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: F

#35 Montira Mosby
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: F

#13 Ashley Ploudre
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

#21 Linnea Schmelzer
: 5' 8"; Junior
: G

#32 Rachel Steinhoff
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: G

#23 Courtney Strait
: 5' 10"; Senior
: G

#44 Michalina Tomczak
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Senior
: C