NOTES: Truman Women Face Upper Iowa & Missouri Southern Prior To Holiday

Truman Women's Basketball Notes (November 19-22)
Twitter: @TrumanAthletics || @TrumanStateWBB || #BewareofDog || @TrumanGameday

Game #4: Truman (2-1) vs. Upper Iowa (0-3)
When: Saturday, November 19, 2016 || 1:00 p.m.
Where: Kirksville, Missouri || Pershing Arena
Live Stats || Live Stats (Media) || Live Video (GLVCSN) || Live Audio (KRES)

Game #5: Truman (2-1) vs. Missouri Southern State University (1-2)
When: Tuesday, November 22, 2016 || 5:30 p.m.
Where: Joplin, Missouri || Leggett & Platt Athletic Center
Live Stats || Live Stats (Media) || Live Audio (KRES)

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Truman Women's Basketball team will continue their non-conference season with a pair of Division II games leading into Thanksgiving. The Bulldogs will host Upper Iowa at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Pershing Arena before travelling to Missouri Southern on Tuesday for a 5:30 p.m. game with the Lions.

The Bulldogs are 2-1 after the first week of the season. They sent shockwaves through the Midwest region with a 74-69 win at #13 Grand Valley State (Mich.) University last Sunday afternoon. The Lakers are the defending NCAA Midwest Region champions and were in the Final Four last year. Cassidy Clark notched her first career double-double (14 points, 13 rebounds) and freshman Sloane Totta knocked down four triples to upset the Lakers on their home court.

Truman bounced back after a 59-56 season opening loss to Northern Michigan the night before. Clark poured in 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Brooke Bailey added 11 with nine boards in the loss. The Wildcats outscored Truman 28-12 in the third quarter and held on down the stretch for the win.

In the home debut on Wednesday night, all 12 players scored for Truman and they defeated Central Christian College of the Bible 81-24. Rachel Edmundson paced the Bulldogs with 12 points and Clark again topped over 10 boards with 11. Truman grabbed 22 more rebounds than the outmatched Saints, who shot a woeful 17.3% for the game.

Through the first three games, Clark leads Truman by averaging a double-double. She is scoring at 12.0 points per game and pulling down 11.0 rebounds. She has added three blocks, five steals and four assists while also shooting 90% from the foul line.

As a team, the Bulldogs are shooting 40% from the field and 28% from beyond the arc. They have picked up where they left off in scoring defense as opponents are averaging 50.7 points per game. Last year, Truman set a school record by holding opponents to 55.3 points a night.

The Bulldogs have started the same five players in the first three games. Cassidy Clark, Brooke Bailey and Ashley Hartwig have been joined by Rachel Edmundson and Sloane Totta in the starting five.

#TSUvsUIU
This will be the fifth meeting between the Bulldogs and Peacocks all-time with Truman winning the four previous matchups…Truman soundly defeated Upper Iowa 74-48 last year in Fayette, Iowa…Michalina Tomczak scored 19 points, added 11 rebounds and blocked six shots for Truman in the victory…Upper Iowa was led by 12 points from Aleesha Cleaver and shot 28.3% from the field…UIU is 0-3 having been outscored by an average of 27.3 points in their first three games…they were last defeated by Lewis on Wednesday night 82-60…Kari Fitzpatrick leads the Peacocks in scoring at 9.0 ppg…under the direction of first year head coach Micha Thompson…Upper Iowa was 5-24 a year ago.

#TSUvsMSSU
The two old MIAA rivals will play on Tuesday night in Joplin with the Bulldogs looking to avenge last years 58-49 home loss to the Lions…Michalina Tomczak (14) and Rachel Steinhoff (13) led Truman in scoring but the Bulldogs were 0-for-11 from beyond the arc…Sharese Jones (22) and Deb Holcomb (20) were the leading scorers for MSSU…the two teams have played 66 games with each school winning 23…Truman won the last time in Joplin in 2014 67-64…the Lions will play at Minnesota State-Mankato on Saturday before hosting Truman on Tuesday night…The Lions are 1-2 with their winning coming against Oklahoma Baptist 83-81…Amelia Bramer (13.7ppg) and Deb Holcomb (13.3ppg) lead the Lions in scoring but they have allowed over 81.3 points defensively this season…Ronnie Ressel is in his first season as head coach of the Lions.

Truman Exhibition Games:
The Bulldogs tested themselves against the top two teams in the state of Missouri during a pair of exhibition games. Truman lost to Missouri State University 72-62 on November 1^st and the University of Missouri 87-53 on November 7^th. The Lady Bears were the Missouri Valley Conference tournament champions and the Tigers came in this season ranked 24^th in Division I.

Up Next:
The Bulldogs will get to see another nemesis from the MIAA days during the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend. Truman will face the fourth-ranked Emporia State Lady Hornets as part of the Drury University Thanksgiving Tournament in Springfield, Missouri. That game will tip off at 7:45 p.m. on Friday night and be followed by Truman's game against Oklahoma Panhandle State on Saturday at the same time.

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Players Mentioned

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

#02 Brooke Bailey: G; 5' 6"; Redshirt Sophomore

#34 Cassidy Clark: C; 6' 2"; Senior

#31 Rachel Edmundson: F; 6' 0"; Sophomore

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

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

#04 Sloane Totta: G; 5' 9"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

#02 Brooke Bailey
: 5' 6"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

#34 Cassidy Clark
: 6' 2"; Senior
: C

#31 Rachel Edmundson
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: F

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

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

#04 Sloane Totta
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: G