Tim Barcus - University Photographer

Women's Basketball 1/25/2017 8:22:00 AM

NOTES: Women Return Home To Begin Four Straight

Truman Women's Basketball Notes (January 26)
Twitter: @TrumanAthletics || @TrumanStateWBB || #BewareofDog

Game #18: Truman (9-9; 4-5 GLVC) vs. #12 Drury (17-2; 9-0 GLVC)
When: Thursday, January 26, 2017 || 5:30 p.m.
Where: Kirksville, Missouri || Pershing Arena
Live Stats || Live Stats (Media) || Live Video (GLVCSN) || Live Audio (KRES)

Media Notes (PDF)

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Division leader Drury University will be the opener of a four-game homestand for the Truman Women's Basketball team on Thursday night in Pershing Arena.

The teams reach the halfway point of the conference season and the Lady Panthers are unblemished in league play at 9-0 while Truman enters with a 4-5 GLVC mark. Drury had seven of their first nine conference games at home while Truman had the same ratio of league games on the road. Those will reverse starting on Thursday as the Bulldogs will play seven of their final nine games at home in Pershing Arena.

The Lady Panthers have had the Bulldogs number in the previous nine meetings between the two schools. Drury has won by double-digits in six of the nine contests with the closest margin of victory being six in the other three games, two of which were played in Kirksville. The last three games have all been played in Springfield with Drury winning in overtime in 2014, by 14 in 2015 and 13 last season.

Truman is tied for third in the GLVC West Division with the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The Tritons were the Bulldogs last opponent on Saturday and handed Truman a 67-58 loss in St. Louis. Rockhurst is second in the division at 6-3 and William Jewell is a half game back at 3-5 with a makeup game still to be played against McKendree due to weather problems.

Truman is averaging 71.1 points per game while giving up 65.2 points. The Bulldogs are shooting 40% overall, 31% from long range and 71% from the line. In conference games, Truman scores 68.0 points per game and has allowed 66.6. Shooting wise in league, the Bulldogs hit 40% of their shots, 29% from range and 68.8% at the line.

The Starting Five:
The Bulldogs have used the same starting five for all nine conference games and 17 of the 18 games this season. Senior Cassidy Clark, junior Ashley Hartwig, sophomores Rachel Edmundson and Brooke Bailey and freshman Sloane Totta.

Clark is Truman's leading scorer at 15.1 points per game, she is fourth in GLVC game scoring at 16.8 points. She is only the second Bulldog in the past eight seasons that has a scoring average above 15 points per night (Allie Norton – 2014-15). Clark has scored in double-figures in 12 of the last 13 games this season but tallied over five in her most recent outing against Missouri-St. Louis.

Clark is in the top 10 in conference overall stats in six stat categories including Rebounding (7^th), Field Goal Percentage (8^th), Blocks (9^th), Offensive Rebounds (7^th) and Defensive Rebounds (5^th). She has Truman's single game high with 29 points against Emporia State on November 25.

Hartwig is the active leader in games played (74) and starts (59). She has scored in double-figures in three of her last four outings, including 13 points in Saturday's loss to UMSL. Hartwig is sixth overall in conference free throw shooting at 84% and is averaging 10.2 points overall and 11.4 points in GLVC games this season.

???????Edmundson is second on the team in scoring at 11.6 points a night. She has scored at least 20 points in two games this season including a career-high 27 at Missouri Southern in November. Since January 1^st, Edmundson has scored in double-figures in four of the past six games.

Bailey led Truman with 16 points at Missouri-St. Louis on Saturday and is averaging 9.2 points per game. She leads the team in three-pointers made with 33 and is shooting 35% from beyond the arc. Of her 45 assists, 28 have come since the December 31^st game against Iowa Wesleyan and had back-to-back games against Illinois Springfield and McKendree with six dimes apiece. Bailey is seventh in GLVC games at 3.2 assists per game and fifth in conference assist/turnover ratio at 1.38.

???????Totta has scored in double-figures in three of her last four outings and had a Truman single-game high nine assist last Thursday in the Bulldogs victory over Maryville University. She is also ranked in conference only stats in assists (tied for 10^th at 3.0) and seventh in assist/turnover ratio at 1.29.

Off The Bench:
Freshman Eleanor Lueke has the highest minutes average of any bench player this season and is the only other player outside of the starting five that has appeared in all 18 games. She make one start, against Iowa Wesleyan on December 31 and is averaging 5.4 points per game with a season high of 11 against two opponents.

Junior transfer Jamie Gleeson has been involved in 17 games and is averaging 9.1 minutes and 3.0 points per game. She scored a season-high seven points against Bellarmine on January 14 and had two blocks against Illinois Springfield on January 5.

Junior Montira Mosby and sophomores Kennedy Martin and Sam Andrews provided minutes in a majority of the games off the bench. Mosby averages 12.3 minutes in 15 games played and 3.7 points per game mark. Her season high is 11 against Oklahoma Panhandle State on November 26. Martin has played around seven minutes per her 16 games this season with 10 of her 20 rebounds coming on the offensive end. Andrews has averaged 9.6 minutes in 15 games and has scored 3.9 points per game.

About Drury
Since becoming a Division II program in 2000-01, the Lady Panthers have had 13, 20-win seasons and have appeared in the NCAA Regional Tournament in each of those years. Last season was no different as Drury was 26-5 overall and 16-2 in the GLVC, they lost in overtime 62-60 to Grand Valley State in the NCAA Midwest Regional title game.

Drury is well on their way to another 20-win season at 17-2 overall and 9-0 in the conference. Their only losses came against Emporia State 74-59 on November 26 and to Arkansas Tech 77-74.

The Lady Panthers are second in the league in scoring at 78.6 points per game, second in field goal percentage at 47.3% and first in three-pointer percentage at 40.3% and in three-pointers made at 8.1/game. They average 11 steals and have a turnover margin of +6.5. The two "flaws" are they are last in free throw shooting at 65.9% and 14^th out of 16 teams in defensive rebounds per game (23.0/g).

Junior Heather Harman is the top scorer for Drury at 16.3 points per game while freshman Hailey Diestelkamp is second in rebounding (9.1/g), ninth in FG% (.537) and third in steals (2.84/g). Senior Paige Wilson paces the conference in three-pointers per game with 58 (3.05/game).

Series History:
Drury and Truman have met nine previous times with the Lady Panthers winning each. Five games, including the last three, have been played in Springfield and four have been contested in Pershing Arena.

In last year's meeting in Springfield, the Bulldogs led just once at 10-9 before a 12-3 run at the end of the first quarter put Drury in front for good. The Lady Panthers won the glass by a 43-26 margin and
Drury his 12 three-pointers while shooting 50% from distance.

???????Michalina Tomczak (12) and Kasey Gassensmith (10) led Truman in scoring and Heather Harman (14) paced the Lady Panthers.

Missouri-St. Louis Recap:

Truman raced out scoring 11 of the game's first 13 points and led by as many as 15 in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs led 31-19 with 5:18 left in the half but the Tritons closed on a 10-3 run to make it 35-31.
The game was tied at 56 with 3:37 left but Jordan Fletcher, who scored 27 points with 20 rebounds, lifted the Tritons to the win with seven points in the waning minutes.
Truman was 10-of-17 in the first quarter with 4-for-4 from three but made just 10 more field goals the rest of the afternoon.
Fletcher's 20 rebounds were the second most by an opponent against Truman.
Brooke Bailey matched her career-high with 16 points. Bailey made three from range and added five rebounds, two assists, three steals and one block.
The 15-point lead was the largest lost by the Bulldogs this season and largest since a 16-point lead was evaporated in a one-point loss to Missouri Western in 2012. The Tritons overcame a 10-point deficit in the December 19 game against Truman in Kirksville to win.

Around the GLVC:
Drury is the only conference team without a loss through the first half of the league season. The Lady Panthers are 17-2 overall and 9-0 in the conference. They have a three-game lead with victory in hand over second place Rockhurst in the West Division. Bellarmine and Southern Indiana sit tied atop the East with Bellarmine holding the head-to-head win in the first of two meetings between the two schools.

The two division champions followed by the next two best conference winning percentages get first round byes in the GLVC Tournament. The next four teams (5-8) will host 9-12 in on-campus games on Sunday, February 26.

In individual accolades around the league, Lewis sophomore Jessica Kelliher is averaging 20.2 points overall and has the league's top scoring game at 38 points. Rockhurst senior Mary Dineen is second in overall scoring at 18.6 points per game. Kelliher averages 22.8 points in league games and is shooting 70% from the field (84-of-120).

Up Next:
The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday afternoon with a date with Missouri S&T at 1 p.m. The Miners are 2-7 in the league and 7-10 overall. Missouri S&T will play at Quincy (1-8/4-15) on Thursday night. Saturday will also be a busy day in Pershing Arena. The Northeast Missouri Alumni Chapter will be hosting their tailgate event; it will be Military Appreciation Day and Alumni Day.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

#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

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

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

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

#05 Eleanor Lueke: G; 5' 10"; Freshman

#25 Jamie Gleeson: F; 6' 0"; Junior

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

#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

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

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

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

#05 Eleanor Lueke
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: G

#25 Jamie Gleeson
: 6' 0"; Junior
: F