Truman Women Prepare For Davenport/Lindenwood At Thanksgiving Classic

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Riding the best start in six seasons, the Truman Women's Basketball team will participate in the Drury University Thanksgiving Weekend Classic. The Bulldogs will face Davenport (Mich.) University on Friday and Lindenwood (Mo.) University on Saturday. Both games are the last game of the day and will tip around 7:45 p.m.

The Bulldogs have started the season 5-0 for the first time since 2012 and will look to match the 2011 start of 6-0 and the 1998 start of 7-0 with wins this weekend.

Truman got to 5-0 after sweeping through the Quincy/Subway Tip-Off Tournament last weekend with wins over Wayne (Neb.) State and Winona (Minn.) State. The victory over Wayne was a 67-58 final while Truman needed a late hoop and overtime heroics to down the Warriors 59-56.

Brooke Bailey was named the tournament's MVP scoring 16 points in the win Friday and 10 in the overtime triumph. For the season, Bailey leads the team in scoring at 11.2 points per game.

Katie Jaseckas was named to the all-tournament team. Jaseckas scored 15 points in the overtime game going 6-of-8 from the field and 1-of-2 from three.

This will be the second time Truman has been in Springfield for the Drury Thanksgiving Classic. They played in the event in 2016 falling to nationally-ranked Emporia (Kan.) State 89-68 and defeating Oklahoma Panhandle State 94-49.

Truman will also see Davenport for the first time ever. Davenport has transitioned to Division II in the recent years and is a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference.

Game two of the tournament will have the Bulldogs get reacquainted with the Lindenwood Lions. Playing two games under the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association banner in 2013 and four games total, all Truman wins, the Lions will be members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference starting next year. They are off to a 4-0 start and will play Drury on Friday.

Bulldog Bites:

Truman is averaging 68 points per game with a high of 84 against Missouri Western and a low of 59, twice.
The Bulldogs largest margin of win this season is 17 points over Missouri Western and has won by double-figures in three of the five games.
Truman has won the glass in four of the five games with a margin of 22 against Kentucky Wesleyan. The Bulldogs won the rebounding battle in 18 games last season and won 11 of those games.
The Bulldogs have scored 50 more points in the second half than first half of games this season (196-146).
The same five have started all five games, Brooke Bailey, Katie Jaseckas, Sloane Totta, Rachel Edmundson and Tiffany Davenport.
Ten players have played in all five games and each has averaged over 10 minutes per game.
The Bulldog post players (Jaseckas, Maddie Re, Allison Thomas) have shot a combine 58.6% from the field going 44-of-75. They are also five-of-11 from three (45%).
Jaseckas has the single-game high in points this season with 18 against Missouri Western. Jaseckas has scored in double-figures in 16 career games and has seven double-doubles.
Maddie Re has both double-doubles this season and has pulled down 10.8 rebounds per game, good for second among all GLVC rebounders.
The Bulldogs have won two games this year when entering the fourth quarter trailing. Since the quarter system started in 2014-15, Truman is 5-29 when trailing entering the fourth quarter. When leading entering the fourth, Truman is 50-6.
Amy Eagan is seven wins shy of tying the Bulldog career coaching record. She has 93 wins. Mary Jo Murray had 100 wins in her seven seasons from 1976-1983.
Rachel Edmundson is the active career leader in points scored with 671. Edmundson averages 7.6 points per game and has scored in double-figures 30 times in her career.
Brooke Bailey is three made three-pointers from cracking the top 10 in career triples made. She has 95. Kathy Patterson (98) and Sarah Sommer (101) are the first two within Bailey's reach.

About The Panthers:

Truman has struggled against "DU Panthers" in their history but mainly because they have been playing the Drury Panthers. The Bulldogs are 0-13 overall and 1-7 on the Drury campus with the lone win coming in the 2016 Classic against Panhandle State.

This DU Panther squad from Davenport is 1-2 on the young year and will host Olivet College on Tuesday night before traveling to Springfield. Their three games have come against GLVC teams with a 69-58 win over Missouri-St. Louis, a 71-64 loss against Maryville and a 61-54 loss to McKendree.
Two years ago, Davenport went 31-4 and advanced to the NAIA Division II National Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa. Last year, as an NCAA Division II member, the Panthers struggled to an 8-20 record and 6-14 GLIAC mark.

Through the first three games, Jenna Falkenberg leads the Panthers in scoring at 17 points per game while pulling down nine rebounds. She is joined in double-figure scoring by Taylor Opolka (11.7) and Martyna Pioro (10.3). Falkenberg did not play in the first two games but made her season debut with 17 points in the loss at McKendree.

Davenport was picked fifth in the GLIAC South Division in their preseason coaches' poll.

About the Lindenwood Lions:
The Lions have started 4-0 for the second straight year. They defeated Arkansas-Monticello 70-51 in their season opener then Southern Arkansas 61-40. Last weekend, the Lions defeated crosstown rival Missouri-St. Louis 82-66 and Illinois Springfield 91-76 in a matchup of future GLVC opponents.

Lindenwood won their first seven games a year ago and captured the MIAA Tournament Championship with a 58-51 win over Fort Hays (Kan.) State. They earned the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament and were ousted in the first round by top-seed Augustana (S.D.) 75-41.

Kallie Bildner paces the Lions in scoring at 17.5 points per game and 9.3 rebounds. She has made the first 30-of-36 shots this season for an 83% field goal percentage. Lindsay Medlen is second in scoring at 10.8 points per game. Bildner averaged 17.3 points and 11.4 rebounds last season to earn second-team MIAA honors and was the 2016-17 MIAA Freshman of the Year.

The Lions were selected eighth in their year's MIAA preseason coaches' poll and are under the direction of first-year head coach Katie Falco.

History with Lindenwood:
The Bulldogs swept both meetings with Lindenwood during the only year they shared together in the MIAA. Truman won 86-65 in St. Charles on January of 2013 and took the home game 74-50 in February.

Overall, Truman is 4-0 over Lindenwood. The first encounter occurred in the innargual season of 1972-73, a 64-23 win and they met again in 1976 with the Bulldogs prevailing 110-17. That 93-point margin of victory is the most lopsided game in favor of the Bulldogs in their 47 seasons of action.

Around the GLVC:
And then there were four, four unbeaten teams left among the 14 GLVC schools entering Tuesday night's games. The Bulldogs are the only team at 5-0. Bellarmine is 3-0, Drury is 3-0 and Missouri S&T is 2-0.

In GLVC rankings, Truman is third in the conference in scoring defense at allowing 57 points per game, second in defensive rebounding at 31.6 per game and third in rebounding margin at +7.8.

Drury's Hailey Diestelkamp, this week's GLVC Player of the Week, leads the conference in scoring at 24.0 points per game and is followed closely by All-American Jessica Kelliher of Lewis at 23.5 points per game.

Truman's Maddie Re is second in rebounding at 10.8 boards and fourth in field goal percentage at 62.5%. Re is second in defensive boards at 8.2 per game.

Truman 59, Winona State 56 (OT):
QUINCY, Ill. – It took a last second shot to tie and five extra minutes for the Bulldogs to win their fifth straight and the Quincy Subway Tip-Off Classic championship on Saturday.

Truman jumped out early 14-4 on the Warriors. Winona chipped away at the lead and eventually tied the game at 28 apiece with 6:58 to go in the third quarter. The Bulldogs went ice cold from distance after starting 2-of-5. Truman missed 12 straight three-point attempts until Brooke Baileytied the game at 46-all with 6:25 left in the fourth.

A pair of free throws by Gabie Doud gave the Warriors a two-point lead with 3:13 to play. Both teams had empty possessions with Truman missing three more three-pointers and a jumper and Winona having two turnovers, a missed inside shot and a missed shot from distance.

After a timeout, Katie Jaseckastied the game at 50 with six seconds left to break the drought. Winona called a TO and advanced the ball and Doud was fouled by Jaseckas with three seconds to go and made both throws for the lead.

Likewise, Truman advanced the ball after a timeout and it was Bailey that foundMaddie Reunder the hoop for a layup with one second left to knot the game at 52 and send it into overtime.

Winona missed their first shot in the extra time and Jaseckas broke a 1-for-17 streak and buried a three-pointer from Sloane Tottato put Truman up. She would add another basket to extend the lead out to five points.

Julia Silloway cut the cords from range with 2:07 left to trim the lead back to two points and both teams again missed chances in the waning minutes.

Rachel Novotny made the first of two free throw attempts but missed the second with 18 seconds left and Totta knocked both of hers down after being fouled with 12 ticks to put Truman up by three. Allie Pickrain's tying shot was blocked away by Re to preserve the Bulldog win.

Jaseckas led Truman with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor. She was joined in double-figures by Allison Thomaswith 13 and Bailey with 10. Truman was 4-of-25 from three for the game.

Winona might have had a slightly better percentage from three but only because they took one less shot. The Warriors were 4-of-24 for the game. Doud led all scorers with 17 points.

Bailey was named the classic's most valuable player after averaging 13 points and adding four assists and four steals during the two games. Jaseckas was also named to the all-tournament team.

It was the first overtime since February 19, 2015 when Truman won 78-72 at Maryville (Mo.).

Up Next:
The Bulldogs will start conference play with two home games next week. They will host Rockhurst at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday and William Jewell at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Pershing Arena.

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