Women's Basketball 11/24/2020 9:22:00 AM

NOTES: Women Return To Action With Conference Road Games

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KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – After a later than normal start, the Truman Women's Basketball team returns to action with a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference games slated for Friday at Lewis (Ill.) University and on Sunday at the University of Indianapolis. Both games are afternoon affairs with 1:00 p.m. starts, however the UINDY time is eastern standard.

The last time a Bulldog team tipped off this late in the calendar year was in 1975 when the season opener occurred on December 4 against the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Truman is coming off their second straight 20-win season after going 20-8 last year under first year head coach Theo Dean. It was the seventh 20-win plus season in program history with five coming over the past eight seasons. The Bulldogs are 43-16 the past two years and 29-9 in the GLVC. Only defending league champion Drury (38-0) and Lewis (30-8) have better records in conference play over that same two-season span.

Last year's squad had the second best field goal percentage of any past Truman team with the exception of the 1998-99 roster. The Bulldogs shot 45.3% from the field, made 224 three-pointers and averaged 73.9 points per game. The 98-99 team shot 45.5% overall.

Keying the shooting success has been senior all-conference returner Katie Jaseckas. The Bulldog is 37 points from hitting 1,000 for her Truman career and currently sits on top of the career field goal percentage at Truman at 55.3%. Last season, Jaseckas averaged 14.6, including over 25 points in the final three regular season games while shooting 56.4% from the floor and adding 7.1 rebounds and 54 blocked shots.

The GLVC Freshman of the Year was Hannah Belanger after tying the Truman newcomer record for triples in a season with 67 and shooting 42.7% from beyond the arc. Belanger averaged 12.7 points per night and started all 28 games.

Katey Klucking (9.4 ppg) and Maddie Re (9.0 ppg/9.7 rpg) were the other two starters for the squad that are on the roster for the season. Sloane Totta, Truman's four-time all-conference player, was last year's lone senior and averaged 12.3 points while dishing out 121 assists. Totta joins Theo Dean's staff as a graduate assistant coach.

Speaking of joining the staff, Amy Briggs returns to her alma mater and will be in her first year as an assistant coach for Theo Dean. Briggs played from 2012-14 and is second on the all-time three-point shooting charts at 41% in her two seasons.

The Bulldogs are scheduled to play 22 GLVC-only games this season and were picked to win the Central Division in the preseason coaches' poll. Lindenwood, who eliminated the Bulldogs in the postseason tournament last year, was picked second followed by Maryville, Missouri-St. Louis and Quincy. Regardless of division standings, the top eight teams based on the GLVC Point-Rating System will advance to the league's postseason tournament in March with the top four teams hosting the bottom four on Tuesday before moving the final four to the highest remaining seed campus site.

Last Game w/Lewis: The Flyers defeated the Bulldogs 80-79 in Kirksville last season with Katey Klucking leading Truman with 21 points and Rachel Hinders pacing Lewis with28 points.

Lewis outscored Truman 24-8 in the third quarter and led by as many as 12 with 3:34 left to play. However a late charge by the Bulldogs, including three three-pointers by Klucking pulled the Bulldogs to within one with eight seconds left to play. After missing two free throws by Kaitlyn Williams, Klucking had a look at a winning three at the buzzer but it was blocked away by Morgan Glatczak.

Series History: Lewis has won eight of the 10 meetings between the two schools and are 3-0 in games played in Romeoville, Illinois. The Bulldogs last win was their most convincing win in the series, an 89-67 triumph in Kirksville on March 2, 2019.

Last Game w/Indianapolis: With four players in double-figures for Truman, including 15 points and 14 rebounds from Maddie Re, the Bulldogs downed Indianapolis 69-53 on
February 15 in Indy last season. Truman led 14-6 after the first quarter and led by as many as 24 points.

Laura Thomas led the Greyhounds with 21 points but UINDY failed to knock down a three all game going 0-of-16 for the contest and just overall 15-of-55 (27.3%) for the game. Re was joined in double figures for Truman with Katie Jaseckas (13), Hannah Belanger (13) and Katey Klucking (11). The Bulldogs had 22 assists on 26 made baskets.

Series History: The two schools have split the last four meetings and Truman is 5-4 in games played under the GLVC banner since 2014. Overall, UINDY leads the series 8-7 but the Bulldogs are 4-3 in games played in Nicosen Hall, including the last two.

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Players Mentioned

#54 Katie Jaseckas: F; 6' 2"; Junior

#33 Katey Klucking: G; 5' 9"; Sophomore

#23 Maddie Re: F; 6' 1"; Redshirt Sophomore

#4 Sloane Totta: G; 5' 9"; Senior

#13 Hannah Belanger: G; 5' 8"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#54 Katie Jaseckas
: 6' 2"; Junior
: F

#33 Katey Klucking
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: G

#23 Maddie Re
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Sophomore
: F

#4 Sloane Totta
: 5' 9"; Senior
: G

#13 Hannah Belanger
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: G