Women's Basketball 3/2/2021 3:00:00 PM

NOTES: Round Three For Truman/Maryville In GLVC Quarterfinals

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KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – For the fourth time in eight seasons, the Truman Women's Basketball team will play the Maryville Saints in the Great Lakes Valley Conference postseason tournament. The teams will play their quarterfinal game on Wednesday night at 5:15 p.m. in Kirksville's Pershing Arena.

The Bulldogs enter the tournament with the number two seed and Central Division champions after completing the regular season with a 14-3 conference record. Maryville finished fourth in the division with an 11-10 record but had the seventh-best point rating to earn a spot in the eight-team field.

The winner of Wednesday's game will meet William Jewell on Saturday as the Cardinals received a bye into the semifinals when #3 seed Southern Indiana withdrew from the tournament due to COVID protocols. The Screaming Eagles initially indicated they would participate in the tournament but following the release of the bracket, withdrew which allowed #6 William Jewell to advance. That game will be played at the highest remaining seed following Wednesday's quarterfinal games.

Truman returned to the court after 19-day layoff last weekend with an overtime win over Rockhurst (76-69) and a 47-41 win over Southwest Baptist.

Ellie Weltha averaged a double-double with 13.5 points and 13.5 rebounds in the two wins. She scored six straight points in the extra time against Rockhurst to propel the team in the win. Weltha finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds and followed that up with nine and 13 in the defensive battle with SBU.

She was one of four Truman players named to the all-GLVC team by league coaches. Weltha and Katey Klucking were third team picks while Hannah Belanger and Katie Jaseckas earned first-team accolades.

Belanger was one of only two players that were a unanimous first team selection and finished the regular season second in conference scoring behind the league's Player of the Year Paige Robinson at 19.2 points per game.
Belanger dropped in six three-pointers in the win over Rockhurst and leads the conference in three-pointers per game at over three a night. Her 19.2 points per game mark is the fourth highest by a Bulldog in a season and most since Georgia Mueller averaged 22.0 in the 2007-08 season.

Jaseckas was named all-conference for the third time in her career and to the first team for the second straight season. She is second on the team in scoring at 14.7 points per game and has had big games against Maryville. In her last four games against the Saints, Jaseckas has averaged 22 points, with 10 three-pointers, 13 blocked shots and 11.5 rebounds.

Klucking and Tiffany Davenport round out the starting five this season. Klucking is third on the team in scoring at 11.9 points per game and is second on the team in three-pointers made with 35.

Davenport leads the conference in assists per game with 106 in 17 games played (6.24). Along with Belanger and Klucking, Davenport in in the top eight in the league in minutes per game with over 35 per night.

Maya Mouton and Allison Thomas have come off the bench in all 17 games. Thomas made a spot start last Thursday in place of Jaseckas and played a season-high 31 minutes. She scored 10 points in Saturday's tilt with Southwest Baptist. Mouton averages nearly 15 minutes per game and has averaged 2.9 points and 3.0 rebounds.

Conference Tournament History:
Since joining the GLVC in 2013-14, the Bulldogs have been a regular in the conference's postseason tournament. They are 6-6 in conference tournament games with a 4-0 record when they won the title in 2014. The number two seed this season is the highest Truman has been in the seven previous tournaments as they have been seeded fourth the past two campaigns.

Scouting Report: Maryville
Maryville had won four straight, including three on the road before suffering a 90-77 setback in the season finale at Lewis on Saturday…Jayda Jansen was named the GLVC Defensive Player of the Year and was the Saints lone first-team all-conference selection…Jansen leads the team in scoring at 18.9 points per game and in steals with 54…she also leads Maryville in three-pointers made with 44…Antoinette Mussorici adds to the guard tandem for Maryville with her 16.4 points per game average…she leads the team in assists with 85 and has added 36 steals…Maryville is fourth in scoring at 71.4 points per game, fourth in three-point shooting and second in turnover margin.

This Season w/Maryville: Truman swept the season series with Maryville and have won the last five over the Saints. The Bulldogs got 25 points from Katie Jaseckas but withstood a second half rally by the Saints in a 67-62 win on December 31^st. Maryville was led by Antoinette Mussorici (18), Jayda Jansen (17) and Hunter Stidham (17). In the January 16^thmeeting in Kirksville, Jasekcas recorded her 18^th career double-double with 18 and 11 while a 7-0 push late in the third quarter tilted the game in favor of the Bulldogs 83-72. Hannah Belanger led all scorers with 26 while Jansen paced the Saints with 21.

Truman shot 54% in the two wins over Maryville and averaged 21 more rebounds in the games. On the flip side, Maryville turned Truman over 42 times (21 per game), while only turning the ball over themselves a total of 16 times (8 per game).

Post Season Series History: This will be the fourth meeting in eight tournament appearances by the Bulldogs with Maryville. The first was the 2014 championship game in which the Bulldogs prevailed 58-48 in Evansville, Indiana. In 2017, Maryville won at the buzzer in a first round game in Kirksville 80-78. In 2019, Truman rallied from 16 points down in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime and eventually defeat Maryville 88-82 in a quarterfinal game played in Edwardsville, Illinois.

Up Next:
Following the conclusion of the conference tournament on Sunday, the NCAA will announce the tournament field for the Division II national championships.

The Bulldogs were "under consideration" in the previous NCAA regional rankings with an actual ranking released by the association on Wednesday afternoon. Six teams between the GLVC and the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference will be selected for the regional tournament that will be held in Springfield, Missouri on March 12-15.

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Players Mentioned

#24 Tiffany Davenport: G; 5' 6"; Junior

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

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

#34 Maya Mouton: F; 6' 3"; Junior

#42 Allison Thomas: C; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#32 Ellie Weltha: F; 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman

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

Players Mentioned

#24 Tiffany Davenport
: 5' 6"; Junior
: G

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

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

#34 Maya Mouton
: 6' 3"; Junior
: F

#42 Allison Thomas
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: C

#32 Ellie Weltha
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman
: F

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