Women's Basketball 3/6/2021 8:38:00 PM

Truman Heads To Title Game To Face Top-Seeded Drury

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KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – For the second time since joining the GLVC in 2013-14, the Truman Women's Basketball team will play in the postseason tournament title game. The Bulldogs will play top-seeded Drury University for the automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Tournment.

Both teams were securely in the top six in the last regional rankings prior to selections on Sunday night. Drury at 19-1 was the second ranked team while Truman was third. The top two teams in the region, will get a first-round bye at the tournament, scheduled for next weekend back in Springfield, hosted by Drury.

Drury advanced to their fifth straight title game with a 75-62 victory over #5-seed Missouri-St. Louis on Saturday afternoon. Paige Robinson scored 18 points and Azia Lynch added 15 as the Lady Panthers improved to 19-1 on the season. Drury had 13 steals and forced 19 Triton turnovers.

Truman got 21 points from their leading scorer, Hannah Belanger in a dominating 68-52 win over William Jewell in the other semifinal. Belanger made four of five long range bombs while both Katie Jaseckas and Ellie Weltha each recorded a double-double. Jaseckas scored 18 with 11 rebounds and four blocked shots while Weltha grabbed 15 rebounds to go with 16 points.

It will be the top two teams in the GLVC regular season and two two scorers in the league squaring off in the championship game. Robinson averaged 21.3 points this season to finish ahead of Belanger for the scoring title. Belanger has averaged 19.3 points in 19 games this season and has been in double-figures in nine straight games with six over 20 points during that stretch. She has knocked down 59 three-pointers this season only eight off her total in 28 games in her freshman season.

Jaseckas recorded her 21^st career double-double and ninth of the season on Saturday. In her last two games, she has made 18 of 29 shots including seven of 15 from long range and eight blocks. She has 32 three-pointers which is good for third on the team. For the season, Jaseckas averages 15.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per night.

Weltha has dominated the glass all season but more so in her last six games. She has 13 or more rebounds in that span 204 total for the season. Her 10.7 boards per night average would tie for sixth best in a Truman single-season. She has also scored in double-figures in five of her last six and has a season-high of 26 against Missouri-St. Louis back on January 19.

Katey Klucking has been the steady force for Truman this season as she is third in scoring at 11.7 per game, second in three-pointers made with 40 and third in assists with 46. Klucking's season high in points was 22 against Southern Indiana on January 3^rd.

Tiffany Davenport is the GLVC leader in assists and has 121 this season moving her into a tie for ninth on the single-season chart. She tied Sloane Totta's total from a season ago. Her 6.4 asssist/per game mark is second in the Truman single-season annuls behind Susan Theroff's 6.9 in 1990-91. Davenport is one assist from tying Amy Galey and Jeanette Cleven's season total of 122.

Off The Bench:
Allison Thomas has come off the bench in all 19 games while Maya Mouton missed her first game of the season on Saturday. Thomas has averaged 4.6 points and 2.3 rebounds and Mouton 2.7 points and 2.8 rebounds. Hannah Pinkston is the only other player to appear in 10 or more games this season with 13.

All-Conference Bulldogs:
Katie Jaseckas and Hannah Belanger were named first team all-GLVC by league coaches and Ellie Weltha and Katey Klucking were third team picks. For Jaseckas, it was her third all-GLVC nod and second straight on the first-team. Belanger joined Drury's Paige Robinson as the only unanimous selection on the team. Those two are the top two scorers in the GLVC this season.

It was the sixth time in program history that at least four players made the all-conference team and first time since the 1998-99 season when Amy Eagan and Kelli Kreuser were first-team choices and Wendi Sobaski and Jennifer Perkins were honorable mention all-MIAA. In 1989-90, five Bulldog players made the squad led by Angie Gum's second team selection and honorable mention for Susan Theroff, Felicia Sutton, Brenda Reiling and Sue Stein.

Truman League Leaders:
Ellie Weltha is tops in field goal percentage at 62% and in defensive rebounds at 8.5 per night. Tiffany Davenport leads in assists per game at 6.22. Hannah Belanger leads in three-pointers made per game at 3.06 and Katie Jaseckas leads in blocked shots with 2.18 per game.

As a team, Truman leads in three-point shooting (.383), defensive rebounding (29.4), rebounding margin (+8.3), defensive rebounds (29.9) and three-pointers made (8.72). They are second in scoring margin (+5.7), field goal shooting (.480), defensive field goal shooting (.385), rebounding offense (37.7), blocked shots (3.89) and assists (17.0)

Conference Tournament History:
Since joining the GLVC in 2013-14, the Bulldogs have been a regular in the conference's postseason tournament. They are 8-6 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: Drury
Drury has been the standard bearer for the GLVC with four straight tournament titles coming into Sunday's championship game…The Lady Panthers are 19-1 with their only setback against Rockhurst on February 2^nd 75-69…since that loss they have won nine straight…Paige Robinson leads the GLVC in scoring at 21.2 points per game and assists with 4.6…Drury's calling card has been forcing turnovers and steals and this season is no different….Drury forces over 25 opponent turnovers per game and has 261 (13.7) steals this season…four players have over 30 steals and three others have over 20 this season…while Drury is 16-0 against the Bulldogs, this will be the first time Amy Eagan has faced her former team as head coach of another…Eagan is the all-time leader in Truman coaching wins with 111 and a member of the Bulldog Hall of Fame after earning All-America honors following the 1998-99 season.

Last Game w/Drury: The two teams twice tried to play their regular season game but both times COVID issues forced a postponement and later cancellation of the game. The last meeting between the two was back on February 20, 2020 in Truman's third straight regular season trip to Springfield. The Lady Panthers built up a 10-point lead five minutes into the contest and led by as many as 28 in the first half. Truman tried to chip away but could get no closer than 17 points as Drury forced 30 turnovers. Former Drury standout Hailey Diestelkamp led the way with 26 points while Katie Jaseckas scored 18 for Truman.

Series History: It has been all Drury in the series that has started in 2002 with the Lady Panthers taking all 16 encounters. This will mark the seventh game out of the last 10 to be played on Drury's home court. The teams played on a neutral floor in the GLVC Tournament in 2019 but haven't played in Pershing Arena in Kirksville since January of 2018. The two closest games in the series were six-point Drury wins, in overtime at the NCAA Tournament hosted by Drury in 2014 and in the team's 2019 affair.

The two prior postseason games between the two teams were in the 2014 NCAA Regional and the 2019 GLVC Semifinals. In the 2014 regional, the Lady Panthers held off the Bulldogs 74-68 in overtime as Drury was the top seed and the Bulldogs the eighth seed. In the 2019 quarterfinal, Drury won 85-60.

Up Next:
The NCAA Division II selection show will take place on Sunday evening at 9 p.m. on NCAA.com.

The Bulldogs were ranked third in the NCAA regional rankings 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.

Michigan Tech was the top ranked school followed by Drury, Truman, Grand Valley State, Northwood, Southern Indiana, Lewis and Missouri-St. Louis.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Amy Galey: G; 5' 6"; Senior

#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

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

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

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

#10 Hannah Pinkston: G; 5' 10"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#3 Amy Galey
: 5' 6"; Senior
: G

#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

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

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

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

#10 Hannah Pinkston
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: G