Game Notes (PDF) 

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. –  Riding a five-game winning streak, the Truman Bulldogs travel to Missouri S&T and Maryville this weekend before a showdown with the nation's number one team in Drury on Monday at home.
 
Truman dispatched McKendree for their fifth-straight win on Saturday 79-55 to sit at 4-1 in the GLVC. Ellie Weltha recorded her third straight double-double of the week going for 10 points and 14 rebounds while Claire Rake and Katey Klucking each had monster career games. Klucking scored 28 points and added six assists and two blocks while Rake got her first collegiate 20-point game with 21 on six made three-pointers. Hannah Belanger was held to only three points, a lone three-pointer in the fourth quarter, after scoring 25 and 28 in her previous two last week. It was the first time this season she was kept below 10 points in a game and it was the lowest single-game total in her Bulldog career.
 
The Bulldogs are fourth in the GLVC in scoring offense at 73.1 points per game, third in free throw shooting at 76.2, first in field goal percentage at 46.9 and second in rebounding margin at +9.2 per game. Truman is one of only four teams in the league shooting below 30% from beyond the three-point line (29.2%). Last year, Truman shot 36% from outside and have been clear of the 30% range for 20 straight seasons. The last sub-.300 shooting from outside was 26.3% in the 2000-01 campaign. 
 
Belanger is second in the conference in scoring at 18.4 points per game while Weltha is seventh at 15.9. Weltha is tied for the top spot in rebounds per game at 10.5 with Lindenwood's Julia Ruzevich. She is fourth in field goal shooting at 55%. Belanger and Katey Klucking are both in the top five in assists per game. Belanger is second at 4.69 and Klucking is fifth at 3.31.  They are both also in the top five in assist/turnover ratio with Klucking at third (1.95) and Belanger fifth (1.61). 
 
Belanger Hits 1,000 Career Points:
Last Thursday against Lewis, Hannah Belanger became the 23^rd player and only eighth to hit 1,000 career points in their third season. She sits at 1,004 with a career scoring average at 15.9 points per game. She currently ranks third in Truman scoring history in points per game behind Carol Jarrard (17.9) and Georgia Mueller (17.2). The other players to score over 1,000 in three seasons: Carol Jarrad (1,433), Georgia Mueller (1,457), Angie Sutton (1,094), Amy Eagan (1,057), Wendi Sobaski (1,051), Kelli Kreuser (1,177) and Sarah Sommer (1,058).
 
About the Bulldogs:
After using the same starting lineup for the first eight games, the Bulldogs have had to adjust and have used three different lineups in their last five games. Hannah Belanger, Katey Klucking and Ellie Weltha have not missed a start this season while Allison Thomas as started the last five. Maddie Re started the first nine games but has missed the last four. Hannah Pinkston started the first eight and 10 overall and Claire Rake has got the start in the last two.
 
Klucking will make her 90^th career game appearance in her next outing, the most of any active Bulldogs. She has started 62 of the 89 games played. She recorded her career high of 28 points against McKendree last Saturday and for the season is averaging 11.2 points and the team's leader in blocks with 10. She averages over 32 minutes per game this season.
 
Weltha is averaging a double-double with 15.9 points and 10.5 rebounds in 13 starts this season. She has scored over 20 points in five games this season with a highmark of 26 coming against Southwest Minnesota State back on November 20. She has seven double-doubles this year and 16 in her first three seasons. 
 
Thomas missed the seven November games but has averaged seven points and over five rebounds in the last six outings. She has played in 76 career games with 11 starts and is the active leader in blocked shots with 32. She had a double-double against Maryville back on December 4^th and has pulled down eight rebounds in her last two games.
 
Re has not been on the floor since starting the first nine games of the season. She last played against Maryville on December 4^th in which she went 5-for-5 from the field for 15 points and added nine rebounds. Re is the active leader in steals for Truman with 63.
 
Pinkston has started 10 of 11 games she has been available for this season and averages 2.4 points and 2.2 rebounds. Her game-high is eight points in two contest this season. She has played in 50 career games with all 10 starts coming this year. 
 
Rake has made the most of her amped up playing time in the last three games she has been available for. Rake has knocked down 11 of her last 24 three-point attempts (45.8%), including six last Saturday against McKendree to set a new career-high in points with 21. 
 
Emma Bulman has appeared off the bench in all 13 games this season. She averages around 12 minutes per contest and has a high game total of nine points against Upper Iowa this season. 
 
Brioenne Burns has come off the bench in 11 games this season with 16.2 minutes per outing. Her game high was eight points against Ursuline back in early November and again in her last outing against Quincy. She has 12 assists to go with seven steals.  
 
Gracie Stugart saw action in the first 10 games and was on the floor for nearly 15 minutes per night. Stugart has 17 assists and six steals with a season-high six points in November against Minot State. 
 
Madison Niemeier has also saw action in 10 contest this year with a 9.1 minutes of action per game. She played a season-high 19 minutes last Saturday at McKendree and in her last four games is shooting 78% from the field (11-14). She scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting at Quincy on January 4^th.
 
Nicole Dorn and Gabby Nielsen have each appeared in five games this season. Dorn has two assists and three steals while Nielsen played a season-high 21 minutes last Saturday at McKendree with four points and a pair of rebounds. 
 
Kennedy Wallace has saw action in three games this year. 
 
Up Next: The Bulldogs are scheduled to get back to the traditional Thursday/Saturday format after Monday's home game with Drury. Truman will head to St. Louis for a rematch with Missouri-St. Louis on January 20^th and a Saturday game against Lindenwood on January 22. UMSL won the first meeting 57-54 in Kirksville on December 2^nd and have won eight straight. Lindenwood had to cancel their January 2^nd visit to Kirksville due to COVID and hope to return to playing on Thursday night against Illinois Springfield. 
 
 
Series History w/Missouri S&T: Truman is currently riding a 10-game winning streak over the Lady Miners, their longest such streak in the series that dates back to 1977. Missouri S&T owns the longest streak in the series by winning 11 games from January 1989 through February 1996. All 10 of the past wins have come since the Bulldogs joined the GLVC. Last season the teams met only once and it was a strong third quarter that propelled the Bulldogs to an 83-71 victory. The Miners led by three at the break but a 32-20 third quarter push put Truman in front for good. Ellie Weltha recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards and Hannah Belanger scored a game high 18 while adding seven assists.  Truman outscored Missouri S&T 38-18 in points in the paint. Kristen Keys was the scored 27 points and Laura Rodriguez added 17 for the Lady Miners.
 
About the Lady Miners: Missouri S&T enters the game with a 4-7 overall record and 1-4 in GLVC play. Their lone league win came at William Jewell 74-62 back on December 2. They dropped their last two, both on the road, a 77-73 loss at Rockhurst and a 74-39 defeat at Missouri-St. Louis. Laura Rodriguez leads the team in scoring at 13.6 points per game and is first on the team in three-pointers made at 16. Alex Kerr is second at 11.5 having missed the first five games to start the season. Kerr shoots 65% from the floor and has scored in double-figures in her last three games. 
 
Series History w/Maryville: Arguably one of the fiercest rivalries in the GLVC with wrap-up their regular season slate on Saturday in St. Louis. The Bulldogs have won the last seven but it has not been easy. Six have been by five points or less, including two overtime games. Since the 2017 season (11 games), six have come down to the final possession of the game. In their last meeting on December 4^th, Maryville's three-pointer at the buzzer missed the mark and Truman picked up the 70-67 win. Five Bulldogs scored in double-figures led by Hannah Belanger with 17 points and Maddie Re with 15. Allison Thomas recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Taylor Kirby led all scorers with 20 points and Antoinette Mussorici added 15. Truman trailed 14-7 after the first but led by as many as eight with 3:25 to play before the Saints mounted a rally.
 
About the Saints: The schedule changes due to COVID have hit Maryville hard. The Saints are scheduled to play Quincy on Thursday which would be their first game back since a December 18^th win over Hannibal-LaGrange. Five of the last six, since playing Truman on December 4^th have been cancelled, including the last three league games. They enter the week with a 5-4 record and 1-2 GLVC mark. Antoinette Mussorici leads the team in scoring at 16.4 points per game and has been to the free throw line nearly four times more than any teammate (52). 
 
Series History w/Drury: The Lady Panthers have been the bugaboo on the Bulldog schedule since the team's started playing each other in 2002. Drury owns victories in all 18 matchups with 11 of the 18 coming on their home court. Drury will be making their only their four trip to Kirksville since the Bulldogs joined the GLVC in 2014. The previous three have all been respectable scores 93-86 (2014), 64-57 (2017) and 57-46 (2018). The two teams did not play in the regular season last year due to COVID but met twice in six days in March. Drury won 76-60 in the GLVC Tournament Championship game and 66-51 to end Truman's postseason run in the regional semifinals. Both of those games also took play on Drury's home court.       
 
About the Lady Panthers: Drury enters the week as the top team in Division II according to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. The Lady Panthers are 16-1 and have reeled off 12 straight wins. Their only hiccup was a 76-75 loss on a neutral floor to Kentucky Wesleyan back in early November. Drury leads the conference in scoring at 82.7 points per game and features the reigning Player of the Year in Paige Robinson at 22.2 points per game. Robinson has missed the last four games. Drury forces over 24 turnovers per game and shoots nearly 40% from beyond the arc. After Robinson, Alana Findley (14.2) and Kaylee DaMitz (13.9) are next in scoring. Peyton Richards leds the team in three-pointers made with 35 and the duo of Findley and DaMitz have a combine 81 of the team's 230 steals thus far this season. Drury is scheduled to play at William Jewell and at Rockhurst before travelling to Kirksville for the Monday game.