KIRKSVILLE, Mo. –  A recharged Truman State Bulldog team will head out for the final two games of the 2021-22 regular season this week. After an off day on Saturday, Truman will face Southwest Baptist on Thursday and Rockhurst on Saturday.
 
Truman is holding on to the fourth spot in the GLVC Points Rating System rankings with a slim lead over fifth place Lewis (Ill.). The Bulldogs have a 3.88 ranking while the Flyers have a 3.79 rating. With all 15 teams advancing to the conference tournament this year, the Bulldogs are assured of hosting a first-round game in Pershing Arena on Monday evening at 5:15 p.m. Based on the current rankings, Truman would welcome #13 Quincy. The official bracket and seedings will be released by the conference office following all games on Saturday.
 
The Bulldogs were not present in the first NCAA Midwest regional ranking that was published on Wednesday. The top 10 teams were listed in the initial ranking with Drury (3^rd), Missouri-St. Louis (4^th) and Southern Indiana (6^th) representing the GLVC. Truman has a 14-7 in-region record and a 16-8 Division II record. Northwood (Mich.), listed ninth has a 15-7/13-6 records and #10 Kentucky Wesleyan is sitting with marks of 14-9/14-9.
 
After winning a school-record 10-straight in the month of January, the Bulldogs are 4-3 with wins over McKendree, Lewis, Quincy and William Jewell and losses to Southern Indiana, Indianapolis and Illinois Springfield.
 
The Bulldogs downed the Jewell Cardinals last Thursday 73-61 behind 21 points and 14 rebounds from Ellie Weltha and 20 points from Hannah Belanger. Weltha notched her 12^th double-double of the season, which leads the GLVC and Belanger scored 20 or more points for the fourth time in five games and sixth out of her last eight.
 
In league games, Truman is fourth in scoring offense at 68.4/game, third in defense at 61.7/game. They are first in rebounding margin at +11.1/game, first in defense rebounds at 28.94/game and average 6.47 three-pointers per game while shooting 31.8% from outside. Overall, Truman averages 70.4 scoring and allowing 63.1 and shoots 44.6% from the field and 31.3% from three. 
 
Belanger Approaching 1,200 Points:
Junior guard Hannah Belanger is 18 points shy of 1,200 for her career and 31 back of the top 10 in Bulldog career scoring. She will next pass Annie Westhoff (1,183) and Kristy Brown (1,189) on the career rankings while moving up toward the 10^th spot held by Breanna Daniels (1,213). 
 
For the season, Belanger is third in the GLVC in scoring at 17.4 points per game, third in assists (3.88), fifth in three-pointers made (2.08), fourth in assist/turnover ratio (1.48) and second in minutes played (35.0). Belanger is 21^st in Division II and first in the GLVC in shots attempted with 386.
 
Re Enters Top 10 Career Rebounds:
Maddie Re pulled down 21 rebounds in two games played and soared into the top 10 in career boards at Truman. Re has grabbed 628 rebounds (7.9/game) and sits ninth overall in total boards and tied for sixth in rebounding average. Next on the list is Shelley Picha (642) and Amy Eagan (643) on the career chart.
 
Re has started all 20 games she has played in and is ninth in the conference in boards (6.8) and second in field goal percentage at 55.1%. Re has averaged 8.3 points per game this season with a game-high 17 points scored against Ursuline and 15 rebounds last week against Quincy. 
 
Weltha Second In Double-Doubles:
Ellie Weltha is second in the GLVC and 25th nationally in recording double-doubles. Weltha has 12 on the season with the last coming against William Jewell last week. She has 21 for her career.
 
Weltha is eighth in conference scoring (15.0/g), second in rebounds (10.1/g) and fourth in field goal shooting (54.6%). Her single-game highs this season was 26 points against Southwest Minnesota State and 19 rebounds against Southern Indiana.
 
Klucking Tops 100 Career Games:
Katey Klucking is the active leader in games played with 101 and has made 74 starts over four seasons. She is shooting 42% from the field this season and is sixth in the conference in assists/game at 2.88. Klucking is 13^th in conference minutes played, averaging over 30 minutes a night. Klucking is five three-pointers away from cracking the Bulldog career list of 139. She is at 134 out of 436 attempts (30.7%).
 
Klucking scored a season-high 28 at McKendree on January 8^th and has been in double-figures in 37 career games. 
 
Thomas Started Last 17:
Allison Thomas has rounded out the starting lineup in the last 17 games this season and  averages 7.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game this season. Thomas has appeared in 88 career games with 23 starts.  She scored a career-high 19 points in Truman's win over then #1 Drury and matched her career-high in rebounds with 13 against Illinois Springfield.
 
Off The Bench:
Brioenne Burns and Hannah Pinkston have each appeared in 23 games, Gracie Stugart, Madison Niemeier and Emma Bullman have in 22. Stugart has seen the most minutes of any bench player at 15.8 per game and has averaged 3.6 points per game. Burns has the most points in a game by a bench player with a career-high 17 against Southern Indiana on January 17.
 
The Bulldog bench averages 13 points per night. 
 
Up Next:
Following Saturday's game, the postseason will begin with a GLVC First Round contest at home against an opponent still to be determined. The winner of that game will move to the championship site of Edwardsville, Illinois for the weekend. 
 
Streaming for all rounds of the GLVC Postseason tournament will be at GLVCSN.com and will be pay-per-view. Pricing details will be released by the conference office prior to the tournament. 
 
Series History w/Southwest Baptist: This will be the Bulldogs first trip to Bolivar since the Bearcats and Bulldogs played under the MIAA Conference banner in 2013. SBU joined the GLVC in the 2019-20 season and the first two games back were both played in Pershing Arena. The Bulldogs have won the last nine played against SBU dating back to 2010. SBU owns the all-time record at 31-21 and in games played in Bolivar at 15-9.  In last year's contest, Truman outscored SBU 15-5 in the third quarter to overtake the Bearcats and won 47-41. Kyleight Vaught led SBU with 15 points and seven rebounds while Hannah Belanger and Allison Thomas led Truman with 10 each. 
 
About the Bearcats: SBU has had a nice turnaround from last season's 5-14 conference mark. The Bearcats are 14-12 overall and 9-9 in the GLVC and had two nail biters on the road last weekend. They defeated Illinois Springfield 52-51 but then lost at Lewis 66-64. Kyleigh Vaught has 52 three-pointers this season (39%) and leads the team in scoring at 15.7 points per night. She also had 71 assists and 30 steals. Nyah Pettus has provided an inside presence with 6.5 rebounds, 8.8 points and 20 blocked shots.  
 
Series History w/Rockhurst: Truman can match their longest winning streak over the Hawks at six with a victory on Saturday in the regular season finale. The Bulldogs are 8-2 over the Hawks in their last 10 meetings including last season's 76-69 triumph in Pershing Arena. Hannah Belanger scored 25 points with six made three-pointers and Ellie Weltha added 18 points and 14 rebounds. Daly Sullivan scored 17 for the Hawks. Truman is 9-4 in games played in Mason-Halpin Fieldhouse and have won three straight. Rockhurst last win came in 2018 in Kirksville and last win at home was in 2017. 
 
About the Hawks: Rockhurst went 1-1 on their last road trip with a loss at Quincy (60-53) followed by a victory at Illinois Springfield by the same score (60-53). Entering the week, they were in the seventh position in the GLVC Points Rating System that would give the Hawks a home game on Monday in the first round of the conference tournament. They will host their Kansas City neighbor William Jewell on Thursday prior to Truman's visit. Daly Sullivan is a player of the year candidate with a 16.8 points per game mark. She has a team-leading 55 three-pointers on the season. Sister Keegan Sullivan averages 13 points and is the top rebounder at 7.4 per night. Rockhurst finished last season with an 8-12 record.