KIRKSVILLE, Mo. –  The second season will begin on Monday as the Truman State women's basketball team will host neighbor Quincy University on Monday evening in the first round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference postseason tournament. 
 
The Bulldogs were the number four seed in the bracket after finishing the regular season with a 17-10 overall record and a 13-6 conference mark. With the bracket expanding to include all 15 teams this year, Quincy is making their first tournament appearance since ousting the Bulldogs in the quarterfinal round during the 2016 GLVC Tournament. The Lady Hawks are the #13 seed and finished the regular season with a 9-19 overall record and 5-14 conference ledger. 
 
Truman comes into the tournament having lost consecutive conference games for the first time since 2018. Both losses were on the road as they fell to Southwest Baptist 75-52 and at Rockhurst on Saturday 72-68. Ellie Weltha was the main offensive threat for Truman as she led the team in scoring in both games with 17 against the Bearcats and 26 against the Hawks. Weltha has scored in double figures in her last seven games, with three double-doubles and three of her last four in the 20 or more point category. 
 
Quincy has won three of their last four. The Lady Hawks were no match for Drury on Friday 72-45 but bounced back in less than 24 hours to down Southwest Baptist 78-70. Sarah Nelson and Dami Adeyinka led the Hawks in scoring against SBU with 15 and 14 respectively while Emma Knipe notched a double-double with a dozen points and rebounds.
 
The two teams have played twice this season with Truman taking both 68-59 in Quincy on January 4^th and 58-48 in Kirksville on February 10^th. 
 
The winner will move on to face the winner of the #5 Lewis/#12 Maryville game on Friday with a time to be determined at the Vadalabene Center on the campus of Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. 
 
In league games this season, Truman was sixth in scoring offense at 67.5/game, third in defense at 62.9/game. They were first in rebounding margin at +10.5/game and averaged 6.42 three-pointers per game while shooting 30.8% from outside. Overall, Truman averages 69.6 scoring and allowing 63.9 and shoots 43.9% from the field and 30.6% from three. 
 
GLVCSN To Be Pay-Per View:
Beginning with the conference tournament on Monday, the Great Lakes Valley Conference has voted to put all tournament games for purchase. Users will have to create an account when they click to watch the games starting on Monday night and will have options to purchase a single-game or a tournament pass to watch all of them. 
 
Bulldogs In The GLVC Tournament:
Truman has been in the league's postseason tournament every season since joining the conference in 2013-14. They won their only tournament title in their inaugural season having knocked off William Jewell, Lewis, Quincy and finally Maryville in the championship game. 
 
The Bulldogs returned to the title game last season after winning at home over Maryville in the quarterfinals then downing William Jewell in the semis. They lost to Drury 76-60 in the championship game.
 
Truman is 8-7 in conference tournament games in the GLVC and 3-2 in games played in Pershing Arena. The Bulldogs have never had to play an opening round game on the home court of an opponent. 
 
Belanger Hits 1,200 Points:
Junior guard Hannah Belanger scored 18 points in the two road games last week and sits at an even 1,200 points for her career. She is 11^th on the all-time scoring list and can catch former assistant coach Breanna Daniels with 12 points. 
 
For the season, Belanger is fourth in the GLVC in scoring at 16.7 points per game, third in assists (3.81), sixth in three-pointers made (1.96), fourth in assist/turnover ratio (1.41) and first in minutes played (35.1). Belanger is 21^st in Division II and first in the GLVC in shots attempted with 412.
 
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 against Quincy. 
 
Weltha Second In Double-Doubles:
Ellie Weltha is second in the GLVC and 25th nationally in recording double-doubles. Weltha has 13 on the season and 22 for her Bulldog career.
 
Weltha is seventh in conference scoring (15.5/g), second in rebounds (10.3/g) and third in field goal shooting (55.4%). Her single-game highs this season was 26 points against Southwest Minnesota State and Rockhurst and 19 rebounds against Southern Indiana.
 
Klucking Tops 100 Career Games:
Katey Klucking is the active leader in games played with 102 and has made 75 starts over four seasons. She is shooting 41% from the field this season and is eighth in the conference in assists/game at 2.78. Klucking is 13^th in conference minutes played, averaging over 30 minutes a night. Klucking is two three-pointers away from cracking the Bulldog career list of 139. She is at 137 out of 447 attempts (30.6%).
 
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 19:
Allison Thomas has rounded out the starting lineup in the last 19 games this season and averages 6.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game this season. Thomas has appeared in 90 career games with 25 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 and again on Saturday against Rockhurst.
 
Off The Bench:
Brioenne Burns and Hannah Pinkston have each appeared in 25 games, Gracie Stugart, Madison Niemeier and Emma Bullman have in 24. Stugart has seen the most minutes of any bench player at 15.9 per game and has averaged 3.8 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. 
 
 
Series History w/Quincy: Truman brings a nine-game winning streak over the Quincy Hawks with the last defeat occurring in quarterfinal round of the 2016 GLVC Tournament, played in St. Charles, Missouri. The Bulldogs won both games this season by scores of 68-59 and 58-48. Hannah Belanger had a pair of 20-point games against the Hawks this season with 25 in the first and 20 in the second meeting. In four games against the Hawks, Belanger has averaged 19 points per game. Sarah Nelson scored 15 in the first matchup and Beth Matas Martin scored 14 in Pershing Arena. The Bulldogs are 16-9 against the Hawks in Pershing Arena and hold a 28-25 edge in the all-time series. 
 
About the Hawks: After tying their season-low in points scored in a game this season with 37 against Maryville on Valentine's Day, Quincy has posted wins over Rockhurst (60-53), William Jewell (72-54) and Southwest Baptist (78-70). Their only loss in their last five games came to powerhouse Drury in Springfield 72-45. Quincy averaged 55.7 points in league games this season and allowed 63.7. They were third in free throw shooting at 78.7% but 14^th out of 15 teams in field goal shooting at 37%. They were also last in three-point shooting at 28% and averaged just over five per night. Beth Matas Martin is their leading scorer at 11.4 points per game.