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KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The 52nd season of Truman State Women's Basketball will tip off in Quincy, Illinois this weekend with the Bulldogs participating in the annual GLVC/G-MAC Challenge. The Bulldogs will face Ursuline (Ohio) at noon on Friday and Cedarville (Ohio) at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
 
The Bulldogs finished 20-10 last season, their sixth 20-win season in the past 10 years and 12th straight 15 or more victory campaign. Truman State was picked fourth in the GLVC preseason coaches poll.
 
Head Coach Theo Dean enters his fifth season at the helm of the Bulldogs and has a career record of 75-34 (.688) which places him fourth on the all-time coaching wins list at the school He will enter the 2023-24 season 12 wins shy of third place and John Sloop. His .688 winning percentage is first among all head coaches of the program.
 
In non-conference games under Coach Dean, the Bulldogs are 17-15 overall and 16-16 in Division II non-conference tilts. In neutral site contests, the team is 10-9.
 
Ellie Weltha is the top returning leading scorer for the team at 15.2 points per game last year and has averaged 12 points and 8.6 rebounds in 99 career games played. Weltha is fourth on the school's all-time rebounding list with 856, 20 back of Georgia Mueller for third place. She has 34 career double-doubles. Her single-game career high in points is 29 against both Lewis and McKendree in 2022 and 19 rebounds against Southern Indiana, also in 2022.
 
The Bulldogs played two exhibition games against Power 5 conference teams last week. Against nationally-ranked Illinois, freshmen Molly Joyce scored 18 points and Lexie White added 14 but the Fighting Illini doubled up the Bulldogs 121-60. Two days later, in Ames, Iowa, Emma Bulman led Truman with 14 points playing in her hometown while White scored 13 and Weltha 12 in an 88-68 Iowa State victory.
 
Bulman started both exhibition games and has played in 56 career games for the Bulldogs with a scoring average of 3.9 points and 2.7 rebounds. She has made 19 three-pointers to go along with 14 blocks and 11 steals. Her single-game high in points was 14 last December against Illinois Springfield.
 
Claire Rake is the squad's top returning three-pointer shooter with 59 made last year and 77 for her career. Rake has played in 60 career games and made two starts with a 4.9 scoring average. Her single-game high was 21 against McKendree in 2022 when she nailed six three-pointers.
Two graduate transfers rounded out the starting five against the Division I schools. Bailey Kliewer and Ainsley Tolson both enter the program with significant playing experiences at their past schools. Kliewer was only the fourth player in Rogers (Okla.) State history to score over 1,000 career points and was an honorable mention all-MIAA player. She started 97 of 106 games and has averaged 10 points and 5.4 rebounds with 61 blocked shots. Her single game highs in points is 25 against Newman last January and 17 rebounds against Lincoln, also last January.
 
Tolson played her first two years at William Jewell, where she averaged 11 points on 45 three-pointers made. She then transferred to Avila University in the NAIA and averaged 17.8 points per night followed by a stop last season at Baker University with a first team all-conference selection and a 14.8 points per game mark. She has scored 1,422 points in her collegiate career.
 
Other returners for the Bulldogs are redshirt junior Gracie Neff, junior Maddie Niemeier and sophomores Ella Armstrong, Avery Larson and Kaitlyn Patke.
 
Six freshmen are listed on the roster this year. Molly Joyce and Lexi White both averaged over 20 minutes in the two exhibition games with White scoring in double digits in both. She scored 14 against Illinois and 13 against Iowa State. Joyce was Truman's leading scorer against Illinois with 18 points and had the most field goal attempts with 13. White played high school ball in Merrill, Wisconsin where she average 16.8 points per outing and was an all-state Division I honorable mention. Joyce was part of a state championship team in Iowa in 2022 and was the leading scorer ab Bishop Garrigan High School in Algona.
 
The other freshman are Bryar Duwe from Decorah, Iowa, Lizzie Boehm from Kansas City, Missouri, Nicky Huss from Omaha, Nebraska and Mallory Ott from Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
 
About The Opponents:
 
Ursuline was 13-16 last year with a 67-53 loss to the Bulldogs last year in this event. Seniors Madison and Michaela Cloonan earned all-GMAC honors last season with Michaela averaging 12.2 points and Madison 11.0 points per game.
 
In last year's game, Ursuline led by five at half but a 27-6 third quarter by the Bulldogs spurred them on to a 67-53 victory.  Former Bulldog Hannah Belanger was the only player in double-figures with 24 points. Truman State is 2-1 all-time against the Arrows.
 
Cedarville was picked 10^th in the GMAC coaches poll and under the direction of new coach Addy Miller. The  Yellow Jackets finished 7-19 last season and will open with Quincy on Friday. The Bulldogs downed Cedarville 70-63 in their matchup last season. Ellie Weltha led all scorers with 23 points and added 14 rebounds.
 
Up Next:
The Bulldogs will host Winona (Minn.) State and Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.) on Friday and Saturday, November 17-18.
 
Truman also downed Cedarville 70-63 in the challenge last year and the Yellow Jackets finished 7-19 overall. Ursuline was picked seventh and Cedarville 10th in the 14-team GMAC preseason poll.