Game Links:
Upper Iowa - Live Video ($) | Live Audio | Live Stats | Game Notes (PDF) 
 
 
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Back-to-back games with conference newbie Upper Iowa are on the horizon for the Truman State Women's Basketball team as they are the only two regular season games scheduled for the month of December. 
 
The first of those two meetings will take place this Saturday in Kirksville as the Bulldogs try to snap a two-game conference losing streak. The team hopes to get back on the winning side after falling in four of their last five games. 
 
The Bulldogs dropped their GLVC opener to McKendree 76-71 last Saturday and then fell at home to Lewis 72-68. In the two losses, the turnover bug has been an issue with 43 turnovers. The team has also shot below 25% from distance going 11-for-49.
 
Truman State has won all seven previous meetings with Upper Iowa and the two teams have played the last two seasons. In 2021, the Bulldogs won in Kirksville 77-51, however last year in Fayette, Ellie Weltha scored as time expired to tie the game at 81 apiece. The Bulldogs would overcome a four-point overtime deficit to win in a shootout with the Peacocks 97-90. Hannah Belanger scored 36 points for Truman and Lydia Haack and Katie Tornstrom scored 28 and 26 respectively for Upper Iowa. 
 
Ellie Weltha is sixth in the GLVC in scoring (17.7/g) and first in rebounding (9.8/g). She has moved into the Truman State top 10 in career scoring with 1,345 points and is 10 points behind Wendi Sobaski for eighth place. Weltha has 934 career rebounds and is aiming to become only the third Bulldog player to grab 1,000 rebounds. Felicia Sutton (1,232) and Carol Jarrard (1,084) are the only two Truman players to achieve that feat. 
 
Weltha is just one of three members of the starting lineup that have over 1,000 career points on their resume. Graduate transfer Ainsley Tolson is four points shy of 1,500 for her career and is also 21 assists from 400. Tolson has averaged 9.3 points in her first season as a Bulldog. Bailey Kliewer, a second graduate transfer, has 1,141 career points in 114 games played and is second on the team this season in scoring at 9.5 points per outing. 
 
Emma Bulman and Claire Rake have rounded out the starting line-up. Bulman scored a career-high 18 points on Saturday against McKendree. Rake leads the team in three-pointers made with 16 and is averaging 9.1 points per night. 
 
Off the bench, Gracie Neff, Madison Niemeier, Lexie White and Molly Joyce have all appeared each game this season. Neff started for Tolson on Monday evening and is second on the team in assists with 19. Niemeier has averaged over four points in 14.5 minutes per game. White and Joyce are making impacts as true freshman this season. White averages 4.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and leads the team with 12 steals. Joyce is scoring at a 6.4 points per game clip and has made 22-of-26 from the free throw line. 
 
As a team, Truman is shooting 44% overall and scoring 73.9 points per game while opponents are shooting 41% overall and averaging 71.7 points. The Bulldogs are making 6.9 three-pointers per game, 17.5 free throws per outing, 15.4 assists, 6.4 steals and 2.9 blocks. 
 
Theo Dean is in his fifth season at Truman State and has a 77-38 record. He is currently fourth on the all-time wins list at Truman State. Dean's teams have won 74% of his GLVC games during his tenure with a 58-20 conference record. His squads are 31-9 in GLVC home games and 28-11 in conference road games. 
 
About The Opponent:
 
After a 26-year relationship with the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, Upper Iowa officially joined the Great Lakes Valley Conference this past July 1^st. The Peacocks were 10-18 overall last year and 6-16 in the NSIC. They are 2-3 overall thus far in 2023-24 and lost both of their first two conference games, 85-71 to Indianapolis and 74-60 to the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
 
The Peacocks have three players that account for the majority of their scoring. Katie Tornstrom leads the way at 16.4 points with Mia Huberty (16.0/g) and Brooke Evenson (11.0/g) right behind. Tornstrom has the most three-pointers with 14 made in five games. 
 
Upper Iowa has scored on average 68.8 points per game and give up 65.0 points. They shoot 41% from the field, 35% from three with 8.6 triples per game and shoot 62% from the free throw line with 9.8 made per game. 
 
Up Next:
The same two teams only in different colors and roughly 187 miles north will meet again next Saturday for the second conference game between the two schools. Following that game, the Bulldogs will not take the floor again until an exhibition game with Blackburn (Ill.) on December 30th. The next regular season game will be January 3^rd at home against Indianapolis.