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KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – After knocking the rust off on Saturday with a cakewalk win over Blackburn (Ill.) in an exhibition game, the Truman State Women's Basketball team will begin 2024 at home against the University of Indianapolis on Wednesday evening. The Bulldogs defeated Blackburn 119-35 but resume conference play looking to break a four-game losing streak.
 
Truman State last played a meaningful game back on December 9^th when Upper Iowa completed the season sweep over the team with an 82-53 win in Fayette, Iowa. However, on Saturday, the squad returned to the gym and thwarted Blackburn by 84 points. The team had 31 assists on 44 made baskets with 12 three-pointers and recorded 25 steals. Lizzie Boehm made four threes and scored 23 points as no player played over 20 minutes in the contest.
 
The Greyhounds are 3-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and 6-5 overall after playing and winning over Ohio Dominican on Friday 83-71. Liv Becker paced UINDY with 23 points and 10 rebounds and Elana Wells added 20 points.
 
UINDY has taken three of the last four over the Bulldogs and the two teams split their season series last year. The Bulldogs won the first game in Kirksville 86-75 when a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter allowed Truman to take command of the game. Hannah Belanger led the Bulldogs with 21 points. In the return game in Indianapolis back in February, the Bulldogs led by six after one but UINDY would go up by three at the half. Both teams scored 26 points in the third quarter. Claire Rake knocked down a three-pointer with seven seconds left to pull Truman to within one but Jodi Mullins hit a pair of free throws to secure the 75-72 win.
 
On Saturday, the Bulldogs will head to the University of Missouri-St. Louis for a matinee contest. The Tritons are 6-6 overall but 4-2 in GLVC play. They will be at cross-town rival Maryville on Wednesday evening prior to the Bulldogs visit.
 
UMSL had dropped their last three games entering the week including an 88-65 defeat to Wisconsin Parkside last Friday. The Bulldogs held on for a 72-71 win last January in Pershing Arena with Hannah Belanger knocking down a pair of free throws with 2.1 seconds left. Truman State had won seven of the last eight games against the Tritons.
 
Ellie Weltha is second in the GLVC and leads the team in scoring at 18.9 points per game. She had been in double-figures in all 10 games this season with four double-doubles and a season-high 25 points on two different occasions. She has 38 career double-doubles and is 52 rebounds shy of 1000 for her career. Weltha has 30 career blocked shots and 49 career steals in 109 games played.
 
Claire Rake is second in scoring at 10.2 points per outing and leads the team with 25 three-pointers made in 77 attempts. Rake has started all 10 games, scoring in double-figures five times with a high of 17 points coming against Winona State. She has made nine three-pointers in her last two regular season games against Upper Iowa and is also the team leader in minutes per game at 29.0.
 
Ainsley Tolson averages 10.1 points and is the assist leader with 38 in her first season with the Bulldogs. Tolson has played 115 games for three other schools during her college career and amassed 1,523 points, and 385 assists. She has scored in double-figures in five games as a Bulldogs with a high of 18 points in two games. Tolson has started eight of the 10 games thus far.
 
Bailey Kliewer is the active leader in games played with 116 in five seasons. The past four have been at Rogers (Okla.) State where she earned all-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association honors. Kliewer has 1,154 career points and is averaging 8.9 points this season as a Bulldog. In starting all 10 games, Kliewer has been in double digits five times, with one double-double and a single-game best 17 against McKendree.
 
Emma Bulman has started nine of 10 games this season and averages 6.9 points. Bulman's single-game high this season is 18 points coming against McKendree.
 
Gracie Neff has been the sixth Bulldog this season with starts. Neff has been introduced three times this season and is second on the team with 24 assists with 2.7 points scored per game. Neff has played in 40 career games for Truman after spending her first two years with Lindenwood (Mo.).
 
Madison Niemeier along with freshmen Molly Joyce and Lexie White have each appeared in all 10 games this season. Niemeier averages 4.3 points per game, Joyce scores 6.4 points per game and White scores 4.5 points and is the leader in steals with 12.
 
As a team, Truman is shooting 44% overall and scoring 74.0 points per game while opponents are shooting 42% overall and averaging 74.4 points. The Bulldogs are making seven three-pointers per game, 17 free throws per outing, shooting 77% from the line, 15.8 assists, 7.6 steals and 2.6 blocks.
 
Theo Dean is in his fifth season at Truman State and has a 78-41 record. He is currently fourth on the all-time wins list at Truman State. Dean's teams have won 73% of his GLVC games during his tenure with a 58-22 conference record. His squads are 31-10 in GLVC home games and 28-12 in conference road games.
 
Up Next:
January will feature a road-heavy schedule for the Bulldogs with five of the eight games played away from Pershing Arena. Saturday's game at Missouri-St. Louis will begin a three-game road trip for the Bulldogs with stops at Quincy (January 11) and Illinois Springfield (January 13). It is the most consecutive road games on the schedule this season.