Game Links:
McKendree - Live Video ($) | Live Audio | Live Stats | Game Notes (PDF)
Missouri-St. Louis – Live Video ($) | Live Audio | Live Stats | Game Notes (PDF)
 
 
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Turning the calendar page to February and the start of the second half of the conference season, the Truman State Women's basketball team will look to make their charge and earn a spot in the league's postseason basketball tournament next month.
 
The Bulldogs find themselves looking up in the Great Lakes Valley Conference points rating systems (PRS) that is used to determine the top eight qualifiers and seeding for the tournament. However, in Truman's favor is that they get a second crack at teams ahead of them in the standings and six of the next eight games played at home.
 
First up will be a rematch with one of the conference leaders in McKendree University on Thursday night. The Bearcats are 14-5 overall and 10-3 in conference action and sit at number two in the GLVC PRS.
 
These two teams opened up the conference slate back in November and exchanged the lead 10 times in the first half before McKendree got separation and went up by 11 points. Truman tried to reel the Bearcats in Clare Breden scored 27 points and McKendree won 76-71. Emma Bulman scored 18 points and Bailey Kliewer tallied 17. The Bulldogs turned the ball over 24 times but were plus 13 in rebounding.
 
McKendree had won four straight road games until last week when they returned home and dropped games to Maryville (87-72) and Missouri S&T (76-69). The Bearcats are second in shooting in the conference and third in three-point shooting percentage at 34%. Breden is second in overall scoring at 17.8 points per game and in conference games she is
 
Part two of the week's slate has Missouri-St. Louis in Pershing Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Tritons edged out Truman 61-60 on January 6^th. UMSL took the lead with four minutes left to play and converted late free throws to maintain their advantage. Jalysa Stokes scored 27 points in the outing and leads the GLVC in scoring overall at 19.2 points per game.
 
The Bulldogs split their weekend swing through the Kansas City area. They lost at Rockhurst on Thursday 88-67 but bounced back with a 61-58 win over William Jewell. Ellie Weltha averaged 12 points and nine rebounds in the two games while Molly Joyce continues her strong stretch with 11.5 points and added six steals.
Madison Niemeier recorded a double-double against the Cardinals, her second of the season, with 14 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 55% from the field. Emma Bulman also averaged in double-figures at 10.5 points per game and scored 14 against the William Jewell.
 
About the Bulldogs:
Ellie Weltha is sixth among GLVC players in scoring at 16.7 points per game. She is second in rebounding at nine per contest and is third in shooting percentage at 57% per game.  Weltha has been in double figures in 16 of 18 games this season and is only the third Bulldog player to achieve 1,000 career rebounds with 1,000 career points. She joined Felicia Sutton (1987-91) and Carol Jarrard (1978-82). Weltha has lettered in three sports while at Truman playing for the softball team in both 2021 and 2022 and was the GLVC champion in the outdoor Discus throw and silver medalist in the Shot Put. Weltha finished ninth in the Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships last May in the Shot.
 
Claire Rake is second in scoring at 9.5 points per outing and leads the team with 40 three-pointers made in 128 attempts. Rake has started all 18 games, scoring in double-figures seven times with a high of 23 points on seven made triples against Southwest Baptist. In 78 career games, Rake has knocked down 115 three-pointers.
 
Bailey Kliewer is the active leader in games played with 124 in five seasons. The past four have been at Rogers (Okla.) State where she earned all-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association honors. Kliewer has 1,221 career points and is averaging 8.7 points this season as a Bulldog. In starting 12 of 18 games, Kliewer has been in double digits eight times, with one double-double and a single-game best 19 against Southwest Baptist.
 
Molly Joyce has started the last four games and has been in double-figures in two of those outings. She poured in a career-high 24 points against Drury while playing a season-high 33 minutes. Joyce has played in all 18 games in her freshman season and averages 8.7 points per game with a team-high 19 steals.
 
Gracie Neff has started the last 11 games and taken over the team lead in assists with 69. She has one double-double this season that came against Drury with a season-high 13 points and 10 assists. Neff is fifth in both conference-only and overall assists per game at 4.3 and 3.8 dimes respectively per game.  
 
Since joining the starting lineup on January 11^th, Maddie Niemeier is shooting nearly 55% from the field, notched two double-doubles and has averaged 8.6 and 8.1 points and rebounds respectively per game. She has been in double-figures in four of the last five and had season/career highs in both points (12) and rebounds at William Jewell (14) on Saturday.
 
Ainsley Tolson averages 8.1 points and is second in assists with 45 in her first season with the Bulldogs. Tolson has played 121 games with stops at three other schools during her college career and amassed 1,551 points, and 392 assists. She has scored in double-figures in six games as a Bulldogs with a high of 18 points in two games. Tolson has started 10 of the 16 games thus far and has missed the last two games.
 
Emma Bulman has started 11 of 18 games this season and averages 7.1 points. Bulman's single-game high this season is 18 points against McKendree and has been in double-figures in five games this season, including 14 against William Jewell.
 
As a team, Truman is shooting 43% overall and scoring 71.9 points per game while opponents are shooting 42% overall and averaging 75.1 points. The Bulldogs are making 6.7 three-pointers per game, 16.3 free throws per outing, shooting 76% from the line, 15.7 assists, 6.5 steals and 2.1 blocks. In the 12 GLVC games, the Bulldogs are shooting 42% overall, 27% from distance and 74% at the line.  
 
Theo Dean is in his fifth season at Truman State and has a 80-47 record. He is currently fourth on the all-time wins list at Truman State. Dean's teams have nearly won 70% of his GLVC games during his tenure with a 60-28 conference record. His squads are 32-12 in GLVC home games and 29-16 in conference road games.
 
Up Next:
Two more important games against Lewis and Indianapolis will be on the docket next week. Lewis defeated Truman 72-68 back on November 27^th while UINDY got the upper hand in an 80-54 in in Pershing Arena on January 3^rd.