KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Truman State Women's Basketball team has ventured across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii for the Big Island Classic this week. Not only will the Bulldogs enjoy the sun and surf but they will face one of Division II's hottest teams in #6 and undefeated Fort Hays (Kan.) State on Thursday and host Hawaii-Hilo on Saturday.
 
This will be the program's third trip to Hawaii with the previous two coming first in 2007 and again in 2015. They are 3-1 in the Aloha state.
 
The Bulldogs have been idle since a 97-72 loss to Drury (Mo.) University on December 7^th. They are sitting at 5-6 overall and 2-1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
 
Jordan Cunningham has been on a personal terror lately with three straight 20-point or more games. All three have come in conference play with 25 against Rockhurst on November 30, 27 against Southwest Baptist on December 5 and 23 in the loss against Drury. She is averaging a team-best 17.4 points per game and is already within striking distance (58 points) of matching the most single-season points she has scored in her college career. Cunningham notched 249 points as a sophomore at Missouri Western in 34 games while she is currently at 191 points in 11 at Truman State.  She is 20 points shy of scoring 900 for her collegiate career.
 
Cunningham leads the Bulldogs in rebounds (4.7/g), assists (3.2/g), blocks (0.8/g) and minutes played (32.3/g).
 
Molly Joyce had her 10-game double-digit scoring streak stopped at Drury when she went 0-6 from the field with just two made free throws against the Panthers. That dropped her scoring average from 18.4 ppg to 16.9 ppg, good for second on the team. It was the third game this season that Joyce did not register a made three-pointer and the sophomore has made only two of her last 15 attempts from distance. Joyce has been solid from the free throw stripe with 52 out of 59 attempts made (88.1%).
 
Bryar Duwe and Lexie White have both started all 11 games this season. Duwe is second on the team with 25 assists and an 8.7 points per game mark and White is second to Cunningham in blocked shots with six and has averaged 6.5 points per game.
 
Mallory Ott has rounded out the starting five for the past six games but left after only a few minutes of game action. Freshman Katelyn Odem logged her most game minutes as a replacement at 24 and scored a season-high 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting and 3-of-5 from the line.
 
Emma Bulman and Gracie Neff have each donned the starting lineup in past seasons and have both provided valuable minutes off the bench in each game this season. Bulman plays over 20 minutes a night with 3.7 points and 3.2 rebounds a game. Neff led the team in assists as a junior and has 15 this season with 2.5 points per night. Neff has a career-high 11 assists in a game against Quincy in 2021 and has 353 in her fifth season.
 
As a team, Truman State averages 72.3 points per contest while allowing 70.2. The Bulldogs have averaged 7.1 three-pointers while shooting 29% from distance. Opponents are making 8.3 three-pointers against the Bulldogs and shooting 31% from outside.
 
Head Coach Theo Dean is in his sixth season at Truman State and is tied for third on the all-time wins list with 87 with John Sloop. His .588 winning percentage is only second to his predecessor Amy Eagan (.642).
 
About the Opponents:
Like the Bulldogs, Fort Hays State has been off since December 7^th and has rolled to a 9-0 start for the season. The Tigers were the media's top choice to win the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association title and second in the coaches poll.  They opened the 2024-25 campaign ranked 23^rd in the national Division II poll and have since climbed up to number six following their second-straight 30-point conference win over Washburn 83-53.
 
Olivia Hollenbeck is one of three Tigers' players averaging over 10 points per game as the four-time all-MIAA player is averaging 16.4 points, shooting 67% from the field with 14 blocks and 29 steals through nine games. She has scored over 1,550 points in 131 games played.
 
The Tigers' average margin of victory has been 24.4 points with only 5.2 three-pointers per game but a whopping 11.4 advantage on rebounds.
 
The Bulldogs and Tigers have a short history. They were both members of the MIAA from 2007-2013. Fort Hays won seven of the 13 games played under the MIAA banner, with Truman State winning the last encounter 57-55 in January 2013.
 
The host school Hawaii Hilo will be the opponent for the final game of 2024. The Vulcans are 1-5 on the year after finishing 13-13 a season ago. They will play Western Washington on Friday night before facing the Bulldogs on Saturday.
 
It will be the first meeting between the two schools as Truman State's other two Hawaii trips saw the team facing Hawaii Pacific University.
 
Up Next:
Following the holiday break, conference season will ramp up starting with home games on January 3^rd and 5^th. The Bulldogs welcome Missouri S&T for a 5:15 p.m. start, following the men's afternoon game that Friday, and later will greet GLVC newcomer Lincoln (Mo.) to Pershing Arena for the first time since 2013 for a Sunday 1 p.m. tipoff.