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Quincy – Live Video ($) | Live Audio | Live Stats | Game Notes (PDF)
 
 KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Truman State Women's Basketball team will host their final two games in Pershing Arena when they welcome Illinois Springfield on Thursday and Quincy (Ill.) University for Senior Day on Saturday.
 
The team will be looking to avenge earlier season losses to both the Prairie Stars and Hawks and look back to get in the win column from dropping a pair of games at home last weekend. Illinois Springfield downed Truman 75-56 back on January 13^th and that was following a 78-75 defeat to Quincy two days earlier.
 
The Bulldogs started this four-game homestand with a 79-65 loss to Maryville last Thursday then after a valiant comeback, trailing by 10 points in the final five minutes, lost to Missouri S&T in overtime 70-64.  
 
Ellie Weltha had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds and Molly Joyce led the team in scoring with 16 against the Saints but the Bulldogs were having to play catch-up after falling behind 13-0 at the start. It was the first time this season that Truman had not had a lead in a game. The Bulldogs got as close as five points in the second quarter and got it to nine late in the fourth as they made a charge but couldn't get over the hump.
 
Weltha racked up 21 points and Joyce added 19 in the overtime loss to the Miners on Saturday. S&T grabbed a 10-point lead with 4:03 left to play but the Bulldogs got a pair of three-pointers from Lizzie Boehm and Claire Rake to quickly cut that lead down to four. Joyce's bucket with 30.6 seconds left tied the game and Truman forced a turnover at the end of regulation.
 
In the extra time, Weltha tied the game at 64 with 2:30 remaining, however that would be the last points scored. Katelynne Roberts made a key hoop following a pair of offensive rebounds and the Miners pulled away with free throws made to win 70-64. It was the second overtime loss by the Bulldogs this season.
 
Illinois Springfield is fifth in the GLVC points-rating system with a 12-7 league record. The Prairie Stars split their games at home last weekend, winning a shootout with Indianapolis 101-96 after a 97-88 loss to Lewis on Thursday. Jessenia Lawson leads the team in scoring at 17 points per game and UIS is second in overall scoring in the conference averaging 77 points per game.
 
Quincy has dropped four straight, including losses last weekend to UINDY and Lewis at home. The Hawks are 8-11 in conference and are currently 10^th in the PRS, just outside the top eight for the conference tournament. Quincy is last in the GLVC in scoring at 64.8 points per game but fifth in scoring defense at allowing 67.6 per night. Cymirah Williams leads the team in scoring at 13.8 points per game.
 
About the Bulldogs:
Truman will recognize four seniors, Bailey Kliewer, Clair Rake, Ainsley Tolson and Ellie Weltha on Saturday.
 
Weltha enters the week nine points shy of 1,600 for her career and will finish in fourth place on the all-time scoring list at Truman State. She is 30 rebounds away from 1,100. Weltha has scored in double-figures in 83 of 123 games played and has 43 career double-doubles. Her single-game career high has been 29 points on two occasions and 19 rebounds against Southern Indiana in 2022. She is a three-time all-GLVC selection, twice on the first team. She has played two years of softball at Truman and last spring was the discus champion at the GLVC Outdoor Track & Field Championships and a second-team all-American in the Division II Shot Put.
 
Rake joins Weltha as the only two Bulldogs to start all 24 games thus far this season. Rake is the team leader in three-pointers made with 54 on 158 attempts. She was a multi-year member of the GLVC All-Academic team and was honored as a Distinguished Scholar last season with a 4.0 GPA. She has appeared in 84 career games with 131 triples and a 6.1 points per game mark. Her single-game high is 23 against Southwest Baptist earlier this season.
 
Kliewer is in her graduate season with the Bulldogs after playing four years at Rogers (Okla.) State. She earned all-MIAA accolades and was only the fourth Rogers State player to achieve 1,000 career points. She has played in over 130 collegiate games and has scored over 1,200 points with a 9.5 career scoring average. Her career high is 25 against Newman in 2023. Kliewer has played in all 24 games this season for Truman, averaging seven points per game.
 
Tolson's journey has seen stops at William Jewell, Avila (Mo.) and Baker (Kan.) before suiting up for the Bulldogs in 16 games this season. She made over 530 free throws, with 392 assists and 1,551 points in 121 collegiate games played. Her career high in points was 37 against Sterling (Kan.) back in 2021.
 
Freshman Molly Joyce will be a candidate for freshman honors within the league after playing in all 24 games and starting the last 10 for the Bulldogs. Joyce hardly left the court last week as she played 38 minutes against Maryville and 42 in the overtime game against Missouri S&T. She has three 20-point games within those 10 starts and another 19-point game against Rockhurst.
 
Gracie Neff has started the last 16 games and leads the team in assists with 96. She is seven assists shy from her single-season best of 103 set in 2022 at Lindenwood. Neff is fifth in overall assists per game in the conference at 4.0 and fourth in the assist/turnover ratio at 1.6. Her single-game high points this season is 13 against Drury.
 
Maddie Niemeier has started the last dozen games. During that stretch, she had averaged 10 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. She scored her career high of 18 against Indianapolis on February 10th. She has two double-doubles this season. Niemeier has four games of double-digit shooting attempts, all coming during her starts.  
 
Emma Bulman has played in all 24 and started 11 games this season with a single-game high of 18 points against McKendree back in November. She averages 6.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per outing. She has played in 80 career games over the past three seasons for Truman State and has 19 career blocked shots. Bulman has made 48-of-57 free throws this year at 84%.
 
Freshman Lizzie Boehm has come off the bench 19 times this season and averages nearly 14 minutes per game. She has topped over 20 minutes in three of the last eight games. Her single-game high is six points against both Southwest Baptist and Indianapolis.
 
In conference games this year, the Bulldogs have averaged 68.3 points per game while allowing 76.2. They are 13^th in three-point shooting percentage at 27.4% and struggle in turnover margin at a -5.3 per league game. 
 
Theo Dean is in his fifth season at Truman State and has an 81-52 record. He is currently fourth on the all-time wins list at Truman State. Dean's teams have nearly won 65% of his GLVC games during his tenure with a 61-33 conference record. His squads are 32-16 in GLVC home games and 30-17 in conference road games.
 
Up Next:
The Bulldogs will head to southwest Missouri for their final two regular season stops. It will be Southwest Baptist on Thursday night before facing Drury on Saturday.