KIRKSVILLE, Mo. — Avery Rausch delivered a dominant performance off the bench, and Truman State weathered a second-half surge from the University of Indianapolis to pick up an 82-76 victory Thursday evening at Pershing Arena as part of the Coaches vs Cancer Pink Out Game. The win improved the Bulldogs to 16-11 on the season and 13-6 in conference play, and clinched a berth in the GLVC Tournament. This game also marked the 112th victory for Theo Dean as Truman State's Women's Basketball Head Coach, making him the all-time wins leader for a head coach in program history.
The opening quarter was a competitive chess match that swung back and forth before Truman State began to assert itself. Indianapolis drew first blood when Graycie Poe converted a driving layup in the opening seconds to put the Greyhounds up 2-0. The Bulldogs responded quickly, however, as Morgan Miller drilled a pair of three-pointers in rapid succession — the second off a Katelyn Odem assist — to push the lead to 6-2.
Indianapolis refused to go away. Amyrah Sapenter answered with a triple of her own to cut it to 6-5, and moments later Poe capitalized on an Emajin McCallop turnover, pushing the pace for a fast-break layup that gave the Greyhounds a 9-10 lead — the only deficit Truman State would face after the opening possession.
The Bulldogs settled things quickly. Avery Rausch, who had just entered the game off the bench, grabbed her own offensive rebound and converted a second-chance tip-in to put TSU back in front at 11-10. McCallop then converted two free throws after a foul, and later pulled up for a mid-range jumper off a Poe turnover to extend the lead to 19-12 with under three minutes to play. Indianapolis closed the gap to 19-17 on a Chikamba driving layup late, but Truman State held on to take a two-point edge into the second quarter.
The second quarter was Truman State's most dominant stretch of the night, and it started immediately. Lexie White opened the period with a three-pointer to push the lead back to five, and the Bulldogs continued to build from there. Neylan Vila Delicado hit a driving layup in the paint to make it 24-19, and after Mallory Ott converted two fast-break free throws off an offensive rebound, the lead was out to six at 27-21.
Truman State then went on its decisive run of the half. Miller knocked down another three-pointer for a 30-24 advantage, and McCallop followed with a fast-break layup to push it to 32-24. After Indianapolis trimmed it briefly, Rausch scored on a driving layup to make it 34-25 before Odem assisted on another Rausch second-chance bucket for 36-27 — a nine-point cushion.
The Bulldogs were relentless in the final moments. Rausch added another driving layup with just over a minute to go to make it 38-31. Braylee Rogers then converted a fast-break layup off a McCallop assist for a 40-31 lead. White finished the half in style, scoring on a layup off a turnover and then hitting a fast-break three-pointer off a Miller assist on the final possession to send Truman State into the locker room with a commanding 45-31 advantage.
Truman State extended its lead to a game-high 16 points early in the third quarter when Ott converted a second-chance floating jump shot in the paint just inside the 9:11 mark to make it 47-31. The Bulldogs continued to push the pace, with Rausch scoring on a pair of drives — including a foul-and-one sequence that extended the lead to 15 at 52-37 — to keep Indianapolis at a distance.
UIndy, to its credit, did not fold. Autumn Rucker was the engine of the Greyhounds' third-quarter push, scoring 10 points in the period. She knocked down two free throws to cut it to 47-33, hit a fast-break pull-up jumper for 49-37, and later converted a pair of free throws and a turnaround jumper to keep chipping away. Halie Gilbert also contributed inside baskets to help IND outscore TSU 23-19 in the third quarter.
Taylor Van Meter added a second-chance tip-in for Indianapolis late in the quarter, and Sapenter drilled a three-pointer off a Van Meter assist to trim the deficit to 10 at 60-50. Truman State answered with a Vila Delicado pair of free throws and a Rogers pull-up jumper to push it back out to 64-52, but a late Garner bucket kept Indianapolis within 10 heading into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter was a tense back-and-forth affair as Indianapolis showed it would not go quietly. The Greyhounds chipped early — a Garner layup off a TSU turnover brought it to 64-56 — and continued to pressure. Chikamba converted a pair of free throws on back-to-back TSU fouls, and after Rausch scored on a layup for 66-59, UIndy kept finding answers.
With under two minutes to play, McCallop stepped to the line and converted both free throws to extend the TSU lead to 72-63. But Poe answered immediately with a three-pointer — assisted by Rucker — to make it 72-66 with 1:38 remaining. Indianapolis continued pressing, and Rucker converted a driving layup with 43 seconds left to pull within 76-72 after a White pair of free throws on the other end.
Then came the key stretch: Sapenter hit a three-pointer off a Poe assist with 30 seconds remaining to cut it to 78-75, but McCallop drew a foul and made both free throws at the 29-second mark to push it back to 80-75. After Sapenter converted one of two free throws to make it 80-76, McCallop was fouled again and iced the game with two more free throws in the final seconds, sealing the 82-76 final and punching Truman State's ticket to the GLVC Tournament.
Team Statistics
| Stat |
Truman State |
UIndy |
| Points |
82 |
76 |
| Field Goals |
25-55 (45.5%) |
28-51 (54.9%) |
| 3-Point Field Goals |
7-20 (35.0%) |
5-15 (33.3%) |
| Free Throws |
25-27 (92.6%) |
15-22 (68.2%) |
| Total Rebounds |
28 |
30 |
| Offensive Rebounds |
7 |
5 |
| Assists |
15 |
11 |
| Turnovers |
24 |
22 |
| Steals |
7 |
10 |
| Blocks |
1 |
3 |
| Points in the Paint |
32 |
36 |
| Fast Break Points |
20 |
11 |
| Second Chance Points |
9 |
6 |
| Bench Points |
34 |
19 |
Truman State Statistical Leaders
Points
Rebounds
Assists
Steals
Three-Pointers Made
Up Next:
Truman State has a lot to celebrate after last night between a great community game, clinching a spot in the GLVC tournament, and Dean making history. However, their focus will now shift to finishing off the season strong against William Jewell. The Bulldogs will play the Cardinals in Liberty on Saturday at 1:00 PM.
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