Women's Basketball Weekly Notes: vs. Quincy

Truman Women's Basketball Notes (February 25, 2016)
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Game #28: Truman (19-8, 13-4 GLVC) vs. #23 Quincy (22-4, 13-4 GLVC)
When: Thursday, February 25, 2016 || 5:15 p.m.
Where: Quincy, Ill. || Pepsi Arena
Live Stats || Live Stats (Media) || Live Video (GLVCSN) || Live Audio (KRES)
2015-16 Stats: Truman || Quincy || GLVC || NCAA

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Truman Bulldogs and #23 Quincy Lady Hawks will meet in the regular season finale on Thursday evening with a trip to the Great Lakes Valley Conference Postseason Tournament quarterfinal round on the line. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. for Quincy's Pepsi Arena.

Truman handed the Lady Hawks a 65-62 loss in Kirksville on December 14. It was the first loss for Quincy this season after they had cracked the Top 25 poll at #23. The game was nearly a statistical dead-heat with each team making 24 field goal attempts and seven three-pointers; it was the three more free throws made by the Bulldogs that were the difference.

The Bulldogs led by two to start the fourth quarter but Quincy reeled off nine straight to lead by seven with seven minutes to play. Truman tied the game with two and a half to play on a basket by Courtney Strait only to see Kara Gerbus knock down a three-pointer in Quincy's next possession.

Kasey Gassensmith hit a pair of free throws with 1:51 left and after a miss from three by Gerbus, Rachel Steinhoff put Truman back on top with 1:06 left. Gassensmith picked up a steal and knocked down two more free throws with nine seconds left and survived a tying three-point attempt from Carly Beebe as time expired.

Both Truman and Quincy are 11-3 since January 7 when the teams have played the same schedule as travel partners. The Bulldogs three losses have come at Bellarmine, at Drury and at home against Lewis while the Lady Hawks lost at Saint Joseph's, at Drury and also at home against Lewis.

Last week, the Bulldogs needed some unsung heroics to pull off a pair of wins. On Thursday night, Cassidy Clark hit the second of two free throw attempts with 2.6 seconds left to give the Bulldogs a 54-53 win over William Jewell. Truman led by nine with under five minutes to play but watched as the Cardinals scored 12 of the next 15 points to tie the game with 11 seconds left.

On Saturday against Rockhurst, Truman fell behind by 11 but soared in the second and third quarters to lead 55-43 entering the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs got 19 points from Kennedy Martin which not only matched the Truman single-game high for a player this season but had more than doubled Martin's season point total of 17 entering the game. The Hawks scored 14 straight points to regain the lead and held a one-point lead after a free throw by Haleigh Cindrich. Clark, who scored 15 points, got a three-point play with 1:43 left to put Truman back on top then blocked a shot on the defensive end that eventually led to more free throws and the victory.

Quincy played both Jewell and Rockhurst on the road and came away with two more wins. Rockhurst led by seven with six minutes left only to watch Quincy storm back to take a lead with 1:17 left on a basket by Anika Webster. Rockhurst missed on a pair of chances to retake the lead and Quincy escaped with a 72-69 win. Webster scored 25 points to lead Quincy.

The Lady Hawks led William Jewell by 20 and half and the Cardinals got as close as eight in the fourth quarter in Saturday's 68-57 road win. Quincy had four players in double figures led by Nikia Edom's 15 points.

While the winner of Thursday's game will get the benefit of being off for a week, the consolation prize is a home game against the number 12 seed, it the 12-team tournament field on Sunday afternoon.

NCAA Regional Rankings:
The first set of NCAA Midwest Regional rankings were released last Wednesday and Truman was not in the initial top 10. It was the first of three rankings that will be out prior to the Division II Women's Basketball Tournament Selection Show on March 6.

The top 10 teams consisting of the GLVC, Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (GLIAC) and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) will be ranked by defined selection criteria for postseason play. The conference tournament champions of all three leagues receive an automatic qualification to the 8-team regional tournament and five at-large bids will be up for grabs.

The Bulldogs last made the NCAA Tournament in 2014 as champions of the GLVC Postseason Tournament.

In Conference Road Games:
The Bulldogs are 6-2 in league road games and average 60.8 points on offense and 57.6 points on defense this season. They shoot better from three on the road (36% compared to 31%) and have made more road free throws than the home teams have attempted (114 made by Truman, 114 attempted by opponents).

The team has a negative rebounding margin in road games (-1.6) but have a positive turnover margin (+0.9).

Strait is the only 'Dog that averages in double-figures at 10.3 per game but Rachel Steinhoff (9.9) and Michalina Tomczak (8.8) help lead the balanced attack.

Truman has won their last three conference road tilts and are 14-12 all-time in GLVC road games.

The team is 8-3 in all road games this season and has tied a school record for most road wins in a year. The squad has won eight road games three times in the past with the last being in the 1998-99 season. The other two times were in 1990-91 and 1978-79. The Bulldogs have finished .500 or above on the road eight times since 1972-73.

Last 5 Games:
Truman is 4-1 in their last five outings with a +2.8 points scoring margin. The team has shot 35% overall and 36% from three but are averaging 14.2 turnovers per game. Opponents are shooting 35% from the field and 31% from three.

The most telling stat has been in the third quarter as Truman in their last five has outscored their opponents by 18 points. They have also been to the free throw line 113 times, making 74 while their opponents have been to the line 76 times, making 50 a +24 point spread from the foul line.

The other eye-popping stat has been the Bulldog bench. Over the course of the last 5 games, have shot 49% from the field (47-of-95) and outscored the opposing bench by a 122 to 62 (+60) point margin.

In Conference Games:
The Bulldogs 13 wins in conference this season set a new school record. The previous mark of 12 wins in league play was accomplished three times (2000,2013 and 2014).

The Bulldogs have reached 10 conference wins in each of the last five seasons and have had a winning record in conference games the past four years.

Block Party:
Truman has broken the single-season blocks record and now sit at 118 this season. The previous mark was 103 set in 2007-08. The team is second behind Rockhurst in blocks per game at 4.26.

Michalina Tomczak has accounted for 54 of the 118 blocks this season which is good for second on the single-season block charts. She is 17 back of Georgia Mueller's 2006-07 total of 71 set in 2007-08. Cassidy Clark is second on the team with 23 blocks.

Tomczak is one of three Bulldogs all-time to block 100 shots. She is second overall with 114 blocks and joined Jennifer Perkins (107 from 1998-2002) and Georgia Mueller (195 from 2005-09) in that century club.

The Starting Five:
Amy Eagan has used Michalina Tomczak, Courtney Strait, Rachel Steinhoff, Kasey Gassensmith and Ashley Hartwig as her starting five for the majority of the season. Tomczak, Strait and Gassensmith have each started all 27 games, Steinhoff has started 26 and Hartwig has started 13.

Other Bulldogs with starts this season are Cassidy Clark with 10, Brooke Bailey and Sam Andrews with two and Tawny Tucci with one.
Career starts is led by Tomczak with 83 followed by Strait with 56 and sophomore Steinhoff with 53. Steinhoff did not start and missed her first collegiate game against Rockhurst on February 20.

Gettin It Done With D:
The Bulldogs are currently on pace to set a new defensive scoring mark. Truman enters the week allowing 54.8 points per game and would be only the second Truman team to have a defensive scoring average under 60 points. The school record is 57.1 points in 28 games played during the 2012-13 campaign.

Truman is ninth in the latest NCAA Division II rankings in scoring defense and leads the GLVC in that category. The Bulldogs have held opponents to under 50 points in 10 games this year. The program benchmark for most games holding an opponent under 50 goes back to the first year 1972-73 when they held the opposing teams to under 50 in 10 of the 15 games played. Truman has had 10 seasons in which they didn't hold anyone under 50 points in a game and another nine, including last year where it occurred just once in a season. In the post shot clock era, the record for holding opponents under 50 is five games set in 2012-13.

Strait Shooter:
Senior Courtney Strait is fourth among NCAA active free throw shooters. Strait's 86.5% from the line trails She is also among the Division II career leaders in points scored (92nd) and free throws made (44th).

Strait became the 20^th Truman player to score 1,000 career points when she scored 14 in Truman's win over Maryville. She is now 19^th on the scoring chart having passed Sarah Sommer last weekend and is at 1,084 points. She is seven back of former teammate Nicole Gloor for the 18^th spot on the list.

When she takes the floor against Quincy on Thursday night, Strait will become the career leader in games played at Truman with 113. She will pass her former teammate Allie Norton and Truman Hall of Famer Carol Jarrard (1978-82) for the career lead.

Upcoming Strait Milestones:
        Three-Pointers Made: 147 –seventh all-time (Next: 149 Susan Theroff, 152 Angie Gum)
        Three-Pointers Attempted: 435 – fourth all-time (Next : 662 Allie Norton)
        Free Throws Made: 303 – eighth all-time (Next: 316 Kristy Brown)
She is the career leader in free throw shooting percentage at Truman at 86.5%

Quarter Scoring:
Under the new quarter system, put in place this year for Women's Basketball. The Bulldogs are averaging 15.7 points per quarter while allowing 13.7. Truman has scored 20 points or more in a quarter 21 times and has given up 20 in a 10-minute span on 13 occasions. On the flip side, the Bulldogs have not scored 10 points in a quarter nine times and have held opponents less than 10 points in 23 separate quarters.

The most points scored in a single quarter are 29 against Central Christian and 28 by Bellarmine. The fewest points scored was six against Missouri Southern and two by Illinois Springfield.

Last Week's Recap:
Truman 54, William Jewell 53 (Box Score) –Cassidy Clark's free throw with 2.6 seconds left broke a 53-all tie and gave Truman the season sweep over the Cardinals. Truman led for 39 minutes of the game and were up nine with 4:52 to play but Jewell battled back to tie the game with 11 seconds left to play. Rachel Steinhoff fed Clark on the right block and she was fouled in the act of shooting with seconds remaining. She missed the first but hit the second. Jewell raced up the floor and Courtney Strait blocked a desperation three from behind the preserve the win. Kasey Gassensmith was the only 'Dog in double figures with 11 points. Maddie Nelson scored 19 for the Cardinals and had five of her six steals in the second quarter.

Truman 65, Rockhurst 60 (Box Score) – Kennedy Martin came into the game with 17 points on the season. She would lead Truman with 19 and Cassidy Clark added 15 in Truman's first double-digit comeback of the season. The Bulldogs trailed by 11 in the second quarter before Martin started launching from outside. Martin and Clark accounted for 13 of the Bulldogs 22 made field goals. Truman led by 13 early in the fourth quarter only to watch the Hawks score 14 straight points to overtake the Bulldogs with 5:13 left. Rockhurst led by one with 1:53 to play before Clark got a bucket and one free throw to leapfrog Truman back in front. Clark then blocked a shot on the defensive end that eventually led to free throws for Truman to seal the win. Lauren Meyers was 7-of-12 from the field for Rockhurst for 17 points but leading scorer Mary Dineen was frustrated on the afternoon going 3-of-17 and scored nine points. The win gave the Bulldogs a split with Rockhurst in the season series.

Up Next:
Truman's postseason fate will be decided by Thursday's result at Quincy. A win over the Lady Hawks will have the Bulldogs next play in St. Charles, Missouri next Thursday at the Family Arena in the quarterfinal round of the GLVC Postseason Tournament. A loss will have the Bulldogs at home against an opponent to be determined, the 12^th seed in the bracket, at 1:00 p.m. in Pershing Arena.

#TSUvsQU (Previous Box Score)
Truman has won four of the last five games played against the Lady Hawks and six of the last eight overall. Quincy has won the last two games played in Pepsi Arena, a 63-51 win last February and a 79-74 victory to start GLVC play in 2013.

In seven games against Quincy, Courtney Strait has averaged 8.3 points per game while shooting 37% from the field and 31% (9-of-29) from three. Her high against Quincy was 14 points in the 2014 regualr season finale.

Michalina Tomczak scored 15 points against Quincy in December and has averaged 8.6 points in seven games all-time. She is 27-of-49 (.551) from the field and has registered six blocks and five steals.

After Truman's win on December 14, that stopped an eight-game winning streak, Quincy reeled off nine straight wins to start the year at 17-1. They are 5-3 over their last eight games.

The Lady Hawks are third in the GLVC in scoring offense at 71.7 points per game, third in free throw shooting (75.5%) and third in three-pointers made with 7.12 per game. They are second in the conference in three-point shooting percentage (40.0%) and second in defensive rebounding 32.8 per game.

Four of their five starters average near 10 points per game led by Anika Webster's 12.2 per game. Maggie Cunningham is second at 12 points and is the top free throw shooter at 87% and assists with 124. Nikia Edom had knocked down 53 three-pointers to lead the Lady Hawks and shoots 46% from long range.

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