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Game Preview:
Two teams that are both looking for respect in the MIAA will clash on Wednesday night in Pershing Arena as the Truman Bulldogs (6-6; 4-4 MIAA) will host the Missouri Western Griffons (8-4; 5-3 MIAA) in a key conference contest.
Both teams were picked to finish in the bottom three in both the preseason MIAA coaches and media poll but both are currently sitting in the top six in the league standings.
Truman is coming off a heartbreaking 73-72 double-overtime loss to arguable the hottest team in the conference, Northwest Missouri State. The Bearcats won their sixth straight league game despite being held to nearly 30 points below their season scoring average in regulation and being outrebounded by a staggering 60-44 margin.
The Bulldogs pulled down 60 rebounds, the most since 63 against Kentucky State in non-conference play back in 2001 and had 27 offensive rebounds. Megan Sharpe had nine offensive rebounds, four off the Truman and conference mark set by former Bulldog Felicia Sutton in a game against Quincy on Dec. 11, 1990. Sharpe recorded her first career double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds while Jennifer Conway notched her second straight double-double with 13 points and 14 boards.
Truman enters the contest as the top defensive scoring team in the MIAA at 60.9 points per game and is also first in defensive three-point percentage (.270), first in rebounding defensive (33.5/g) and first in offensive rebounds (14.9/g). Overall, the Bulldogs are second in the conference in scoring defense (62.4 ppg) and third in three-point field goal percentage (.340), three-point defense (.288) and rebounding margin (+7.0/g).
Junior forward Breanna Daniels leads the team in scoring at 15.7 points per game and is shooting 41% from field and from behind the arc while averaging 34.2 minutes per game. Senior guard Amy Galey leads the squad in assists at 4.7 per game and is second in rebounding at 5.2 per contest.
Sophomore Jennifer Conway has scored in double-figures in her last three games and has taken over the team lead in rebounding at 5.5 per game and blocks per game at 1.2.
Missouri Western was last in the MIAA a season ago with a 5-15 league mark and a 7-20 overall record but has already matched or exceeded those win totals through a dozen games this season. The Griffons have won five of their last six games, including Saturday's 67-65 nail biter at Lincoln.
The Griffons leader, Jessica Koch, hit a jumper to tie the game with the Blue Tigers with 1:08 showing and then knocked down the game winner with six seconds left. Koch had 15 points on the night and leads the team in scoring at 15.8 points per game and assists at 4.6 per contest. Koch is also second in the MIAA among steal leaders at 2.7 per game and is tied for 14 in rebounding at six a game.
Rachel Luteyn and Lauren Nolke both average near 11 and a half points per game while Brenna Saline leads the team in rebounding at 7.0/g.
Last Season vs. Missouri Western:
The two teams split their games a season ago with the Griffons winning 65-59 in St. Joseph on Jan. 13th and the Bulldogs taking a 73-67 victory in Pershing Arena on Feb. 20th.
The Bulldogs led by as many as 13 points with 16:20 to play on the road in the first match-up but a 14-3 run by the Griffons cut Truman's lead to two midway through the period. Truman regained a 10-point lead with 7:06 to go following a Breanna Daniels lay-up but the Griffons then finished the game with a 19-3 rally to steal the win. Nolke led the Griffons with 16 points follow up by Koch's 15 and eight rebounds. Daniels had 13 for Truman.
On senior day in Kirksville, Daniels came off the bench to score 17 points, including four three-pointers and the Bulldogs won 73-67. Kayla Vice led the Griffons in scoring with 19 points while Koch pulled down 13 rebounds. Senior Laura Joya had the biggest game for the Bulldogs in her home finale as she scored 14 points with 10 rebounds, six on the offensive glass.
Bulldog Coaching Staff:
Head Coach Michael Smith enters his third year at the helm of the Truman Women's Basketball program. Smith was 8-19 in his first season and improved by three games last year to 11-16. The Bulldogs won six of their first 10 games and four of their last five in 2009-10.
Smith took over the program in April of 2008 and was previously the assistant coach at Division I University of Arkansas-Little Rock.
Joining Smith in her first year on the Truman bench is Lora Westling as the new assistant coach. Westling was a two-time all-MIAA performer and helped Washburn University to the 2005 Division II National Title. She served the previous three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Road Warriors:
Truman is 4-2 on the road this season and is one win away from matching the highest win total since the 2000-01 season. The most road wins in a season is eight set on three different occasions (1978-79, 1990-91 and 1998-99. The Bulldogs matched a program best four-game road winning streak from Dec. 4 through Jan. 3 this season. The Bulldogs three conference road wins is the most since the 2002-03 season.
The Bulldogs are shooting 44% from the field in road games and 33% from beyond the arc. Breanna Daniels averages 16.5 points per road game while Amy Galey leads in rebounds (6.2/g) and assists (4.6/g). Truman has outscored their opponents on the road 385-357 including a 31-point advantage in the second half.
Bulldogs At Home:
The women are 2-3 in games played in Pershing Arena this season. Breanna Daniels leads the team with 15.8 points per game and Nicole Gloor adding 13 a contest. Jennifer Conway averages seven rebounds a game and as a team, Truman is a plus nine in rebounding margin.
Shooting, the Bulldogs shoot only 36% from the field in home games but shoot 35% beyond the arc. The team has been outscored in first half of games by 16 points and has been outscored overall 320-314.
Around the MIAA:
Through eight of the 22 conference games played by most teams, the Bulldogs are currently in sixth place holding the tie-breaker over Pittsburg State with 4-4 league records. Washburn and Emporia State lead the conference with 7-1 records and will face each other for the first time on Saturday night.
Northwest Missouri and Missouri Southern are battling for the three and fourth spots followed by Missouri Western, Truman and Pittsburg State. Central Missouri, Fort Hays State, Nebraska-Omaha and Southwest Baptist are nipping at the heals of Truman, Pitt and Western for a top eight spot into the MIAA postseason tournament.
Bulldog Tip-Ins:
- In conference only statistics, the Bulldogs are first in scoring defense (60.9), second in three-point field goal percentage (35.2%), first in defensive three-point field goal percentage (27.0%), first in rebounding defense (33.5/g), second in rebounding margin (+7.9) and first in offensive rebounds per game (14.9/g).
- Breanna Daniels is ranked in five overall MIAA stat categories. She is sixth in scoring (15.7/g), eighth in field goal percentage (41.5%), second in three-point field goal percentage (41.8%), eighth in three-pointers made (1.9/g) and fifth in minutes played at 34.2/g. In conference only stats, Daniels is tenth in scoring (14.1/g), eighth in field goal percentage (39.0%), tied for seventh in three-point field goal percentage (38.9%) and seventh in minutes played per game (34.4/g).
- Nicole Gloor is 15th in conference only scoring (12.3/g). She is the top freshman scorer in the MIAA. She is eighth overall in free throw shooting (75.6%).
- Amy Galey is second in assists per game at 4.7/g, seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.4), tied for eighth in defensive rebounds (5.3/g) and fourth in minutes played at 34.7. In conference only contests, she is tied for second in assists (4.8/g), fourth in the assist/turnover ratio (1.7), tied for fifth in defensive rebounds (5.5/g) and third in minutes played (36.1/g). She is 15th in conference only rebounding (6.0/g).
- Jennifer Conway is eighth in blocks per game at 1.3/g and seventh in conference stats also at 1.3/g. Conway is 14th in conference only rebounding at 6.1 per game and tied for seventh in offensive rebounds at 2.5/g.
- The Bulldogs have the highest single-game field goal percentage so far this season. Truman shot 60.9% (28-of-26) against Southwest Baptist on Dec. 7th. Truman also registered the best three-point shooting by percentage that game with a five of eight performance for 62.5%.
- Truman has posted the most field goal attempts than any team in the MIAA in a single game with 87 against Northwest Missouri and also the most rebounds by a conference team this season with 60 against the Bearcats, 27 on the offensive end.
· Truman is averaging 62.4 points per game, last season the Bulldogs averaged 61.6.
· Other key stat comparisons from this year to last year include:
o FG% .409 from .403
o 3FG% .340 from .356
o FT% .733 from .779
· Breanna Daniels leads the team with 12, 10-point plus games this season and has 44 for her career. She is the active leading scorer with 774 points.
Up Next:
The Bulldogs will welcome conference returner Lincoln University back to Kirksville on Saturday afternoon for a 1:00 p.m. tip. The two teams last met in a non-conference tilt on Dec. 17 in Jefferson City as the Bulldogs won 61-45. The Blue Tigers last trip to Kirksville was Dec. 1, 2007 in a 61-57 win by Truman. The last time they met in conference action was Feb. 20, 1999.
The Blue Tigers will host Emporia State on Wednesday night.
Due to construction in the Pershing Building, no admission is being charged this year for home games.
