Game Preview:
The Bulldog women's basketball team will be looking to right the ship as they continue their three-game road swing on Wednesday night against the Missouri Western State University Griffons. Truman has dropped their last three games while the Griffons are coming off a win against Lincoln and a season sweep over the Bulldogs last year.
Truman suffered their second one-point loss in a conference game this year when they fell 58-57 to Northwest Missouri on Saturday. The Bulldogs led by 11 midway through the second half and by five with 2:12 to play but costly turnovers and some scoring droughts gave Northwest a chance to win the game late. Shelly Martin delivered the fatal basket with four seconds left to give the Bearcats their only lead of the game. Becka McHenry led Truman with 19 points and eight rebounds to go with four assists. It was the second time this year the junior has led Truman in all three major stat categories in a game.
The Griffons have won both games at home since the calendar turned 2012. They defeated Northwest Missouri 62-51 last Wednesday followed with a 74-66 win over Lincoln on Saturday. The Griffons are led by the MIAA's top scorer in Jessica Koch, who is averaging 21.5 points per game, five points better than the next two leaders in the conference (Vivian Essuon-Lincoln; Nicole Caddell-Central Missouri). Koch had 28 in the win against the Blue Tigers while also dishing out seven assists.
About The Bulldogs:
Junior Becka McHenry leads Truman in scoring and is 13th in the conference at 12.7 points per game. McHenry is averaging 14.1 in seven conference games while shooting 41% from the floor and 4.7 assists per game. Junior Jennifer Conway, who missed Saturday's game with an injury, is second in scoring at 12.2 per game and leads the team in rebounding at 6.5 per contest.
Senior Breanna Daniels is also in double-figures in scoring at 10.2 per game and second in rebounds at 6.3. Freshman Allie Norton leads the team with 29 three-pointers and is shooting 50% from beyond the arc.
The Bulldogs are averaging 71.4 points per game and 65.3 in conference games. They are shooting 41% from the field, 40% from beyond the arc and 76% from the foul line.
About the Griffons:
All-conference senior Jessica Koch is the leader of the Griffons this year with her 21.5 points per game average. She scored a season-high 30 in a loss earlier this year to Nebraska-Omaha. Koch is shooting nearly 43% from the floor with 18 three-pointers and pulling down over seven rebounds per game.
The Griffons are averaging just 60 points per game this season and shooting as a team just 34% from the floor and 26% beyond the arc. Missouri Western has a minus-5 rebounding disadvantage and turns the ball over nearly 20 times a game.
The Series:
Missouri Western leads the overall series 46-16 and has a 26-5 advantage in games played in St. Joseph. Truman's last win against the Griffons on the road came in 2009 as they won 71-62.
The Griffons swept both games from the Bulldogs last season winning 62-53 in Kirksville and 68-48 in St. Joseph.
Truman struggled shooting against the Griffons a season ago. The Bulldogs shot just 32% from the floor, 25% from beyond the arc and an uncharacteristic 60% at the free throw line. Truman also lost the rebounding battle by a total of nine in the two games. The Griffons shot 46% from the field against Truman and Jessica Koch averaged 17.5 points.
Quick Look Around The MIAA:
Nearing the midway point of the conference season, Truman is in a tie for sixth place in the standings with the University of Central Missouri with a 3-4 record. They are one-game back of Lincoln (Mo.) University and two behind Fort Hays State (Kan.).
Pittsburg State (Kan.) is the only perfect team in the standings with eight wins while Emporia State (Kan.) and Washburn (Kan.) are at 6-1.
Missouri Western is just one game back of the Bulldogs at 2-5 while Northwest Missouri, Southwest Baptist (Mo.) and Missouri Southern each have won league win.
Surpassing A Grand:
With 13 points against Pittsburg State on Dec. 3rd, senior Breanna Daniels became the 16th Truman women's basketball player to eclipse 1,000 points for a career and first since Georgia Mueller did so in 2009.
Daniels has started 80 of 93 games played during her Bulldog career and is shooting nearly 40% from the field with 124 made three pointers. Her single-game high in points is 27 against Northwest Missouri on Feb. 17, 2010. She is averaging 11.5 points per game. Daniels had 61 double figure scoring nights with one double-double.
Daniels is third all-time in Truman history in made three-pointers (125), third in three-pointers attempted (362), eighth in free throw percentage (.782) and 10th in field goals (408), seventh in field goals attempted (1029) and sixth in games started (80).
Notable National Rankings:
In the latest set of national rankings released on Jan. 8th Truman is second Division II in three-point field goal percentage (40.5%). Arkansas Tech leads the nation just one-tenth of a percentage point ahead (40.6%).
Truman is seventh in Division II in turnovers per game (13.5). They are 12th in free throw shooting (76.8%).
Individually, Allie Norton is 4th in three-point field goal percentage (50.0%) while Becka McHenry was 31st in the country in assists per game at 4.8.
Notable Conference Rankings:
Truman leads the MIAA in three categories; three-point field goal percentage (40.5%) turnover margin (+4.3) and in free throw percentage (76.8%).
Becka McHenry
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13th Scoring (12.7/g)
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2nd Assists (4.8/g)
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9th FT Pct. (76.3%)
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5th Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.7)
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15th Def. Reb (3.7/g)
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T8th Minutes (30.5/g)
Jennifer Conway
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17th Scoring (12.2/g)
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12th Rebounds (6.5/g)
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7th FT Pct. (81.3%)
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13th Off. Reb. (2.5/g)
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12th Def. Reb. (4.6/g)
Allie Norton
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4th 3pt Pct. (50.0%)
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3rd 3pt Made (2.4/g)
Breanna Daniels
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28th Scoring (10.2/g)
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13th Rebounds (6.3/g)
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10th 3pt Pct. (40.0%)
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9th Def. Reb. (5.2/g)
Nicole Gloor
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15th FT Pct. (67.9%)
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T10th Steals (1.5/g)
Bulldog Tip-Ins:
· Truman is averaging 71.4 points and shooting 41% from the field, 40% from the arc and 76% from the line. Last season the team averaged 62.7 points shooting 39% from the field, 33% from beyond the arc and 66% from the free throw line.
· The Bulldogs are 5-2 in Pershing Arena this season and 11-8 over the past two years at home.
· Over the past two years, Truman is 7-8 on the road in conference play. From 2000-2010, the Bulldogs were just 15 and 75 (.200) in league road tilts.
· Truman has led at the half in seven games this year and has won six. They have trailed the other five games and won two of them.
· The Bulldogs have won the battle of the boards in eight games this season with the largest margin of 18 against Central Methodist. They have had a double-digit advantage in rebounds in six games.
· Three Bulldogs have topped 20 points this season. Becka McHenry and Nicole Gloor had single-game highs of 22 with McHenry's coming against Missouri Southern and Gloor's against Pittsburg State. McHenry also had 20 against Pittsburg State and Jennifer Conway scored 20 against William Penn.
· Truman has had five different players through 12 games lead them in scoring. McHenry has five games while Conway (2), Gloor (2), Daniels (2) and Jenny Dorman have one game.
· Four Bulldogs have each recorded double-doubles through 11 games. Jennifer Conway has two while Breanna Daniels, Allie Norton and Becka McHenry have one apiece. Three Bulldogs recorded double-doubles last season with five coming from Jennifer Conway and one apiece from Amy Galey and Megan Sharpe.
Up Next:
Truman will conclude the three-game road trip with a game in Missouri's capital city against the Lincoln Blue Tigers on Saturday. Lincoln will take their 9-3 overall record to Emporia State (Kan.) on Wednesday night
Player Notes:
#5 Allison Wiese – Has appeared in seven games, two in the MIAA thus far…scored a season-high six points against Central Methodist while playing 13 minutes and adding two steals.
#10 Kaitlin Stump – Has missed the past 11 games with an injury…only action of the season was in the opener against Lindenwood-Belleville where she played eight minutes and had one assist.
#12 Allie Norton – Started all 12 games and leads the team with 29 three-pointers and a 50% three-point shooting percentage…has scored in double-figures seven times this season with a season-high 16 points against Quincy and Missouri Southern…is second on the team with assists with 31 and dished out 10 for a double-double against Central Methodist.
#13 Jenny Dorman – Came off the bench in all 12 games this season…scored in double figures twice with a season-high 19 points against Central Methodist…averaging just over 15 minutes per game and is shooting about 34% from the field and 33% from beyond the arc.
#15 Jennifer Conway – Started 11 games and leads the team in rebounding (6.5 rpg) and is second in scoring at 12.2 points per game…has been in double-figures 10 times this season with a high of 20 points against William Penn…shooting 49% from the floor and has two double-doubles.
#21 Megan Sharpe – Joined the team on Dec. 3rd after earning all-America honors for the third straight year on the volleyball court…has played in six games, making one start…had the game-winning basket against #15 Washburn as time expired while also playing a season-high 25 minutes.
#22 Becka McHenry – Team leader in minutes played at 30.5 per game while also first in scoring 12.7 and first in assists with 57…has scored over 20 points on two occasions with a high of 22 against Missouri Southern…been in double-figures seven times and had a double-double with 10 assists against Southwest Baptist.
#24 Sarah Gaeddert – Had played in 10 games this years and averaging 9.2 minutes…scored a season-high four points against Lindenwood-Belleville, Central Methodist and Northwest Missouri and added three assists with six rebounds in a win over Rockhurst.
#25 Bianca Szafarowicz – Has come off the bench in all 12 games and is the leading reserve with 16.5 minutes per game…scored a season-high 11 points in a win over William Penn and pulled down nine rebounds with six offensive in a win against Lindenwood-Belleville.
#32 Nicole Gloor – Started 11 games and is the team's top defensive player…has scored in double-figures five times this season with a high of 22 against Pittsburg State…leads the team in steals with 18 and second with five blocked shots…averaging over 23 minutes per game.
#41 Rachel Remick – Played in all 12 games making one start against Northwest Missouri…scored in 11…season-high is eight points against Emporia State on Dec. 17th…posted a season-high nine rebounds against Lindenwood-Belleville.
#42 Breanna Daniels – Has started all 12 games and is averaging 27.8 minutes in each…has been in double-figures eight times with a season-high 14 points coming against Rockhurst and again against Fort Hays St.…has one-double-double on the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds against Lindenwood-Belleville…went over the 1,000 career point total with 13 against Pittsburg State on Dec. 3.
