Game Previews:
The biggest tests of the season are on the horizon as the Truman Women's Basketball team will play two nationally ranked opponents this week. The Bulldogs will travel to #9 Washburn (Kan.) University on Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. before hosting #11 Central Missouri on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
Truman (12-2; 5-1 MIAA) have won their last five games, four by 20 points or more and have received 15 votes in the latest WBCA/USA Today Sports Division II Coaches Poll. They are the nation's top three-point shooting team at 45.8% and first in Division II in overall field goal percentage at 48.9%.
Senior
Becka McHenry leads four players in double-figure scoring at 13.6 points per game. She is joined by juniors
Nicole Gloor (11.0),
Amy Briggs (10.4) and sophomore
Allie Norton (10.4). Junior
Bianca Szafarowicz leads the team in rebounding at 5.6/game but four other Bulldogs are also averaging at or near five boards a contest.
This is only the second time in school history that the Bulldogs have been 12-2 overall with the last coming during the 1998-99 season.
Washburn (10-2/4-0 MIAA) has won four straight games since the Christmas break and are the top MIAA ranked team at ninth in the Division II poll.
They are first in the conference in rebounding margin at +11.1 and second in offensive rebounds at 14.7/game. Laura Kinderknecht (16.2/g) and Tiara George (12.4/g) leads the Lady Blues offensively while defensively they are limiting opponents to just 54.2 points per game and 34.5% overall shooting percentage.
Kinderknecht is the reigning MIAA Women's Basketball Player of the Week average shooting 68% and averaging 18.5 points in a pair of Lady Blues' wins last week.
Truman defeated the Lady Blues in Topeka last season on a
Megan Sharpe buzzer beater for a 68-66 final while Washburn returned the favor later in the year in Kirksville with a 67-59 win over the Bulldogs.
Central Missouri (Saturday 1:00 p.m.)
The Jennies entered the week ranked 11th in the latest Division II poll with their 12-1 and 4-1 conference mark. They will play at Nebraska-Kearney on Wednesday night prior to coming to Kirkville for Saturday's game.
Central is first in the conference in scoring at 76.7 points per game and second behind the Bulldogs in three-point field goal percentage at 39.2%. Junior transfer Keuna Flax, who became eligible at semester, leads the Jennies in scoring at 22.0 points per game. Shelby
Winklemann, who has played in only eight games before being injured, averaged 17.6 points while BreAnna Lewis (16.6) and returning all-American Nicole Caddell (12.2) also score in double figures. Caddell averages 10.8 rebounds per game.
Central's only loss thus far came on the road at Fort Hays (Kan.) State by a 95-50 score.
The Jennies have dominated the overall series 57-9 but Truman has won three of the last seven games with two in overtime. The teams split last year's games with the Jennies winning in Kirksville 60-53 before Truman won in overtime in Warrensburg in the final regular season game 80-75.
Coaches:
The Bulldogs are under fifth-year head coach Michael Smith who has an overall record of 60-62. He is fourth all-time in victories at Truman and is 37-51 in conference games. Smith was previously at Division I, Arkansas-Little Rock is a graduate of Central Methodist (Mo.) and a graduate assistant at Northwest Missouri State.
Ron McHenry is the winningest coach at the NCAA Division II level since becoming head coach of the Washburn Lady Blues in 2000. He is 329-67 during that span and guided Washburn to 11 NCAA tournaments, three Elite Eight trips and the 2005 Division II championship.
Dave Slifer is in his ninth season at Central Missouri and has won over 500 (540-191) games in his career with stints at Missouri Western and Mount Mercy (Iowa) College.
The Week That Was:
The Bulldogs won their fourth and fifth straight conference games by trouncing the University of Central Oklahoma 72-39 and Emporia (Kan.) State University 78-58 in league games last week.
Becka McHenry led the team with 15.3 points per game and both games featured explosive second half offensive and defensive performances by the team. Truman outscored their opponents last week in the second half 82-43 against two teams that had received votes in the WBCA/USA Today Sports Division II poll throughout the season.
The Bulldogs scoring margin for the week was +26.5 while shooting 47% from the field, just 30% from the three-point arc and 82% from the foul line. Truman's 19-of-20 free throw performance against Emporia State was the sixth best in terms of percentage in school history.
Truman also dominated the glass with a +14.5 advantage.
#Trending:
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The Bulldogs received 15 votes in this week's WBCA/USA Today Sports Division II Coaches Poll. It is the fourth weekly poll that Truman has received votes this season. The Bulldogs received votes in three polls last season. The last national ranking was in 1999-2000 season.
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Truman is first in Division II and all three divisions in three-point shooting at 45.8% and first in Division II and tied for fourth overall in field goal shooting percentage at 48.9%. Baylor (50.4%), UConn (50.2%) and Duke (49.3%) are the only NCAA schools shooting better than Truman. The Bulldogs are tied with Florida State at 48.9%.
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Truman is ninth in Division II scoring margin at +19.0 and in the top 25 in scoring offense (78.5/17th), three-pointers per game (7.9/15th), free throw percentage (76.3%/17th), rebounding margin (+7.4/25th) assists/turnover ratio (1.1/18th) and personal fouls per game (13.4/16th).
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The Bulldogs have won a school-record 10 straight games in Pershing Arena dating back to February 1, 2012. The previous record for consecutive home wins was nine set during the 2007-08 season.
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Truman has won their last three MIAA games by a scoring margin of 20 or more points. They have six games of a margin of 20 or more points in conference over the last two years and 25 in the 30 years of MIAA Women's Basketball (since 1982-83).
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The largest margin Truman has trailed in a game in which they won this season is six points (against Quincy and Emporia State). Their two losses came by seven (trailed by as many as 13) to Missouri Western and eight to Vanguard (Calif.).
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Truman has outscored their opponents by 75 points in the second half of six conference games and have shot 53% overall and 51% from three as well as 87% from the foul line. Eight players have averaged over four points in the second half of league games while the team averages 41.7 points in the half.
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Becka McHenry is 23 points from becoming 17th player in Truman history to score 1,000 career points. She joins Amy Eagan as only the second Truman player to score over 900 points (977), have more than 400 rebounds (413) and dish out 300 assists (313). Eagan registered 1527 points, 643 boards and 529 assists from 1995-99.
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Allie Norton leads the team with 35 three-pointers made while Amy Briggs is second with 32. Norton's 94 threes are ninth all-time in Bulldog career as a sophomore and her 42.3% from outside is currently the best all-time among Truman players with at least 50 made.
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Becka McHenry has made 65 straight starts, Jennifer Conway has started in 58 straight games she has appeared in (she missed a game on Jan. 7, 2012 against Northwest Missouri) and Allie Norton has started all 41 games of her college career.
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Courtney Strait's 28 points against Mount Mercy was the most by a Bulldog since Georgia Mueller scored 29 against Missouri Western on Feb. 21, 2009 and the second most by a freshman since Mueller scored 29 against Upper Iowa in January 2006.
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Truman is averaging 75.8 points and shooting 48% from the field and 45% from three. Last year, they averaged 70.9 points and shot 41% from the field, 37% from the arc and 71% from the line last season.
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Amy Briggs has both of the team's only double-double this season. She had 14 points and 10 assists against Mount Mercy.
Up Next:
The Bulldogs will wrap up the important home stand by hosting MIAA newcomer Nebraska-Kearney on Thursday, January 24th and nationally-ranked Fort Hays (Kan.) State on Saturday Jan. 26.
