Bulldog Women Begin New Year At Defending League Champion

2013-14 Truman Women's Basketball Game Notes:
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GLVC WBB

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – With the holidays in the rearview mirror, the Truman Women's Basketball team begins their journey through the Great Lakes Valley Conference with a pair of road conference games this weekend. The Bulldogs will play at defending league champion Lewis (Ill.) University on Friday evening followed by a trip to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside on Sunday afternoon.

Game Coverage
Both games will be on the Bulldogs flagship station, 104.7 FM KRES and available free online through CentralMOInfo.com. Brad Boyer and Hank Janssen will call the action with a pregame show beginning 15 minutes prior to tip and will have Coach Amy Eagan's postgame comments during halftime of the men's game.

Live stats and live video links, if available from the host site, will be available on the women's basketball schedule page on TrumanBulldogs.com

Weekend Preview:
It will be the first meetings ever for the Bulldogs with the Lewis Flyers and the UW-Parkside Rangers.

Truman won six of their first seven out of the gate but have dropped the last two games, both on the road. They lost the GLVC opener 79-75 to Quincy (Ill.) on December 7 and a 75-66 overtime contest to Pittsburg (Kan.) State University on December 18.

Lewis has won three straight and all five games played at the Neil Carey Arena in Romeoville, Ill. They last played against Lincoln Memorial on December 19 and scored 77-65 victory. The Flyers are led by Mariyah Brawner-Henley, who is leading the GLVC in both scoring and rebounding at 20.3 points and 12.9 rebounds per game.

UW-Parkside has split their last four games entering the weekend and will host Quincy (Ill.) University on Friday night before the Bulldogs visit on Sunday. The Rangers defeated IU-Northwest 57-55 on December 7 but entered the holiday break falling 80-67 to Michigan Tech. Gaby Bronson leads the team in scoring at 13.4 points per game.

About the Bulldogs (6-3; 0-1 GLVC)
Four Bulldogs average over 10 points per game this season with seniors Nicole Gloor (12.1) and Amy Briggs (11.4) leading the way. They are joined in double-figures by junior Allie Norton (10.9) and senior Bianca Szafarowicz (10.8). Szafarowicz is the top rebounder at 6.1 boards per night while Briggs averages 4.1 assists per game.

Truman is seventh in Division II and first in the GLVC in turnovers per game at 12.7 and second in the conference and 15th overall in scoring at 82.1 points per game. The Bulldogs are also second in the conference in rebounding margin (+11.6) and third in the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.1), turnover margin (+4.89) and three-point field goals per game (7.2).

The Bulldogs are shooting 41% from the floor with 36% from beyond the arc and 75% from the foul line. Opponents are shooting 38% overall, 29% from three and 74% from the stripe. The Bulldogs have forced 44 more turnovers this season and average 17.5 opponent turnovers per game.

Triple Threat
The Bulldogs led all three NCAA Divisions in three-point shooting last season. Truman set a season record with202 treys and shot 41.6% from the arc last year to lead Duke (40.5%), Penn State (39.2%) and Northwest-St. Paul (39.2%) in three-point shooting.

Truman's previous record in three-point shooting was 39% in 1989-90 and 199 triples during the 2007-08 season.
This season, Truman is shooting 36.0% from outside through the first nine games while the national Division II average is 31.2%.

Career Milestones
Allie Norton is fifth on the Truman career three-pointers made list with 146. She is three away from fourth place held by Susan Theroff's and six away from Angie Gum's third position. Norton is the career leader in three-point field goal percentage with a minimum of 50 made with a 41.0% rate. The next closest Bulldog is Nicci Hays, who made 40.7% of her three-pointers.

Norton is sixth in three-point attempts with 356.

Nicole Gloor is the active leading scorer on the Bulldogs with 816 points. She is seventh all-time in free throws attempted with 343, (next, Becka McHenry – 366) and seventh all-time in free throws made with 248, (next, Becka McHenry – 266).

Early Season Trends:
Truman is averaging 82.1 points per game. The Bulldogs have averaged over 80 points for a season three other times, 1998-99 (81.0), 1990-91 (81.9) and 1989-90 (84.4). Last season, Truman averaged 68.5 points per game.

Truman has had three games this season rank in the top-10 single-game free throws made category. Truman made 31 (second all-time) against Trevecca Nzarene (Tenn.), 28 (T-4th) against Grand View (Iowa) and 25 (T-10th) against Pittsburg State (Kan.).

The Bulldogs have also had two games in which they have taken over 35 free throws per game and are averaging 26 attempts per night.

The bench is averaging 33.2 points per game while Truman is also averaging 22.5 points per game off of turnovers and 18.2 points per game in second chance points.

Allie Norton has the team's single-game point high of 25 against Stephens (Mo.). Amy Briggs has a pair of 21 point games and Kasey Gassensmith also has a 20-point performance (22 vs. Stephens).

The Bulldogs are 3-0 in Kirksville this season and have won the past 19 games played in Pershing Arena which are tied with Gannon (Pa.) for the fourth longest streak in Division II women's basketball. Colorado Mesa has the longest home court winning streak at 26 games followed by Western Washington (22), Minnesota State (20).

Season Highlights:

Senior Bianca Szfarowicz recorded the first of two double-doubles of the season in Truman's 101-27 victory over Stephens (Mo.) on November 11. Szafarowicz had a career-high 18 points to go along with 10 rebounds. She also tied for the sixth best steal performance against the Stars with seven and added a career high four assists. Szafarowic's second double-double came with 15 points and 11 boards against Grand Valley State on November 22.
Sophomore Kasey Gassensmith had the fourth best single-game shooting percentage against Stephens College on November 11. Gassensmith was 9-of-11 (81.8%) from the field for a career-high 22 points against the Stars. It was the highest field goal percentage with a minimum of eight made since Nicole Gloor went 9-of-11 against Southwest Baptist in 2010.
The 74-point win over Stephens was the most by the team since an 82-point win (102-20) over Central Christian (Mo.) in 2007. The team had the second most field goal attempts all-time with 88, tied eighth most three-pointers made with 12, third most rebounds in a game with 62, eighth most assists with 26 and seventh most steals with 17.
Truman's 91-71 win over Northwest Missouri on November 16 broke a 10-year, 10-game losing streak in Bearcat Arena. The Bulldogs last win in Maryville was a 74-72 victory on February 5, 2003 and it was the largest margin of victory over Northwest on their home court since an 89-66 win on January 16, 1999.
The Bulldogs won their 24th consecutive game over Lincoln (Mo.) when they defeated the Blue Tigers 83-60 on November 17. Truman owns a 47-14 all-time series lead over Lincoln and have not lost to the Blue Tigers since 1998.
Truman split a pair of games at the Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.) tournament. The Bulldogs fell 81-68 to Grand Valley (Mich.) State in the opener but bounced host Trevecca Nazarene 82-70 the next day.
The team won their 18th straight home game with a 82-54 win over Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. The Bulldogs were 18-of-19 from the foul line, good for a 94.7% which was the seventh best single-game free throw percentage all-time.
Truman rallied from 16 points down to take a one-point lead late against the Quincy Lady Hawks but QU scored six of the final seven points to pull out the 79-75 win. Four Bulldogs scored in double-figures led by Nicole Gloor's 16 points.
The Bulldogs lost a heartbreaker at Pittsburg State on December 18 when the Gorillas tied the game at the buzzer with a three-pointer and lost in overtime 75-66. Truman had 59 rebounds (fifth all-time single-game), with 20 offensive rebounds. Nicole Gloor made 12-of-16 free throw attempts, both in the top 10 Truman single-game history and finished with a season-high 18 points.

New Kids On The Block:
The Bulldogs enter their first year of GLVC play after spending the past 31 seasons in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. Truman was 161-351 (.314) in the MIAA but had posted a 33-27 record the past two years.

Truman is the newest school of the 16-team league that is celebrating its 35th anniversary as a conference. Former member Northern Kentucky has won the most GLVC championships with eight followed by current members, Lewis (Ill.) Southern Indiana and Saint Joseph's with five apiece.

The Flyers of Lewis defeated the West Division champions, Maryville (Mo.) to capture last season's GLVC title 76-61.

GLVC Preseason Poll:
Truman was picked fourth in the West Division of the GLVC Preseason Coaches' Poll with 73 points and one first-place vote.
Quincy (Ill.) garnered 11 first-place votes and 112 overall to sit atop the division in the poll followed by Maryville (Mo.) and Missouri S&T. Lewis (Ill.) grabbed 11 first-place votes to lead the East Division followed by the University of Indianapolis.

The Bulldogs opened GLVC play on December 7 with a loss at Quincy (Ill.) and will play 18 league games. They will play home-and-home games with Quincy, Missouri-St. Louis and Maryville while single-games against everyone else in the league.

Lewis University Flyers (6-2; 0-0 GLVC)
The Flyers are led in both scoring and rebounding by sophomore Mariyah Henley. She is leading the GLVC in both categories with 20.3 points and 12.9 rebounds per game. Henley is shooting 56% from the field while also leading the conference in blocked shots at 2.4 per game. Henley's 12.9 rebounds if good for third in Division II.

Lewis is eighth in the NCAA in blocks per game at 5.3

The Flyers won their fifth GLVC championship, tied for the most titles by active conference schools with Southern Indiana and Saint Joseph's, last season after going 14-4 and 24-6 overall. They were first in the GLVC East Division, won the tournament championship with a 76-61 win over Maryville (Mo.) and made their eighth NCAA tournament appearance, falling in the first round to Wisconsin-Parkside 59-49 in the first round.

Junior Jess Reinhart is the Flyers returning first-team all-GLVC player after averaging 14 points and seven rebounds last year.
She was a high school teammate of Bulldog guard Allie Norton as both played at Bloomington Central Catholic.

Lisa Carlsen is the reigning GLVC Coach of the Year winner and is in her seventh season guiding the Flyers.

UW-Parkside Rangers (4-4; 0-0 GLVC)
The Rangers are third in the GLVC in scoring defense allowing 60.5 points per game and limiting opponents to just 37.6% shooting from the field.

Junior Gaby Bronson is 12th in the NCAA and second in the GLVC in assist/turnover ratio at 2.7 and leads the team in scoring at 13.4 points per game.

Senior Danielle Slivka was a second team all-GLVC selection last season as the Rangers posted a 12-6 league record and a 20-10 overall mark.

UW-Parkside was eliminated in the semifinals of the GLVC tournament by Lewis University 61-59 but turned the tables on the Flyers in the NCAA tournament with a 59-49 victory. The Rangers were eliminated in the second round by Wayne St. (Mich.) 70-60 as UW-Parkside was making their fourth straight NCAA appearance.

Jacob Yorg is in his first season at the helm of the Rangers but not a stranger to the GLVC. Yorg was the associate head coach at Maryville (Mo.) prior to joining UW-Parkside and helped the Saints to the West Division title last season and a spot in the GLVC Tournament championship game.

Up Next:
The Bulldogs will host their first GLVC game next Thursday when they welcome Illinois-Springfield to Pershing Arena for a 5:30 p.m. start. Truman is 6-0 all-time against the Prairie Stars with the last meeting coming in 2010.

Truman will also welcome McKendree (Ill.) to Kirksville on Saturday, January 11. The Bulldogs have won all three previous meetings with the Bearcats with the last coming in the season opener last year.

Illinois-Springfield and McKendree hosts Missouri-St. Louis and Maryville this weekend.

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