Game Preview:
Fresh off debuting in the national rankings, the 22nd-ranked Truman Women's Basketball team will embark on a stretch of six of their final eight games away from Pershing Arena starting on Saturday afternoon against Southwest Baptist (Mo.) University in Bolivar, Mo. Tip-off is at 1:30 p.m.
The Bulldogs (15-3; 8-2 MIAA) entered the Women's Basketball Coaches Association/USA Today Sports Top 25 this past Tuesday for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. Truman had received votes in five previous votes this year but were propelled into the number 22 spot following a 57-55 double overtime victory over Fort Hays (Kan.) State last Saturday at home.
Truman scored the final seven points in regulation with
Jennifer Conway's two free throws with 17 seconds left knotting the game at 41 apiece. The Bulldogs battled back from a three-point deficit in the first overtime with
Allie Norton's jumper at 19 seconds tying the contest at 50. From there, Truman led by as many as five in the second OT and held on without scoring for the final 3:11 of the period to preserve their third straight and eighth win in their last nine games.
While being held to a season-low four points against FHSU, senior
Becka McHenry had six steals with three coming in the extra time. McHenry leads Truman at 13.5 points per game while also averaging 5.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals per night. Sharpshooting guards
Allie Norton and
Amy Briggs both average over 10 points per game and have combine for 86 of the teams 134 three-pointers this season. Norton has 45 triples for a 44.6% shooting percentage while Briggs has 41 and a 40.6% shooting percentage.
Southwest Baptist (9-9;4-6 MIAA ) has won three straight and is coming off a 69-62 victory over Lindenwood (Mo.) University on Thursday night at home. Jaqcui Zelenka notched a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds and the Bearcats went 15-of-20 from the foul line. Brook Duncan's three-pointer with 1:50 left to play broke a 57 all tie.
The Bearcats are 8-2 at home and are getting a dozen points per game from Chasity Prince and Jacqui Zelenka. SBU is shooting 42% from the field, 35% from three, making 122 of 349 attempts and 67% from the foul line. They are averaging 7.2 three-pointers per game.
The Bulldogs and Bearcats each played in the same tournament during the Christmas break in California. Truman defeated California Baptist 73-67 but lost to Vanguard (Calif.) 65-57. SBU lost to Vanguard 66-63 and to California Baptist 80-58.
Truman has won four straight and five of the last seven against Southwest Baptist. Truman won in Kirksville last year 79-54 and in Bolivar on February 4 77-68. Jacqui Zelenka scored 19 in the only game she played against Truman last year while
Becka McHenry averaged 21 in two games and dished out 18 assists against SBU. Overall, SBU leads Truman 30-17 in the all-time series between the two schools. This is the first of two games against Southwest Baptist as the two will meet again in Kirksville on February 14.
Coaches:
The Bulldogs are under fifth-year head coach Michael Smith, who has an overall record of 63-63. Truman is 32-13 over the past two years and 13-4 in the MIAA since last February 1st. He is fourth all-time in victories at Truman and is 40-52 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.
Todd Voss is in his second season at Southwest Baptist and his 19th season as a basketball coach. His Bearcats were 9-17 overall last year and 4-16 in the MIAA. Voss is a former assistant coach at Drake (Iowa) University. Voss is 134-64 in six seasons as a collegiate head coach.
The Month That Was:
The Bulldogs posted a 7-1 record, all in conference, during the month of January to post the best winning percentage (.875) of any Truman team during January. The seven wins tied the 1998-99 team with the most wins during the month and the seven victories equaled the total number of January wins from the past three years.
Truman had a scoring margin of +13.8 points, shot 41% from the field and 38.6% from beyond the arc. They were also 110-of-140 from the foul line (78.6%) and outscored opponents by 72 points or nine a game in the second half.
Becka McHenry averaged 14.6 points per game while adding 5.6 rebounds and an 85% free throw percentage.
Amy Briggs shot 44% from beyond the arc to average 10.8 points per game.
Securing A Berth:
With a win against Southwest Baptist, Truman would clinch one of the 12 spots available for the MIAA postseason conference basketball tournament. The Bulldogs are in a three-way tie for second place in the league at 8-2 and trail Washburn (Kan.) who has a 7-1 league record.
The top four teams in the final regular season standings get a “free pass” to Kansas City and the postseason tournament for the Friday, March 8th quarterfinals. Seeds five through eight will host seeds nine through 12 in a first round game on campus sites on Tuesday, March 5th.
WBCA/USA Today Poll:
Truman is one of three MIAA schools in the top 25 this week with Washburn (Kan.) in a tie for ninth and the University of Central Missouri at 11. Pittsburg (Kan.) State, Fort Hays (Kan.) State and Northeastern (Okla.) State are also receiving mentions in this week's survey.
This is the sixth poll this season that Truman received votes but first time cracking the elusive top 25 since January 26, 2000. They were 24th in that survey and dropped out the following week. The highest ranking for the Bulldogs was 14th on January 25, 1999.
#Trending:
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Truman remained first in the national statistics in three-point field goal percentage (42.5%). They are fifth in overall field goal percentage (45.6%) and eighth in free throw shooting (76.3%.)
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Truman is 13th in the national rankings in scoring margin (+15.8) and 20th in three-pointers per game (7.4/g).
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The Bulldogs have won a school-record 13 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 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 eight points against Fort Hays (Kan.) State. Their three losses came by seven (trailed by as many as 13) to Missouri Western, eight to Vanguard (Calif.) and five to Washburn.
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Truman has outscored their opponents by 75 points in the second half of 10 conference games. The Bulldogs average 35.7 points with McHenry averaging 6.5 points per game.
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Becka McHenry joined Amy Eagan as only the second Truman player to score over 100 points (1029), have more than 400 rebounds (437) and dish out 300 assists (329). Eagan registered 1527 points, 643 boards and 529 assists from 1995-99.
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Allie Norton leads the team with 45 three-pointers made while Amy Briggs is second with 41. Norton's 104 threes are seventh all-time in Bulldog career as a sophomore and her 41.9% from outside is currently the best all-time among Truman players with at least 50 made.
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Becka McHenry has made 69 straight starts and Allie Norton has started 45 consecutive games. Jennifer Conway has started in 60 straight games she has appeared in (missing three due to injury in the past two years). Bianca Szafarowicz has started all 18 this year and 41 for her career and Nicole Gloor all 16 she has been available for and 29 for her 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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Amy Briggs has both of the team's only double-double this season. She had 14 points and 10 assists against Mount Mercy.
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The Bulldog bench is outscoring the opposing bench by nearly seven points per game (24.4/18.3) with freshman Jessica Redd leading the team with a 52% field goal percentage.
Up Next:
The Bulldogs will travel to two teams receiving votes in the national poll next weekend. They will be at Pittsburg (Kan.) State on Thursday followed with a dip into Oklahoma on Saturday against league newcomer Northeastern (Okla.) State.
