Women's Basketball 2/20/2014 7:58:00 PM

Bulldogs Rally Falls Short Against Maryville

BOX SCORE

Maryville (Mo.) University 90 (16-10 overall; 9-7 GLVC)
Leading Scorer: Shelby Miller, 24 points, 5-of-8 from three.

Truman (Mo.) State University 84 (17-7 overall; 11-5 GLVC)
Leading Scorer: Allie Norton, 21 points, 4-of-5 from three.

Highlight: Maryville's Rita Flynn hits the Saints' school record 18th three pointer of the night to break an 84-all tie with :48 seconds left as Maryville holds on after leading by 20.

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – On a night when two teams combine for 29 three-pointers, it was Maryville (Mo.) University's Rita Flynn that hit the biggest of the night. Flynn's triple with 48 seconds left broke an 84-all tie and gave the Saints a 90-84 win over Truman in Pershing Arena.

The Saints (16-10; 9-7 GLVC) hit their first 11 shots, including six from long range to start the game and built up a 20-point first half lead. Truman (17-7; 11-5 GLVC) chipped it down to seven before Shelby Miller rained in three triples to close the half to send the Saints into the break up 53-41.

Maryville continued the dominance from outside and led by 18 with 13:14 showing on the game clock.

Truman mounted a comeback as they scored 10 straight to get the margin below double figures. Allie Norton connected on her first of three treys to pull Truman to six with 7:12 left then hit her second with 2:50 left to make it a one-possession game at 79-76.

Miller, who led the Saints with 24 points, countered with a bucket to extend the lead back out to five.

Norton answered at the other end by splitting a pair of defenders for a two-pointer then followed after a made free throw by Miller to cut the cords from three again to make it a one-point game with two minutes left.

Following a pair of free throws by Jordynn Martin, the Bulldogs got Pershing Arena electrified when Amy Briggs buried a deep three to tie the game at 84 apiece with 1:15 remaining.

Flynn, a post player that had made one of seven three-point attempts all season, threw a dagger as she knocked down her second of the night from the top of the key to deflate the Bulldogs. Flynn and fellow post Alex Hillyer, combine to shoot 5-of-9 from long range after entering the game with a total of five threes between them on the season.

Truman missed the tying three with 32 seconds left and Martin was able to convert three of four from the foul line to preserve the Saints' first win against Truman in five games played between the schools.

Maryville set a school record with 18 threes on the night, going 18-of-30 (60%) and it was the most triples allowed by the Bulldogs in a single-game as well. They hit 11 in the first half and came into the game averaging 6.8 per contest. Miller was joined in double-figures by Samantha Robison (13), Hillyer with 12 and Martin with 10.

The Bulldogs shot 48% for the game and made 11 of their 21 three-point attempts. Norton led the Bulldogs with 23 points with Bianca Szafarowicz and Nicole Gloor adding 16 apiece. Gloor scratched her name into Truman lore becoming the 18th Bulldog player to go over 1,000 career points. Briggs and Courtney Strait also scored in double-figures with each chipping in 13.

Truman falls into a three-way tie for fourth place in the GLVC standings with two games remaining after Missouri-St. Louis upset #9 Quincy (Ill.) on the road 79-62 and Indianapolis was dealt a 69-54 home loss by Southern Indiana. All three teams are now 11-5 in the league.

The Bulldogs will face the Missouri-St. Louis Tritons on Saturday night in the River City in a huge game. Truman defeated the Tritons 70-55 in Kirksville back on January 16. Tip time from the Mark Twain Center on the UMSL campus is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.

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