Women's Basketball 1/12/2016 9:10:00 AM

Truman Women Head Out For Cross Divisional Games

Truman Women's Basketball Notes (January 14-16, 2016)
Twitter: @TrumanAthletics || @TrumanStateWBB || #BewareofDog || @TrumanGameday

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Game #16: Truman (10-5, 4-1 GLVC) vs. Bellarmine (10-0, 4-0 GLVC)
When: Thursday, January 14, 2016 || 5:45 p.m. (EST)
Where: Louisville, Ky. || Knights Hall
Live Stats || Live Stats (Media) || Live Video (GLVCSN) || Live Audio (KRES)
2015-16 Stats: Truman || Bellarmine || GLVC || NCAA

Game #17: Truman (10-5, 4-1 GLVC) vs. Southern Indiana (10-2, 3-1 GLVC)
When: Saturday, January 16, 2016 || 1:00 p.m.
Where: Evansville, Ind. || Physical Activities Center
Live Stats || Live Stats (Media) || Live Video (GLVCSN) || Live Audio (KRES)
2015-16 Stats: Truman || Southern Indiana || GLVC || NCAA

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – After playing four of their first five Great Lakes Valley Conference games at home, the Truman Women's Basketball team will embark on a two-game road swing through the Ohio River Valley this week. The Bulldogs will take on undefeated Bellarmine on Thursday night in Louisville, Kentucky and Southern Indiana in Evansville, Indiana on Saturday afternoon.

Truman is 10-5 on the season and 4-1 in the GLVC, good for first place in the West Division. They are tied with Quincy with a 4-1 record but hold the head-to-head tie-breaker with the Lady Hawks with their 65-62 win back on December 14. The Bulldogs swept last week's GLVC battles by holding both McKendree and Southern Indiana to under 50 points. Truman defeated the Bearcats 60-49 on Thursday and the Prairie Stars 67-48 on Saturday afternoon.

Bellarmine boasts the GLVC's longest winning streak on the women's side at 10 games and were successful on their latest road trip to western Missouri. The Knights lost a 13-point fourth quarter lead to William Jewell but was then able to regroup and retake the lead with three minutes left and hold on for a 78-75 win over the Cardinals last Thursday. Saturday's game saw the Knight's rally from a 22-point deficit and down Rockhurst 85-77 to remain perfect on the season at 10-0 and 4-0 in the GLVC.

Southern Indiana had their eight-game winning streak snapped on Saturday at the hands of William Jewell. The Cardinals overcame a nine-point third quarter deficit to take the lead and hold on for a 68-65 win over the Screaming Eagles. USI handled Rockhurst with ease on Thursday by a margin of 68-54 for their eighth straight win. The Screaming Eagles will host Quincy on Thursday night prior to the Bulldogs visit on Saturday.

The Bulldogs are 12-6 all-time in games played against GLVC East Division opponents and 3-5 as the away team in those games. Truman went 4-4 last year against the eight teams in the GLVC East but lost to both Bellarmine 61-58 and Southern Indiana 65-53 on a weekend trip last February.

Truman enters the weekend in a first place tie with travel partner Quincy with a 4-1 league record. Drury is third, a game back at 3-2 while Maryville is two games back at 2-3. The Bulldogs knocked off Quincy in Kirksville on December 14 65-62 and will end the regular season at Quincy on February 25^th.

Lewis and Bellarmine are atop the East Division. The Flyers are 5-0 and 14-1 overall while the Knights are 4-0 and 10-0 in conference play. Southern Indiana, Saint Joseph's and UW-Parkside have three wins apiece in league play.

About The Bulldogs:
Truman is fourth in all of NCAA Division II in scoring defense at allowing 51.5 points per game this season. Truman is also first in the GLVC in defensive field goal percentage (33.3%) and blocked shots (4.27/g). They are second in the conference in key rebounding rebounding margin (+8.5/g),defensive rebounds (29.07/g) and rebounding offense at 41.2 per contest.

The Bulldogs have only lost in rebounds in two games this season, the season opener against Grand Valley State (by six) and a conference win at William Jewell (by five). In five games this season, Truman has grabbed over 10 more rebounds than their opponent, including three games over 20 more boards.

Truman has also kept opponents under 60 points in 12 of the 15 games with one of the three over 60 being a double-overtime game at Missouri-St. Louis in which the Tritons needed 61 points to down the 'Dogs. Opponents have only topped 40% from the field in two games this year with a high of 42% in the opener against Grand Valley State.

The Bulldogs have held opponents to under 50 points in eight games this year. The program benchmark for most games holding an opponent under 50 goes back to the first year 1972-73 when they held the opposing teams to under 50 in 10 of the 15 games played. Truman has had 10 seasons in which they didn't hold anyone under 50 points in a game and another nine, including last year where it occurred just once in a season.

Senior Michalina Tomczak is 15^th in Division II and first in the GLVC in blocked shots. Tomczak has nearly eclipsed her block total from all of last season as she enters this week with 33. She had 36 in 24 games played a year ago. Tomczak is leading the team in scoring at 11.3 points per game while shooting 49.6% from the field.

Three other Bulldogs have started all 15 games this season. Seniors Courtney Strait and Kasey Gassensmith along with sophomore Rachel Steinhoff have joined Tomczak in the starting five while Cassidy Clark has started 10 games and the last six straight.

Steinhoff is 14th in the GLVC in assists with 46 and ninth in the conference in assist/turnover ratio at 1.44. Steinhoff has averaged 8.7 points per game and pulls down 4.1 rebounds per contest.

Strait is fresh off of playing in game 100 for her Truman career on Saturday and celebrated by scoring a game-high 17 points, 14 in the final quarter as the Bulldogs busted the game open for a 19-point victory over Illinois Springfield. Strait is nearing 1,000 career points with 958 and is averaging 9.9 points this season while leading the team in three-pointers with 21.

Gassensmith has been in double-figures in two of the last three games and got the Bulldogs off to their hot start with 12 of her 16 points in the first half. For the season, the senior has averaged 8.5 points per game and is second on the team with 10 three-pointers made.

The Bulldogs average 63.1 points per game on the offensive end with a scoring margin of +11.7. The team shoots 40.5% overall from the field, 26.6% from three with 3.67 three-pointers per game and 74.6% from the foul line. The team has shot 62 more free throws than their opponents (279-217) and has committed 52 fewer fouls (226-278). Truman is 18^th in Division II and third in the GLVC with 15.1 fouls called against per game.

#TSUvsBU (2015-16 Box Score)
It will be the top defensive team (Truman) against the top offensive team (Bellarmine) in the Thursday opener. The Knights pace the GLVC in scoring at 77.7 points per game, which is 19^th in scoring in Division II. BU has been held to under 70 points in only two games thus far with a season-low of 63 against a common opponent with the Bulldogs in Northern Michigan by on December 20.

The two teams have four other common opponents, all in the GLVC. Bellarmine defeated Illinois Springfield 72-58 and McKendree 64-49 at home and won over William Jewell 78-75 and Rockhurst 85-77 on the road.

In addition to offensive scoring, the Knights lead the GLVC in three-point defense (23.1%), rebounding offense (41.4/g), assists (17.8/g), steals (11.7/g) and offensive rebounds (15.6/g).

Junior forward Sarah Galvin is second in the GLVC in scoring at 18.8 points per game and in rebounding at 8.7 per contest. Galvin shoots 54.3% from the field after missing last season due to injury. She did not appear in the Truman game two years ago in Pershing Arena but earned second team all-GLVC honors that season.

This will be the fourth meeting between Truman and Bellarmine on the hardwood with the Knights winning the two games played in Louisville. BU was down 10 points with 1:13 to play last year and scored 11 of the final 12 points of the game to escape with a 61-58 victory over Truman. Michalina Tomczak notched a double-double for the Bulldogs with 22 points and 11 rebounds and Courtney Strait added 12. Senior Morgan Clemons led the Knights with 15 points and 15 boards and junior Mariah Gador scored 15 off the bench.

Bellarmine was 14-13 and 9-9 last season in the GLVC. They were the ninth seed in the postseason tournament and were eliminated by Missouri-St. Louis 66-61 in the opening round. They were picked to finish fourth in this season's preseason coaches' poll in the east division.

#TSUvsUSI (2015-16 Box Score)
The Screaming Eagles are second to the Bulldogs in scoring defense entering the week at allowing 55.2 points per game. USI is second in steals per game (11.0) and in assist/turnover ratio (1.07). They have three players averaging in double figures led by Hannah Wascher at 15.1 points per game. Tanner Marcum (13.9) and Kaydie Grooms (11.0) help the USI club to a 71.8 scoring average by shooting over 40% from three on the season. Wascher shoots 58% from the field and pulls down 8.4 rebounds per game but is a 45% free throw shooter.

USI also has five common opponents with the Bulldogs thus far. They have wins over Illinois Springfield (79-64), McKendree (58-45), Northern Michigan (63-43) and Rockhurst (68-54) but lost to William Jewell 68-65 in their last outing on Saturday.

Last year in Evansville, USI kept the 'Dogs are arms' length for the majority of the game building an early seven-point lead. The lead grew to 11 and Truman could only get it back to a one possession game just twice. First team all-GLVC performer, senior Anna Hackert led USI with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Kaydie Grooms and Tanner Marcum added 14 and 10 respectively. Courtney Strait led Truman with 16 points on the afternoon.

The two teams have defended their home courts in the two previous GLVC matchups. USI won last season 65-53 while Truman won 74-57 in Kirksville in 2014. Overall, USI has won three of the five meetings between the two schools with Truman's other win in the series came when Head Coach Amy Eagan set the Bulldogs single-game scoring record of 46 points in a 100-87 win in Evansville back in 1998.

USI was 25-7 a year ago with a 15-3 conference mark. They lost to Drury in the GLVC title game last year 68-65 but earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament. They were defeated by Ashland in the first round 81-61. This season, USI was picked third in the GLVC East Division behind Lewis and UW-Parkside.

News & Notes:
Senior Courtney Strait became the 25^th player in Truman history to play in 100 career games last week. She is on pace for career record for games played is 112 shared by Carol Jarrard (1978-82) and Allie Norton (2011-15) with 13 games left in the regular season. Strait has started 44 of the 100 games played thus far.

Strait is on the Truman career charts in three-pointers made (131/7^th), free throws made (259/7^th) and free throw percentage (.878/1^st) and is 42 points away from becoming the 20^th Bulldogs to score 1,000 points in her career.

Michalina Tomczak is moving up the blocked shots charts in both season and career. Her 33 blocks thus far are two shy from cracking the single-season top 10 while her 93 career swats are fourth best and only six behind Jennifer Conway (2009-13) for third place. Georgia Mueller owns both the season and career block record at 71 (2008) and 195 (2005-09) respectively.

As a team, Truman has 64 total blocks, 10 away from cracking the single-season top 10. The Bulldogs sit atop the GLVC in blocked shots per game at 4.26 per game. At that pace, the Bulldogs would be atop the single-season record in blocks per game as the previous record was 3.6 per game set in 2008. The single-season record, aided by Georgia Mueller's 71 was 103 also in 2008.

After blocked shots, the Bulldog defense is putting up some historic numbers. The 51.5 scoring average is the lowest allowed by a Truman team to date, the school record is 57.1 points in 2013 while number 10 on the top 10 lowest points allowed list is 66.0 set last season. The defensive field goal and three-point shooting percentage are also currently well ahead of the single season records.

Under the new quarter system, put in place this year for Women's Basketball. The Bulldogs are averaging 15.7 points per quarter while allowing 12.8. Truman has scored 20 points or more in a quarter 10 times and has given up 20 in a 10-minute span on only four occasions. On the flip side, the Bulldogs have not scored 10 points in a quarter five times and have held opponents less than 10 points in 14 separate quarters.

The most points scored in a single quarter are 29 against Central Christian and 21 by Missouri Southern. The fewest points scored was six against Missouri Southern and two by Illinois Springfield.

Truman has scored over 240 points in the first, second and fourth quarters but only 204 in the third. In the second quarter, Truman has held opponents to 157 (10.4/g) and has a scoring margin of +88 overall in the quarter (245-157).

In games decided by five points or less, the Bulldogs are 2-1. In all games, in the last five minutes Truman is shooting 78.7% from the foul line while opponents are shooting 65.0% from the stripe.

Last Week's Recap:
Truman 60, McKendree 49 (Box Score) –Michalina Tomczak notched her second double-double of the season and a big fourth quarter allowed the Bulldogs to down McKendree 60-49 last Thursday night. Tomczak scored 10 and pulled down 10 with Courtney Strait scored nine and had nine boards. After starting slow, Truman shot 54% in the final quarter and outscored the Bearcats 23-15 in the last 10 minutes. The Bulldogs were aided at the free throw line with 19 made (19-of-28) while McKendree was only 8-of-20 at the stripe. It was Truman's sixth straight win over McKendree.

Truman 67, Illinois Springfield 48 (Box Score) – Another powerful fourth quarter propelled the Bulldogs to their fourth conference win in five games. Courtney Strait scored 14 of the 20 points in the fourth quarter and the Bulldogs defeated the Prairie Stars by 19 in the process. UIS led 18-16 after one but was outscored in the second 19-2, hitting just 1-of17 shots in the quarter to fall behind by double-digits at half. Kasey Gassensmith scored 12 of her 16 points in the first half and Truman shot 49% for the game, their best since an early season non-conference game against Central Christian. Rachel Steinhoff was the third 'Dog in double figures with 12 points and three assists.

Up Next:
Truman returns to GLVC West Division play with a pair of home games next weekend. The Bulldogs will look for revenge when the host Missouri-St. Louis on Thursday, January 21 at 5:30 p.m. The Tritons defeated the Bulldogs 61-60 in a non-conference double-overtime game on January 2^nd. The second game of the weekend will be Truman hosting Maryville on Saturday at 1 p.m. Truman's last game with the Saints was also an overtime affair with the Bulldogs winning on the road 78-72.

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Players Mentioned

#12 Allie Norton: G; 5' 6"; Senior

#30 Kasey Gassensmith: G; 6' 0"; Senior

#32 Rachel Steinhoff: G; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#23 Courtney Strait: G; 5' 10"; Senior

#44 Michalina Tomczak: C; 6' 3"; Redshirt Senior

#34 Cassidy Clark: C; 6' 2"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#12 Allie Norton
: 5' 6"; Senior
: G

#30 Kasey Gassensmith
: 6' 0"; Senior
: G

#32 Rachel Steinhoff
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: G

#23 Courtney Strait
: 5' 10"; Senior
: G

#44 Michalina Tomczak
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Senior
: C

#34 Cassidy Clark
: 6' 2"; Junior
: C