Women's Basketball 1/26/2016 2:36:00 PM

Women's Basketball Weekly Notes - at Missouri S&T/at #18 Drury

Truman Women's Basketball Notes (January 28-30, 2016)
Twitter: @TrumanAthletics || @TrumanStateWBB || #BewareofDog || @TrumanGameday

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Game #20: Truman (13-6, 7-2 GLVC) vs. Missouri S&T (6-10, 2-7 GLVC)
When: Thursday, January 28, 2016 || 5:30 p.m.
Where: Rolla, Mo. || Gale Bullman Multipurpose Building
Live Stats || Live Stats (Media) || Live Video (GLVCSN) || Live Audio (KRES)
2015-16 Stats: Truman || Missouri S&T || GLVC || NCAA

Game #21: Truman (13-6, 7-2 GLVC) vs. #18 Drury (14-3, 7-2 GLVC)
When: Saturday, January 30, 2016 || 1:00 p.m.
Where: Springfield, Mo. || O'Reilly Family Event Center
Live Stats || Live Stats (Media) || Live Video (GLVCSN) || Live Audio (KRES)
2015-16 Stats: Truman || Drury || GLVC || NCAA

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The start of an important four-game road trip is on the horizon for the Truman Women's Basketball team. The Bulldogs will face Missouri S&T in Rolla on Thursday night before battling nationally-ranked #18 Drury University on Saturday afternoon.

The weekend games could provide a bit more insight for the Great Lakes Valley Conference West Division title. Truman (13-6, 7-2 GLVC) and Drury (14-3, 7-2 GLVC) trail Quincy (17-1, 8-1 GLVC) atop the standings in the west but Drury gets to host both the Bulldogs and Lady Hawks in this week's games. Rockhurst (11-6, 4-5 GLVC) is the next closest team in the standings. It will by Drury's only opportunity to face the other two division leaders this season, while Truman and Quincy will meet in the last game of the regular season on February 25 in Quincy.

Before the Bulldogs get their chance at the Lady Panthers they will have to take care of business against Missouri S&T on Thursday night. Truman has won the only two GLVC meetings between the two schools and has won 17 of the last 20 games dating back to 1997. The Lady Miners have lost six of their last seven games with the lone win coming last Thursday at William Jewell 71-62.

Drury is riding a four-game winning streak as they head to their meeting with Quincy on Thursday night. The Lady Panthers are among the top scoring teams in the GLVC at 75.8 ppg but were humbled with two road losses at Lewis and UW-Parkside in early January in which they failed to score 50 points in either game.

The Bulldogs have won three straight including both at home last weekend. Truman needed overtime for the second straight meeting with Missouri-St. Louis and prevailed 78-73 on Thursday night. On Saturday, the Bulldogs blitzed Maryville with a 24-3 run and scored 16 of the final 17 points in the first quarter to cruise to an 80-60 win over the Saints.

In that game, Courtney Strait became the 20^th Bulldog player to eclipse 1,000 career points and Michalina Tomczak became the third 'Dog to block 100 shots.

In Road Games:
The Bulldogs are 4-2 away from Pershing Arena this season and 2-1 in conference road games. They average 66.3 points on the road and give up 56.8 points per game. Michalina Tomczak (11.3), Courtney Strait (10.3) and Rachel Steinhoff (10.0) all average in double-figures on the road and the Bulldogs out rebound their hosts by a margin of +8.8 per game.

GLVC Thursday/Saturday Splits:
Truman is 2-2 on Thursday league games and 4-0 on Saturday tilts. Thursday games have been the higher scoring games as teams combine to average 134.3 points per game (66.8 for Truman, 67.5 for opponents) but neither team shoots free throws well on the weeknight. Truman, as a team hits 66.3% on Thursday games while their opponents are at 54.9% free throw shooting.

Saturday's are the defensive battles with a total point average of 118.0 (67.0 for Truman, 51.0 for opponents) and a better free throw shooting average as Truman makes nearly 72% and opponents 69%. The Bulldogs shoot over 38% from three in the daytime and 43% from the field on Saturday while their opponents shoot 31% from three and 33% overall.

In Conference Games:
Truman is 7-2 at the halfway point in league games with six of the nine being played in Kirksville. That also means that the final six of nine GLVC games will be played on the road. The team averages 4.7 blocks per conference game and scores 66.7 points per game while giving up 59.6 points.

The Bulldogs have four players in double-figures in conference-only scoring led by Courtney Strait's 12.2 points and followed by Rachel Steinhoff at 11.6, Michalina Tomczak at 10.4 and Kasey Gassensmith at 10.0. Strait and Tomczak both average over six rebounds per contest.

Last Five Games:
After sitting below 30% from three-point range much of the season, the Bulldogs have used a 40.3% shooting from long range in their last five games to push the season average to 30.1%. They have made 29 of their last 72 attempts including a 1-for-10 night against Missouri-St. Louis. Courtney Strait (8), Kasey Gassensmith (7) and Rachel Steinhoff (5) have led the resurgence in the long ball.

Also of note in the last five games, Cassidy Clark is shooting 82.4% from the field (14-of-17) as she has come off the bench in the last four after starting 10 games this season. Ashley Hartwig, who took over that starting spot, is averaging 9.2 points and 5.6 rebounds in the last five games.

About The Bulldogs:
Truman is 11th in all of NCAA Division II in scoring defense at allowing 54.7 points per game this season. In conference only stats, the Bulldogs are third in the league in defense at allowing 59.6 points per game. Truman has held five of their seven league opponents under 60 points and 13 of their 19 foes overall under 60. Only once in Truman Women's Basketball history have the Bulldogs held an opponent scoring average under 60 and that was the 2012-13 campaign where the average was 57.1 points per game.

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. In the post shot clock era, the record for holding opponents under 50 is five games set in 2012-13.

The Bulldogs are second in the conference in blocked shots per game at 4.47 and have 85 blocks thus far. That single-season total is already tied for second most in Bulldog history and is on pace to shatter the school record for blocks of 103 set during the 2007-08 season. Centers Michalina Tomczak and Cassidy Clark have accounted for 57 of the 85 blocks with Tomczak currently fourth in individual single-season blocks with 40. She will tie Jennifer Perkins' 2002 total with her next one and is 10 away from Georgia Mueller's 2007 total of 50.

The four players that have started all 19 games are averaging within three points of one another. Michalina Tomczak leads the group at 11.1 points per game and is the only Bulldog ranked in the top 25 in the GLVC in scoring at 24. With games of 18 and 14 last week, Courtney Strait broke the double-figure barrier and is now at 10.5 points per night. Rachel Steinhoff is at 9.4 and Kasey Gassensmith at 8.9

Cassidy Clark and Ashley Hartwig, who have exchanged starting roles the last handful of games, are both averaging 6.2 points per game. Hartwig leads the team in offensive rebounds with 38 as is the only one of the six players to average over 81% at the foul line.
The Truman bench has played a big role as well this year and average nearly 20 points per game. Freshman Rachel Edmundson,
Mackenzie Jerks and Brooke Bailey have each averaged around 10 minutes per night.

The Bulldogs average 65.2 points per game on the offensive end with a scoring margin of +10.5. The team shoots 41.4% overall from the field, 30.1% from three with 4.21 three-pointers per game and 73.0% from the foul line.

News & Notes:

Senior Courtney Strait is second among NCAA active free throw shooters. Strait's 87.3% from the line trails Lauren Gold of Shippensburg (Pa.), who's career mark is 89.6%. She is also among the Division II career leaders in points scored (80^th) and free throws made (43^rd).
Strait became the 20^th Truman player to score 1,000 career points when she scored 14 in Truman's win over Maryville on Saturday. She now stands at 1,010 points for her career. She is sixth in Truman career in three-pointers attempted (399), seventh in threes made (137) and seventh in free throws made (275) while also being the career leader in free throw shooting percentage at Truman.
She became the 25^th player in Truman history to play in 100 career games this season and is on pace to set the record for games played as if she plays in the remaining nine regular season games, she will break the record of 112 shared by Carold Jarrard (1978-82) and Allie Norton (2011-15). She has started 48 of her current 104 games.
Michalina Tomczak is only the third Bulldog to block 100 shots during her time at Truman. Tomczak moved past Jennifer Conway on Saturday and is now seven behind Jennifer Perkins for second all-time in blocks. She has had 76 blocks the last two years.
Her 40 blocks this year are one back of Perkins for third most in a single season and 10 back of Georgia Mueller's 2007 total of 50 for second. Mueller owns both the career and single-season blocks record at 195 and 71 respectively.
As a team, Truman has 85 total blocks. The Bulldogs sit second 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 54.7 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 16.3 points per quarter while allowing 13.6. Truman has scored 20 points or more in a quarter 15 times and has given up 20 in a 10-minute span on eight 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 16 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.

Last Week's Recap:
Truman 78, Missouri-St. Louis 73 - OT (Box Score) –The Bulldogs lost a 10-point fourth quarter lead but were able to outscore the Tritons 9-4 in the overtime period to earn the five-point win. Truman was decimated on the glass as UMSL pulled down 39 total rebounds to Truman's 25. It was the biggest discrepancy of rebound margin this season against Truman and only the fourth time this season that Truman had lost the glass. Five players for Truman scored in double-figures led by Courtney Strait's 18 points in 39 minutes. Michalina Tomczak added 16, a dozen from Kasey Gassensmith and Rachel Steinhoff and 10 from Ashley Hartwig. UMSL was led by Jordan Fletcher's 21 points.

Truman 80, Maryville 60 (Box Score) – The Bulldogs hit five three-pointers in a 24-4 run and scored 16 of the first quarters final 17 points in blowing out the Saints by 20 on Saturday. Truman led by 30 in the third quarter but the Saints were able to nibble 10 off the deficit in the fourth quarter aided by 11-of-14 free throws in the quarter. Four Bulldogs hit double-figures led by Courtney Strait's 14 points in a game in which she went over 1,000 for her career. Ashley Hartwig added 13 and matched her career high with nine rebounds, Rachel Steinhoff and Kasey Gassensmith finished with 12 and 11 respectively. Michalina Tomczak hit the century mark for career blocks with three of the team's eight during the contest. Strait also blocked three shots and added five assists and two steals to her stat line. Ali Ringering led Maryville with 22 points.

Up Next:
Truman will continue their road swing with a pair of games against East Division schools next week. The Bulldogs will play at Saint Joseph's on Thursday and the University of Indianapolis on Saturday afternoon.

#TSUvsMST (2014-15 Box Score)
The Bulldogs have had a dominating stretch over the Lady Miners having won 17 of the last 21 meetings between the two schools. Truman has won both GLVC games by an average of 20 points, 80-52 in Kirksville in 2014 and 70-51 in Rolla last season.

Senior Allie Norton hit six of seven three-point attempts in the Bulldogs win last year. The Lady Miners cut it to one on a couple of occasions but a 20-7 outburst in the final 10 minutes gave the Bulldogs the 19-point victory. Norton finished with 22 while Tomczak had 15 and Hartwig ended with 13. The Bulldogs were 20-of-24 at the foul line and scored 13 more points at the line than the Lady Miners.

Missouri S&T got 11 points off the bench from Brittany Andersen.

The two teams have five common opponents. The Bulldogs are 4-2 (with two games, a win and a loss to Missouri-St. Louis) and Missouri S&T is 3-2 against those five foes. The Bulldogs have a win over Maryville while the Lady Miners lost to the Saints 74-64.
Both teams defeated William Jewell in Liberty and both lost to Rockhurst. MST won at Missouri-St. Louis 53-41 while Truman lost at UMSL in double-overtime 61-60. Truman and MST throttled Hannibal-LaGrange in the lone non-conference common opponent.

The Lady Miners are 4-5 at home but winless in GLVC games played in Rolla this season. In their most recent home games, they lost by three to Saint Joseph's 48-45 and by four to Indianapolis 60-56.

Bria Pierce leads the team in scoring at 11.5 points per game and is 22^nd in the conference. Jamy Douvier is ninth in the league in rebounds per game at 7.1 and Raetchel Gray is ninth in assists at 3.3 per game.

MST in 14^th out of 16 GLVC schools in turnover margin (-1.81/g) and offensive rebounds (10.4/game) and 15^th in three-pointers made at 3.81/game. They average 61.2 points while giving up 60.9 points per game. They average 57.4 points offense in conference games.

#TSUvsDRURY (2014-15 Box Score)
The Bulldogs will be looking to break a 14-year, eight game drought to the Lady Panthers on Saturday afternoon on the road. Truman is 0-for-4 in games played in Springfield and have dropped both GLVC games against Drury since joining the league in 2013-14.

Truman came the closest to breaking the streak in the most important game in the series. The Bulldogs pushed Drury to overtime as the number eight seed in the 2014 NCAA Division II Tournament, hosted by the Lady Panthers. Drury would hold on in the extra period to win 74-68 to end Truman's season and then went on to win the regional.

This season, Drury came out of the gate to win their first nine games before falling to the University of Tampa at the Florida Tech Holiday Classic in late December. Following the midterm break, the hot shooting Lady Panthers hit an icy patch on a two-game road trip to Lewis and UW-Parkside. Drury was held below 50 points in both games and suffered two straight losses to East Division opponents.

Since that trip, Drury has found their shooting touch as they have averaged 83 points per game in their last four victories, including a pair last week by an average of 26.5 points. They have been successful from beyond the arc in those last four at a 49.3% clip, making 40-of-81 three-point attempts. Their season high for three-pointers in a game was 17 (17-of-30) in a win over Trevecca Nazarene during a Thanksgiving Tournament. They are third nationally in three-point shooting at 42.1% and second in the GLVC behind Thursday's opponent Quincy (43.0%).

A pair of guards lead the barrage of three-pointers. Junior Alice Heinzler is third in the nation in three-point shooting percentage and senior guard Annie Armstrong is sixth. Heinzler hits 51.1% of her trey attempts and Armstrong makes 48.1% from long range. Armstrong is second in Division II in free throw shooting as she has missed just four of 59 attempts this season. For her career, she is 193-of-205 (94%) from the line but does not meet the minimum total of 250 to qualify for the national active career leader in that category.

Armstrong is ninth in the GLVC in scoring a 15.1 points per game. The Lady Panthers are second in three-pointers made per game (8.35), third in steals (9.47) and second in scoring at 75.8 points per game.

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Players Mentioned

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

#02 Brooke Bailey: G; 5' 6"; Redshirt Freshman

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

#42 Ashley Hartwig: F; 5' 11"; Sophomore

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

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

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

#01 Mackenzie Jerks: G; 5' 8"; Freshman

#31 Rachel Edmundson: F; 6' 0"; Freshman

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

Players Mentioned

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

#02 Brooke Bailey
: 5' 6"; Redshirt Freshman
: G

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

#42 Ashley Hartwig
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: F

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

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

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

#01 Mackenzie Jerks
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: G

#31 Rachel Edmundson
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: F

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