NOTES: Truman Women Start 2019 With A Bang

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KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The 2019 calendar year for the Truman Women's Basketball team will open with a bang as the Bulldogs start a four-game conference road swing. The trip begins at nationally-ranked Lewis University on Thursday night at 5:30 p.m.

The Bulldogs were just outside the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Top 25 poll on their December 18^thpoll and enter Thursday's showdown with an 11-1 overall record and 2-0 Great Lakes Valley Conference mark. Truman has won five straight games and swept through the light month of December with wins over William Jewell, Columbia College, Palm Beach Atlantic and Barry University.

Truman finished the 2018 calendar year with a 19-10 record that ties the 2016 calendar year for second in wins in a year. The 2014 year has the record with 23 wins from January 1 to December 31.

Sophomore Katie Jaseckas leads Truman in scoring at 11.2 points per game with senior Brooke Bailey a close second at 10.8 points per night. Jaseckas is shooting 56% from the field with seven three-pointers, nine blocks, seven steals and 6.3 rebounds per game. Bailey is second on the team in three-pointers made with 18 (34.6%), leads the squad in assists (39), steals (16) and minutes per game (26.3).

The Bulldogs are first in the GLVC in free throws made at 214 and that total is good for sixth among the 301 NCAA Division II schools. They are first in the league and 12^thin Division II in free throw attempts with 285 and average 17.8 free throws made per game. Truman is also first in the conference in three-pointers attempted (281) and second in three-pointers made with 85. They average 7.1 threes made per game which is fifth in the conference.

Head Coach Amy Eagan is on the cusp of not only hitting a milestone in Truman coaching wins but becoming the all-time leader in victories. Eagan enters the week with 99 wins on the Bulldog bench and with one more will tie Mary Jo Murray for the most wins by a Truman women's basketball coach. Murray posted a 100-80 through seven seasons at Truman while Eagan is 99-55 in six years.

Lewis has won nine straight games and is ranked sixth in the Division II Sports Information Directors Association (D2SIDA) poll and #20 in the WBCA poll. They were the preseason favorite to win the GLVC this season edging Drury University by one point in the preseason coaches' poll and feature arguably the top player in Division II and the two-time GLVC Player of the Year Jessica Kelliher.

Indianapolis will be the opponent on Saturday and is 6-5 on the season. The Greyhounds lost their conference opener on December 1 to Lewis 73-68 and will play Quincy University at home on Thursday prior to the Bulldog visit on Saturday.

Bulldog Bites:

Truman is averaging 73.2 points per game with a high of 93 against Barry on December 18 and a low of 59, twice.
The Bulldogs largest margin of win this season is 24 points over Barry.
Truman has won the glass in all but two games this year and has a rebounding margin of +7.8. The Bulldogs won the rebounding battle in 18 games last season and won 11 of those games.
Ten players have played in all 12 games and all have averaged near or over 10 minutes per game.
Four players have started all 12 games, Rachel Edmundson, Katie Jaseckas, Sloane Totta and Brooke Bailey. Tiffany Davenport started the first seven games and Maddie Re had started the last five games.
Rachel Edmundson has the single-game high in points this year with 20 coming against Rockhurst in the GLVC opener. She made six of eight three-pointers that game for her fourth career 20+ night and has 34 double-figure scoring dates. She is the active leader in points scored with 750.
Sloane Totta eclipsed the quarter record for points in the game against Lindenwood. Totta scored 16 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter to break Courtney Strait's mark of 14 in the fourth quarter against Illinois Springfield in 2016.
Totta has started all 66 games in her Bulldog career and has the most career starts of any active Truman player. Totta averages 7.3 points per game and has 485 career points and 175 career assists.
Maddie Re has three of the four double-doubles this season and has pulled down 9.1 rebounds per game, good for third among all GLVC rebounders. She is the only freshman in the top 12 in the conference rebounding race.
The Bulldogs have won two games this year when entering the fourth quarter trailing. Since the quarter system started in 2014-15, Truman is 5-30 when trailing entering the fourth quarter. When leading entering the fourth, Truman is 54-6.
Brooke Bailey has cracked the Truman top 10 in three-pointers made with 108 and is ninth overall. Amy Briggs is eighth at 133 and Allie Norton is the career three-point leader at Truman with 277.
Truman has won 11 of their first 12 games for the first time in school history. They have had a six-game winning streak and are currently on a five-game streak. The longest winning streak in school history is eight set back in the 2014 season.

About Lewis:

Lewis lost their season opener 62-56 over Northern Michigan but has since reeled off nine straight wins. The Flyers are the top defensive team in the GLVC allowing only 56.4 points per game thus far. Opponents shoot a conference low 36.1% from the field against the Flyers, including 28.2% from three and are second in blocked shots at 4.5 per game. Lewis was 24-8 last season and 15-3 in the GLVC. They participated in their sixth straight NCAA Division II tournament. Since 2013, the Flyers are 162-36 (.818) overall, 94-15 in conference (.862) and 79-5 at home (.940). They have won eighth straight home games with their last loss coming against Missouri-St. Louis 66-63 on February 1, 2018.

Jessica Kelliher is the Flyers all-time leader in scoring with 2,212 points and has averaged 21.1 points in 105 career games played. She is a two-time GLVC Player of the Year. This season, Kelliher averages 22.6 points while shooting 65.4% from the field and pulling down 9.2 rebounds per game. Rachel Hinders averages 11.1 points. Gabby Green leads in assists with 39 and steals with 27 and Morgan Glatczak has 30 blocked shots.

History with Lewis:
The Flyers are 6-1 against Truman all-time and ended the Bulldogs season last year in the quarterfinal round of the GLVC Tournament 71-61. Lewis won the regular season match-up 73-58 in Kirksville on January 6.

In the tournament game, Kelliher was 6-of-15 from the floor but converted on 9-of-11 at the foul line for 21 points. The Flyers led by one, 43-42 entering the fourth quarter but outscored the Bulldogs 28-19 in the final 10 minutes for the win.

In the regular season game in Pershing, Kelliher was 11-of-13 from the field for 26 points and Lewis out paced the Bulldogs 41-25 in the second and third quarters to take control. Katie Jaseckas led Truman with 16 points.

The Flyers have won five straight against Truman with the Bulldogs lone win coming in the 2014 GLVC Tournament 84-70 in Evansville, Indiana.

About Indianapolis:
Indianapolis is 6-5 overall and 0-1 in the GLVC with a home date with Quincy on Thursday. The Greyhounds were 8-20 last season and 4-10 at home with one of those wins being a 79-63 victory over Truman last season. UINDY was picked seventh in the GLVC coaches' poll with 95 points.

In conference rankings, the Greyhounds enter the week 13^thin scoring defense at 70.8 points allowed per game, third in field goal percentage (.465), third in three-point shooting (.380) and last in turnover margin (-3.5/game).

The Greyhounds have three players in the top 10 in GLVC scoring. Taylor Drury is fifth overall and first on the squad at 15.8 points per game. Laura Thomas is seventh at 15.6 points and Emma Benoit 10^that 14.4 points per night. Freshman Katie Sowa is third in the league in three-point shooting percentage with 20 made out of 38 attempts for 52.6%.  Drury is second in threes made with 28 and Thomas is third in minutes played per game in the league at 32.5.

History With UINDY:
The Greyhounds have edged the Bulldogs in seven of the 12 meetings between the two schools and since joining the league in 2013-14, the teams have split the six prior meetings.

In last year's meeting, Truman was a woeful 20-of-70 (28.6%) from the field while the Greyhounds shot 46.4% from the field in 79-63 win. The Bulldogs led 14-9 after the first quarter and were tied at 27 with 1:11 left in the half but the Greyhounds took control in the third quarter and cruised to the win. Martha Burse scored 28 points for UINDY while Rachel Edmundson led Truman with 18 points.

Florida Cruizin' Recap:
The Bulldogs had two dominating wins at the Cruzin Classic in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to end 2018. They defeated Palm Beach Atlantic 80-62 on December 17 and Barry 96-72 on December 18.

Truman knocked down 18 three-pointers in the two games with six from Rachel Edmundson and five from Sloane Totta. They also outscored their two opponents by 26 at the foul line and made 48-of-60 free throw attempts. PBA and BU were a combine 22-of-35 from the charity stripe. Truman owned the glass by a 48.5-29.0 margin during the two games with 32 offensive rebounds.

Edmundson was 10-of-21 from the floor with 6-of-16 from range to lead Truman with 15.5 points per game. Totta was 9-of-17 overall and 5-of-10 from three. Brooke Bailey averaged 11.5 points and was 10-of-11 at the foul line. Maddie Re made seven of her nine shots taken and pulled down 20 rebounds to average a double-double with 10.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in the two games.

Truman Individual Conference Rankings:
Scoring: Katie Jaseckas (11.2/25^th)
Rebounding: Maddie Re (9.1/3rd); Katie Jaseckas (6.3/15^th)
Field Goal Percentage: Katie Jaseckas (.565/T5^th)
Assists: Brooke Bailey (3.25/11^th)
Free Throw Percentage: Allison Thomas (.851/6th)
Three-Point Field Goals Made: Rachel Edmundson (1.92/13^th)
Blocked Shots: Katie Jaseckas (9/14^th)
Assist/Turnover Ratio: Brooke Bailey (1.18/14^th)
Offensive Rebounds: Maddie Re (2.67/T7^th)
Defensive Rebounds: Maddie Re (6.42/2nd)

Up Next:
The road trip continues with the Ohio River Valley swing next weekend. Truman will play at Southern Indiana on Thursday in Evansville and in Louisville on Saturday against Bellarmine.

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