Oct. 14, 2003
Bulldogs Basketball Start Practicing for 2003-04 Campaign
The Truman men's and women's basketball team will take the floor for its first official practice on Wednesday afternoon.
The Bulldog women's practice times will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 during the week, and from 12:30 to 2:30 on the weekends. This Friday, the women will practice from 2:30 to 4:30 due to a volleyball game later that evening.
Truman's men's team will normally practice from 4:30-6:30 p.m.
The Bulldog women return every starter from last year's squad that was 9-18 and made its second-straight trip to the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association tournament after posting a 5-13 record in league play.
They open the campaign with an exhibition at Division I Illinois State before the regular season gets underway at Quincy (Ill.) on Nov. 15. They will look forward to a pair of games in the Bahamas Dec. 21-22. The MIAA slate begins on Dec. 30 with a home game vs. Missouri Southern.
The 'Dogs' top returner is senior all-MIAA forward Annie Westhoff who was a second-team choice in 2002-03. She led the team with 15.7 points a game to go along with 6.3 rebounds. Westhoff finished sixth in MIAA scoring average, 10th in rebounds and seventh in field goal percentage (.430).
Also back are the team's next three leading scorers, junior forward Sara Sommer and junior guards Adri Tromp and Kelli Floyd.
Sommer proved to be a key addition to the Bulldogs last year, providing consistent scoring and ending the season with a 12.4 points per game. She led the team in three-point percentage (.396), free-throw percentage (.806) and blocks (8).
Tromp established herself as a force on the glass during her first season as a Bulldog, pulling down a team high eight rebounds per game. She also finished third on the team in scoring with 8.4 points per game.
Floyd was the only Bulldog to start every game of the season, averaging 5.8 points and 2.4 assists per game as the floor general.
Sophomore guard Ali Long worked her way into a starting position after coming off the bench for the first half of the season. She started the team's last 12 games, averaging over four points per game during that span.
Junior center Jamie Huffman played in 25 games as the Bulldogs highest scoring reserve, averaging 5.8 points per game. She shot a team-best 47.7 percent from the field during the season.
Senior guard Emily Turnbull was a key reserve off the bench for the Bulldogs averaging nearly 11 minutes a game in 25 games as the backup point guard.
Senior center Lisa Miceli provided depth at the post position, contributing 1.6 points per game in 12 contests.
Three newcomers could help right away as well, while a few walk-ons could also join the team before the season begins.
The Bulldog men's team have high hopes that a much more experienced squad this season will be able to move the team up in the conference standings. Six players return for the Bulldogs who started at least eight games last year and all eight returning players saw valuable playing time last year.
Leading the team will be returning honorable mention all-MIAA forward, Matt Beran. The senior enters his final collegiate season ranked 20th on Truman's career rebounding list with 520 boards. Last season, he averaged 15.2 points and 8.2 rebounds a game.
The other senior on the roster is Aaron Mueller, who hit 45 three-pointers last year. Six sophomores are included on the roster, including Chip Sodemann who started every game at point guard for the team last year.
Four newcomers and a junior college transfer will also give the team more depth this season.
The Bulldogs have an alumni game scheduled for Nov. 1 at Pershing Arena,
followed by two exhibition games. The first game of the regular season will
be on Nov. 15 when Truman hosts Quincy (Ill.) at 7:30 p.m. in Pershing Arena.
One of the highlights of the non-conference season is a Dec. 6 game against
Harris-Stowe at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. The Bulldogs went 7-20
overall last year and 3-15 in MIAA action.