Dec. 4, 2000
Truman Women's Basketball Team to Play Host to Mount Mercy
The Game: Truman State University Bulldogs (Mid-America Intercollegiate
Athletics Association/NCAA Division II) vs. Mt. Mercy College Mustangs (NAIA
DII/Midwest Classic Conference)
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2000
Location: Kirksville, Mo.
Arena (Capacity): Pershing Arena (3,000)
Broadcast: KRES 104.7 FM in Moberly, Mo., Chad Speakar will do play-by-play,
and commentary by Kevin White, Truman Assistant Director of Athletics. The
pregame show begins approximately 15 minutes before the game. The Dec. 15
road game will be on 99.9 KIRK. The campus station, KTRM 88.7, is tentatively
scheduled to also broadcast the Jan. 20 & 27 and Feb. 10 games.
Team Line: Live KRES broadcast by calling 1-800-846-4700. Access
Code: 6350
Truman: The Bulldogs, 2-3 overall in pre-conference action, are in the midst of a two-game slide. However, they have lost their last two games by a combined three points, and all three of the season's losses have been by a combined five points, while the 'Dogs' two victories have been won by a combined 35 points. Saturday, Truman fell 66-65 to Concordia University, St. Paul (Minn.) in Kansas City. The other losses were to 58-56 on Tuesday and 73-71 to Tampa in the season-opener. Truman defeated Quincy (Ill.) 50-48 and St. Joseph's (Ind.) 99-66 in games No. 2 and 3 this year. The narrow defeats can certainly be in part attributed to growing pains as the 'Dogs have been playing with just three returners along with nine newcomers and a first-year head coach.
Truman vs. Concordia: The Bulldogs survived eight lead changes in the first half and took a six-point lead at intermission following a 6-0 run. Concordia tied the score by the 17-minute mark in the second period and again at 14:02, but would never take the lead in the second stanza until hitting the game-winning shot with one second left on the clock. Junior center/forward Jennifer Perkins (Fort Dodge, Iowa/St. Edmund) led Truman with 23 points, her second consecutive game with 20-plus points. Junior guard/forward Jessy Fletcher (Atlanta, Mo.) was the only other double-figure scorer for the Bulldogs with 14 points and a team-high 12 rebounds, her second double-double in three games.
About Mt. Mercy: The Mustangs have nine games under their belt this year and are 2-7 after splitting a pair this past weekend. They opened the season with a string of six losses to Hannibal-LaGrange 82-51, Briar Cliff (Iowa) 80-52, Northwestern (Iowa) 68-57, Culver-Stockton 73-65, Doane (Neb.) 63-60 and Wisconsin-Platteville, 81-65. Their first win was over Grinnell (Iowa) 67-50 last Wednesday. They followed that with a loss to Grace (Ind.) 76-61, but are coming off of a win against Indiana Wesleyan, 61-58. Senior forward Heather Wooldrik leads the Mustangs with 17.9 points and 6.7 rebounds a game. Freshman forward Meredith Austin is also averaging double figures at 10.8 points a game, including 16 buckets from beyond the arc. Freshman forward Brandy Schmit is second in rebounding with 5.0 boards a game. Junior guard Lindsey Mescher leads the team with 23 assists (2.6 apg) and 22 steals. In Saturday's win over Indiana Wesleyan, Wooldrik led Mount Mercy with 16 points and eight rebounds, while junior forward Abbie Stepanek had 10 points and Schmit had six boards.
Series Records: Truman took a 5-4 lead in the series with Mt. Mercy after defeating the Mustangs 83-61 in Kirksville in the 'Dogs' 1999-00 season opener. In fact, the Bulldogs have won the last three confrontations, beating MMC 80-60 in Cedar Rapids on Nov. 18, 1998, and 94-71 on Nov. 22, 1997, in Kirksville. The Mustangs' last win was Dec. 5, 1992 in Kirksville, 79-65.
Bulldogs in the MIAA: Three Bulldogs are among the conference's most prolific scorers in the early going. Sophomore forward/center Jennifer Fisher (Fordland, Mo./Marshfield) was ranked seventh (15.0 ppg) prior to the Rockhurst contest, while Fletcher was 15th (12.0 ppg) and Perkins was 17th (11.7 ppg). Fisher was also fourth in free throw percentage (.909), second in blocked shots (2.0 pg) and three-point field goal percentage (.636), fifth in three-point field goals made (2.33 pg), sixth in rebounding (9.0 rpg), tied for fifth in assists (4.0 apg) and tied for fourth in steals (3.0 spg). Perkins was also 10th in field goal percentage (.417) and tied for third in blocked shots, along with Fletcher (1.33 bpg). Junior guard Tessa Thurman (Atlanta, Mo./John Woods CC) was sixth in three-point field goal percentage (.421) and fourth in three point field goals made (2.67 pg). Freshman forward/guard Annie Westhoff (Webster Groves, Mo.) was eighth in free throw percentage (.833), while junior guard Robyn Gerber (Affton, Mo./Lutheran South) was ninth (.786). Through the first three games, the Bulldogs ranked first in the MIAA in blocked shots (5.67 bpg) and were second in free throw percentage (.724), rebounding offense (45.3 rpg) and defensive rebounds (31.33 pg). They were also third in field goal percentage (.442), three point field goal percentage (.413) and three point field goals made (6.33 pg), and were fourth in scoring offense (73.3 ppg) and assists (16.67 pg).
Last year vs. Mt. Mercy: The Bulldogs opened the 1999-2000 season with a 83-61 win over Mt. Mercy College (Iowa) at home. Junior guard Wendi Sobaski came off the bench to lead the team with 19 points, including four buckets from three-point range. Junior center/forward Lisa Bryan led the team with nine rebounds and chipped in 13 points.
Senior guard/forward Megan Kahn and Fisher also scored in double figures with 16 and 12 points, respectively. Senior guard Stacey Roth had a team-high four assists.
The Bulldogs took a 42-30 lead at the half and never lost the lead past the 11:44 mark in the first half. Mt. Mercy pulled to within three points at 7:39 in the second stanza only to see the 'Dogs go on a 9-1 run behind the shooting of Fisher. Megan Kahn began the run with two free shots, then Fisher added two buckets and a three-pointer to put Truman up by 11.
MMC then added its last points of the game on a jumper with 4:55 left to play. The Bulldogs held the Mustangs scoreless for the remainder of the night, going on a 13-0 run.