Jan. 5, 2001
Truman Women Entertain Missouri Southern in Second MIAA Encounter
THE GAME: Truman State University Bulldogs (Mid-America Intercollegiate
Athletics Association/NCAA Division II) vs. Missouri Southern State College
Lady Lions (NCAA DII/MIAA)
DATE/TIME: Saturday, Jan. 3, 2001/1:30 pm
LOCATION: Kirksville, Mo.
ARENA (CAPACITY): Pershing Arena (2,600)
BROADCAST: KRES 104.7 FM in Moberly, Mo., Sports Director Brad Boyer will do play-by-play, with commentary from Kevin White, Truman Assistant Director of Athletics. The pregame show begins approximately 15 minutes before the game.
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 PROBABLE STARTERS
10-Jessy Fletcher, Jr., G/F, 5-11 (10.4 ppg, 7.9 rpg)
25-Annie Westhoff, G/F, 6-0, Fr. (8.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
35-Jennifer Perkins, Jr., C/F, 6-1 (15.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg)
13-Robyn Gerber, Jr., G, 5-8 (8.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg)
11-Tessa Thurman, Jr., G, 5-6 (7.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg)
MISSOURI SOUTHERN PROBABLE STARTERS
22-Elena Lovato, G, 5-9, Sr. (9.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
42-Jenn Noel, C, 6-0, So. (5.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg)
40-Katie Gariss, C, 6-0, Jr. (19.2 ppg, 7.7 rpg)
3-Erica Gonzalez, G, 5-9, Sr. (12.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg)
21-Jayme Callahan, G, 5-6, Jr. (5.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg)
TRUMAN: The Bulldogs are 5-4 and 1-0 in the MIAA after losing to Central Missouri in the league opener on Wednesday, 65-56. The Truman women may have been rusty after a 16-day break in the season prior to playing CMSU. The 'Dogs completed the non-conference and 2000 portion of their schedule on a three-game win-streak and were 3-1 during the month of December.
The three-game skein began with a 73-51 win over Mt. Mercy, before going undefeated on the road to close out non-conference action. The Bulldogs' away wins were at Rockhurst in a rematch on Dec. 15 57-44, followed by a trip to Nebraska-Omaha on Dec. 17 when Truman's most recent triumph was charted, an 80-68 win over the Mavericks.
All three of Truman's non-conference losses this year were by a combined five points, and all four losses for the season have been by a combined 14 points. The 'Dogs opened the 2000-01 campaign with a 73-71 loss to Tampa (Fla.) in the Quincy (Ill.) Tournament, before registering their first win over the host, 50-48. Truman won its first home encounter 99-66 against St. Joseph's (Ind.), but then hit a two-game slide, falling to Rockhurst 58-56 in Kirksville and Concordia University, St. Paul (Minn.) 66-65 in a neutral site game at Rockhurst.
ABOUT THE LADY LIONS: Missouri Southern (6-3 overall and 1-0 in the MIAA) won its conference opener 73-67 over Washburn on Wednesday, snapping a three-game losing streak.
The Lady Lions went 5-0 to start the season, racking up wins over Rockhurst 64-58, Oklahoma Panhandle State 71-68, Hannibal-LaGrange 72-54, Drury 79-78 and East Central (Okla.), 76-70. Their three-game slide began with a 62-53 loss to Lubbock Christian and continued with Eastern New Mexico 86-70 and Rockhurst, 61-46.
Junior center Katie Gariss leads the team with 19.1 points and 7.7 rebounds a game, and contributed 25 points in the Washburn contest. Senior guard Erica Gonzalez added 20 points vs. WU, along with a team-high nine rebounds, and was a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. She also led the team with three buckets from long range, while Gariss was 9-of-12 from the field and 7-of-12 from the free throw line. Junior guard Jayme Callahan was tops on the team with five assists against Washburn.
Gariss ranks second among MIAA scoring leaders this week (19.2 ppg) and is tied for sixth in rebounding (7.7 rpg).
Gonzalez is 13th in MIAA scoring (12.5 ppg), fifth in free throw percentage (.821), third in steals (3.38 pg) and tied for sixth in three point field goals made (1.88 pg).
Callahan is fourth in league assists (4.78 pg). Senior guard Elena Lovato is sixth in three point field goal percentage (.340) and third in three point field goals made (2.25 pg), while freshman forward Paige Christiansen is tied for 10th in MIAA blocked shots (0.63 pg).
SERIES RECORD: The Bulldogs have enjoyed a six-game winning streak over the Lady Lions, dating back to Jan. 14, 1998. However, Truman is 9-10 vs. Missouri Southern in the all-time series. MSSC's last win was on Feb. 15, 1997, 66-55 in Kirksville.
THE COACHES: Bulldog Head Coach John Sloop is in his first season as a collegiate head coach, but served five years as the assistant coach for the Truman men's team.
Amy Townsend is in the midst of her third year as head coach for the Lady Lions. She has compiled a record of 16-45 (.262) in her first job as a collegiate head coach. Townsend is 0-4 against Truman.
BULLDOGS IN THE MIAA: Junior center/forward Jennifer Perkins (Fort Dodge, Iowa/St. Edmund) is fifth in the conference with 15.7 points a game, sixth in rebounding (7.7 rpg) and fourth in field goal percentage (.526) and blocked shots (1.11 pg).
Sophomore forward/center Jennifer Fisher (Fordland, Mo./Marshfield) is 19th in MIAA scoring (10.8 ppg), third in rebounding (9.3 rpg), tied for 10th in three-point field goals made (1.44 pg) and third in blocked shots (1.22 pg).
Junior guard/forward Jessy Fletcher (Atlanta, Mo.) is fifth in rebounding (7.9 pg) and tied for seventh in blocked shots (0.78 pg).
Junior guard Tessa Thurman (Atlanta, Mo./John Woods CC) is eighth in three-point field goal percentage (.269) and ninth in three-point field goals made (1.56 pg).
TRUMAN VS. CENTRAL MISSOURI: The Bulldogs only lead came in the opening minutes of the game as junior guard Robyn Gerber (Affton, Mo./Lutheran South) began all scoring with a jumper in the first minute-and-a-half of action. Central Missouri tied the scored at 15:34 with a pair of free throws, the start of a 7-0 run for the Jennies. CMSU built a 10-point margin over the 'Dogs with 3:19 left in the first half and took a 30-23 lead at intermission.
In the second half, the Jennies again went ahead by 10 points by 16:44 in the second period and extended their lead to 14 points at 13:41, following a 10-2 run.
The Bulldogs got within four points of Central Missouri with 6:40 remaining in the game after going on a 10-2 run of their own. However the Jennies again gained back the momentum, building another 10-point lead with 1:13 to go in the game. Gerber cut the Jennies' lead to nine with a jumper with nine seconds left on the clock to make the final score 65-56 in CMSU's favor.
Truman at Missouri Southern: 1-8-00 in Joplin, Mo.
Five Bulldogs scored in double figures against Missouri Southern with Gerber leading the way with 19 points, going 6-of-17 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Gerber also has a team-high five assists for the night.
The Bulldogs fell behind 4-0 to start the game, but took the lead for good by 13:40 in the first on a layup by Megan Kahn.
Truman took a nine point lead at halftime, 33-24, and enjoyed a 16-point lead with :40 remaining in the game. The 'Dogs hit 10-of-12 free throws in the last 1:51, with Gerber hitting 6-of-7 during that time.
Missouri Southern at Truman: 2-5-00 in Kirksville, Mo.
Truman vs. Missouri Southern on Feb. 5, 2000: Missouri Southern drew first blood only to see the Bulldogs immediately tie the score on a jumper by Megan Kahn. The Lady Lions took their last lead of the game on the next bucket. From there, Truman went ahead for good on a jumper by Perkins at 17:03. The Bulldogs took a permanent double-digit lead by 7:17 in the first half and built a 38-23 margin by halftime.
The 'Dogs took their first 20-point lead by 18:31 in the second stanza and built as much as a 24-point margin of victory with 10:10 remaining on a jumper by Megan Kahn. The Lady Lions got within 12-points with 2:33 left to play only to miss their next six shots, four from long range, and hitting two of four free throws. Megan Kahn scored the last points for Truman on a free throw with 20 seconds left to play, giving the 'Dogs a 19-point margin over the Lady Lions. However, MSSC hit a three pointer with 12 seconds to go, making the final score 80-64 in favor of Truman.