Jan. 15, 2001
Bulldogs Return Home Looking to Snap Three-Game Losing Streak
The Game: Truman State University Bulldogs (Mid-America Intercollegiate
Athletics Association/NCAA Division II) vs. Northwest Missouri State University
Bearcats (NCAA DII/MIAA)
Date/Time: Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2001/5:30 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 (10.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg)
24-Annie Westhoff, G/F, 6-0, Fr. (8.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
35-Jennifer Perkins, Jr., C/F, 6-1 (15.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg)
13-Robyn Gerber, Jr., G, 5-8 (8.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg)
11-Tessa Thurman, Jr., G, 5-6 (5.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg)
Northwest Missouri Probable Starters
30-Kristin Anderson, C, Jr., 6-0 (11.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
10-Dena McMullen, G, Jr., 5-10 (8.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg)
14-Latisha Brown, G, Jr., 5-2 (5.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg)
25-Jerrica Miller, G, Jr., 5-9 (10.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg)
34-Amanda Winter, G, Jr., 5-8 (13.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
Truman (6-7 overall, 1-4 in the MIAA): Truman ranks first in the MIAA in rebounding offense (42.6 rpg) as three Bulldogs rank among the conference's top 15 rebounders. However, the Truman women are suffering through a four-game losing streak after finishing a three-game road trip at Southwest Baptist on Saturday with a 91-59 loss to the Lady Bearcats. The 'Dogs dropped their first two games in the three-game road stint, losing to Washburn 63-52 and Missouri Western 81-67. The Bulldogs opened the MIAA campaign at home with a 65-56 loss to Central Missouri but followed that with their only conference win to date, a 91-74 victory over Missouri Southern.
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.
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 where Truman beat the Mavericks, 80-68.
About the Bearcats (5-8 overall, 0-5 in the MIAA): The Bearcats have not won a conference game yet, but went 5-3 through the non-conference portion of their schedule. Northwest Missouri opened the season with a win over Concordia, St. Paul 70-57, but followed that with their first loss, 77-67 to Southwest State (Minn.). The 'Cats then enjoyed their longest winning streak of the season racking up three straight wins at Nebraska-Omaha 84-80, and home games with Benedictine (Kan.) 89-72 and Rockhurst, 62-55. NWMS then lost a pair to Northwood 77-67 and Southern Indiana 78-93, before tallying their most recent win in a rematch with Rockhurst, 68-67.
In conference action, the Bearcats have losses to Emporia 77-64, Pittsburg State 73-71, Southwest Baptist 84-61, Central Missouri 66-60 and Missouri Western, 87-70.
Junior guard Amanda Winter leads the Bearcats with 13.8 points per game and ranks eighth among MIAA scoring leaders. She is also 10th in league assists (3.0 apg), eighth in three-point field goal percentage (.351), fourth in three-point field goals made (2.08 pg) and fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.29).
Two other 'Cats are scoring double figures as well. Junior center Kristin Anderson ranks 16th in the conference with 11.3 points a game, while junior guard Jerrica Miller is tied for 20th with 10.8 points a contest.
Junior guard Dena McMullen leads the MIAA in assists (6.38 apg), and is fourth in steals (2.92 spg) and blocked shots (1.23 pg) and sixth in assist/turnover ratio (1.32).
Against Missouri Western on Saturday, Anderson led all scorers with 22 points and tied for the team-high with six rebounds. Freshman center Jenna Wolfe and Winter also scored in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively. McMullen led the team with five assists and two blocks, while Winter hit two from long range to lead the squad.
Missouri Western shot 58.9 from the field, including nine treys, and out-rebounded Northwest Missouri, 34-28. NWMS shot 38.2 from the field and was 25-of-33 from the free throw line.
Series Records: Northwest leads the all-time series with Truman, 33-8. However, the Bulldogs have won the last three meetings, including 78-65 and 105-80 victories last season. NWMS's last win was on Jan. 18, 1998, in Kirksville, 70-62.
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.
Gene Steinmeyer posted a record of 4-22 in his first season as head coach for the Bearcats last year. He is 9-30 as taskmaster for the Northwest Missouri women, and 369-171 as a collegiate head coach.
Bulldogs in the MIAA: Junior center/forward Jennifer Perkins (Fort Dodge, Iowa/St. Edmund) is sixth in the conference with 15.2 points a game, fifth in rebounding (7.8rpg), sixth in field goal percentage (.532) and tied for second in MIAA blocked shots (1.38 pg).
Sophomore forward/center Jennifer Fisher (Fordland, Mo./Marshfield) is third in rebounding (8.8 rpg),10th in three-point field goals made (1.46 pg) and sixth in blocked shots (1.00 pg).
Junior guard/forward Jessy Fletcher (Atlanta, Mo.) is tied for ninth in rebounding (6.9 pg).
Truman vs. Southwest Baptist: The Bulldogs never took the lead over the Bearcats, but did manage to tie the score twice at two and again a 10 in the first five minutes of play.
After that, SBU built a steady lead, going ahead by double digits for the first time at the 11-minute mark after a 10-0 run. The 'Dogs stayed in it though, and kept the lead to single digits for most of the first half. They were behind just 38-30 at halftime after Perkins closed first half scoring with a pair of free throws.
Truman cut SBU's lead to five by the 18-minute mark of the second half after Fletcher made two buckets in the first couple of minutes. However, the Bearcats' assault kept up and saw them go ahead by 11 points at 16:18. SBU took a permanent double-digit lead with 11:55 left in the game, and enjoyed a 20-point lead by the six-minute mark following a 9-2 run. The 'Cats used a 13-2 run to go ahead by 29 with 3:32 left to play and enjoyed their greatest lead at the buzzer, 91-59.
Bits on the Bulldogs
40-Jennifer Fisher: Had a career-high with 25 points and five three-pointers vs. St. Joseph's (Ind.) on Nov. 24 ... leads the team in rebounding with 8.8 a game (114) ... scored in double figures in eight games this year, including four double-doubles ... best rebounding game was vs. Rockhurst when she grabbed 13 boards ... already ranks fifth on the Truman career blocked shots list with 36 ... led the 'Dogs with 15 points vs. CMSU ... second on the team with 33 assists ... her 5-of-5 performance from long range in the St. Joseph's contest ties her with one other individual in the MIAA for the best single-game percentage (1.000) from beyond the arc so far this season ... has sank her last 15 free throws.
10-Jessy Fletcher: John Wood Community College Transfer ... has started every game and scored in double figures seven times with two double-doubles ... had a senior college career high with 16 points vs. Missouri Western on Jan. 10 and grabbed a career high of 14 rebounds vs. St. Joseph's ... tied for second on the team with 10.2 points a game.
13-Robyn Gerber: A full-time starter this season at point guard, she is fifth in scoring on the team with 8.3 points a game ... has five games this year with double-digit scoring ... led the team with 15 points in Truman's first MIAA win over Missouri Southern on Jan. 6, and with 12 points in the team's first victory of the year at Quincy (Ill.) ... is tied for the team season-high with six assists in the first Rockhurst encounter on Nov. 28 and leads the squad for the year with 33 helpers ... had the game-winning assist in the 50-48 win over Quincy.
30-Carrie Guenzler: Saw action in the St. Joseph's and Mt. Mercy games ... attempted one three-pointer vs. Mt. Mercy.
14-Jennifer McDonnell: In four games this year, she has had one foul and one turnover after walking on in the fall.
35-Jennifer Perkins: The teams leading scorer (15.2 ppg), Perkins has charted 10 games with double-digit scoring, including four 20-plus efforts .... had a career-high and team season best with 26 points at Washburn on Jan. 8 ... has three double-doubles for the year in the games vs. Rockhurst (14 pts., 10 reb.), Central Missouri (15 pts., 12 reb.) and Southwest Baptist (10 pts., 10 reb.) ... has led the team in scoring in seven contests so far this year and tied for the team lead vs. Southwest Baptist on Saturday ... is currently in the 15th spot on the Bulldog career scoring leaders list with 745 points and is 13th in among all-time rebounders at Truman with 439 ... is third on the Truman list for career blocked shots with 47 ... had a team season-high with 10 field goals vs. Concordia and Washburn ... scored the game-winning bucket in the team's first win in 2000-01 vs. Quincy.
Keagan Thalin: She has come off the bench in every game to average 4.3 points and is second on the team from the line, making 29-of-39 (.744) ... had her first double-digit scoring game vs. Nebraska-Omaha with 13 points and charted her second vs. Missouri Southern with 10 points ... charted career highs with four assists vs. MSSC and with 11-of-14 performance from the charity stripe vs. Nebraska-Omaha ... was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line against Missouri Southern ... her 11 free throws vs. UNO ties for second in the MIAA for most in a single-game this year .... she hit 11 straight free throws dating back to the last minute of the UNO game until the closing minutes of the Missouri Western contest.
11-Tessa Thurman: John Wood Community College Transfer ... the No. 2 guard, she has started every contest this season ... is second on the team with 18 long range buckets ... had a career high 14 points in the season-opener against Tampa and vs. Mt. Mercy ... also scored 11 points in the St. Joseph's and Missouri Southern contests to account for all of her double-digit scoring games this year ... made four treys against Tampa.
23-Emily Turnbull: A reserve point guard, Turnbull has played in every game, charting 19 assists and averaging 3.5 points a game ... she is 22-of-36 from the charity stripe ... had career highs with 12 points, seven free throws, 10 FT attempts and three rebounds against Missouri Western last Wednesday.
12-Erin Tweedy: A bench contributor, Tweedy has played in three games, charting one rebound.
24-Annie Westhoff: Garnered a starting role in the last eight games ... fourth in team scoring with 8.8 points a game ... had double-digit scoring efforts in five games, including a career high 17 points vs. Missouri Western on Jan. 10 ... had her first double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds vs. St. Joseph's ... also had two blocked shots vs. St. Joseph's ... she is fourth on the team in rebounding with 5.5 a game ... led the team with four steals vs. Mt. Mercy and three against Southwest Baptist.
Ashlea Wood: Has come off the bench in 11 games this year and scored 17 points ... had career-highs with six points vs. St. Joseph's and eight rebounds against Missouri Western on Jan. 10 ... tied for the team lead with eight rebounds vs. MWSC ... was 3-for-3 from the free throw line vs. Mt. Mercy.
Truman vs. Northwest Missouri-Jan. 19, 2000
The Bulldogs came out on top of eight lead changes, taking the lead for good at 3:52 in the first half on a layup by Perkins. She began a 12-2 run for the 'Dogs with the layup and added three free throws to push Truman's lead to five points. Robyn Gerber (Affton, Mo./Lutheran South) continued the run with a jumper before Northwest Missouri scored its next field goal.
Sobaski accounted for the rest of the 12-points with a three-pointer and a pair of free throws to push the 'Dogs lead to 10. Bulldog Wendi Sobaski came up with the layup off a steal by senior guard Stacey Roth to close first-half scoring and put the score at 40-33 in the Bulldogs' favor.
Truman expanded its lead steadily in the second period, taking a 16-point lead by 11:45 on a jumper by Megan Kahn. Northwest cut into the 16-point margin slightly, but saw the Bulldogs regain it on a three-point bucket by junior guard April Warren-Grice with 8:42 remaining. The Lady Bearcats' Denise Sump answered Warren-Grice's three with a layup, only to see Truman's Kelli Kreuser push the lead back to 16 with a layup on the very next possession.
NWMS got within nine-points with 4:21 left to play, but another Sobaski three-pointer gave the Bulldogs a 12-point lead with 3:54 left on the clock. Two more Perkins free throws with five seconds to go put the final score at 78-65 in favor of Truman.
Truman vs. Northwest Missouri-Feb. 16, 2000
The Bulldogs shot their best game of the year, hitting 50.7 percent from the field. Four 'Dogs scored in double digits with Sobaski scoring a season game-high 25 on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and a 5-of-7 performance from beyond the arc. Truman also had team season game highs with 105 points, 37 made field goals, nine three-pointers and 22 assists. Eleven Bulldogs scored with five contributing double figures as Kreuser added 19, Perkins scored 14, Roth had 12 and Fisher came up with 10 points.
The Bearcats gave it a good going in the first half, coming back from an early seven-point deficit to take the lead at 12:38 behind a 13-6 run. The two teams traded the lead and tied the score several times after that before Northwest Missouri went ahead for the remainder of the half with 4:55 to play, and took a 49-47 lead at intermission.
Truman missed four shots and a free throw to start the second half, but grabbed the lead permanently by 17:32 on a jumper by Perkins. The Bulldogs expanded their lead to double digits by the 14:10 mark after a 12-2 run. With 3:49 to go, the 'Dogs went on a 14-3 tear, to savor a 25-point lead over the Bearcats and a 105-80 win.
It was the first time the Bulldogs scored more than 100 points in 1999-2000, and the first time since finishing with 103 points to Missouri Southern's 49 on Feb. 13, 1999.