Jan. 18, 2001
Women's Basketball Squad Hosts Third-Ranked Emporia State on Saturday
The Game: Truman State University Bulldogs (Mid-America Intercollegiate
Athletics Association/NCAA Division II) vs. Emporia State University Lady
Hornets (NCAA DII/MIAA)
Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 20, 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 (6-8 overall, 1-5 in the MIAA): The Truman women have outrebounded all but two of their opponents this season and rank first in the MIAA in rebounding offense (42.7 rpg). Three Bulldogs rank among the conference's top 15 rebounders. However, the 'Dogs have lost their last four games, most recently falling to Northwest Missouri in Kirksville on Wednesday, 68-56. The skid also includes losses to Southwest Baptist on Saturday 91-59, 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 Lady Hornets (13-1 overall, 5-1 in the MIAA): The Lady Hornets are the third-ranked team in the nation and were rated second in the South Central region this week, behind Texas A&M Kingsville. Senior Forward Emily Bloss leads the nation in scoring with 24.6 points a game, while the team leads the MIAA in 12 of 19 statistical categories. ESU is averaging 79.1 ppg, while allowing its opponents 49.9 per contest, a margin of 29.3 points.
Senior center Myshka Wilkerson leads the league in field goal percentage (.636), is second in MIAA rebounding (9.9 rpg) and tied for second in blocked shots with Jennifer Perkins (1.36 pg). Sophomore guard Jamie Blakely is second in league assists (6.0 apg) and leads the conference in assist/turnover ratio (2.21).
Emporia is coming off of its first loss of the year, falling to Southwest Baptist on Wednesday, 65-62, at Emporia.
Series Records: Emporia has a 19-4 lead in the all-time series with the Truman women. However, the Bulldogs snapped an eight-game losing streak to ESU with a 75-72 win over the Hornets in Kirksville on Feb. 19 last year. Two years ago, Emporia knocked the 'Dogs out of the MIAA postseason tournament in the second round and the NCAA South Central region tournament in the final game by scores of 84-64 and 110-93, respectively, at ESU.
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.
Brandon Schneider is in the midst of his third season guiding the Hornets. He has posted a record of 71-8 in his first job as a college head coach. Schneider is 4-1 vs. Truman. He arrived at ESU in 1995, serving as an assistant to the Hornets under head coach Cindy Stein who went on to coach the Missouri Tigers women's basketball squad.
Bulldogs in the MIAA: Sophomore forward/center Jennifer Fisher (Fordland, Mo./Marshfield) is third in conference rebounding (8.7 rpg), 10th in three-point field goals made (1.36 pg) and tied for sixth in blocked shots (.93 pg).
Junior center/forward Jennifer Perkins (Fort Dodge, Iowa/St. Edmund) is sixth in the conference with 15.1 points a game, fifth in rebounding (7.8 rpg), fifth in field goal percentage (.536) and tied for second in MIAA blocked shots (1.36 pg).
Junior guard/forward Jessy Fletcher (Atlanta, Mo.) is 10th in league rebounding (6.7 pg).
Truman vs. Northwest Missouri: The NWMS Lady Bearcats got on the board first, but the Bulldogs quickly tied the score and went ahead by four points at 16:36. However the Lady 'Cats answered with a three-pointer to cut the Truman lead to one. Shortly after that NWMS used a 9-0 run to take the lead for the remainder of the half, heading into the break ahead 30-22.
In the second period, Truman outscored Northwest Missouri 10-4 to tie the score at 34 apiece by the 13-minute mark. NWMS snatched back their lead after that and kept a slim margin over the 'Dogs for the next few minutes. The Bulldogs took their first lead in the second half at 9:12, following a layup by freshman forward/guard Annie Westhoff (Webster Groves, Mo.).
The two teams would tied the score three more times and trade the lead seven times before Northwest Missouri came out on top with 6:10 left to play. The Lady Bearcats expanded their lead to double digits with a minute remaining in the game, and enjoyed their greatest margin at the buzzer, 68-56.
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 8.7 a game (122) ... scored in double figures in nine 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 35 assists ... her 5-of-5 performance from long range in the St. Joseph's contest tied her with one other individual in the MIAA for the best single-game percentage (1.000) from beyond the arc so far this season ... sank 19 straight free throws before missing her last one in the Northwest Missouri game.
10-Jessy Fletcher: John Wood Community College Transfer ... has started every game and scored in double figures eight 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 10.3 points a game.
13-Robyn Gerber: A full-time starter at point guard, she is fifth in scoring on the team with 7.8 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.) ... 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 36 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 (15.1 ppg), Perkins has charted 11 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 eight contests so far this year and tied for the team lead vs. Southwest Baptist ... is currently in the 15th spot on the Bulldog career scoring leaders list with 760 points and is 13th in among all-time rebounders at Truman with 445 ... is third on the Truman list for career blocked shots with 48 ... 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 4.4 points ... 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.
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 21 assists and averaging 3.4 points a game ... she is 23-of-38 from the line ... had career highs with 12 points, seven free throws, 10 FT attempts and three rebounds against Missouri Western.
12-Erin Tweedy: A bench contributor, Tweedy has played in three games, tallying one rebound.
24-Annie Westhoff: Garnered a starting role in the last nine games ... fourth in team scoring with 8.9 points a game ... had double-digit scoring efforts in six 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 12 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. Emporia-Jan. 22, 2000
Emporia came out swinging, hitting a three pointer to start all scoring and taking the lead for good on the long range bucket. The Lady Hornets expanded their lead to double digits during a 9-0 run midway through the first half and took a 55-37 lead at intermission. ESU enjoyed its greatest margin with 5:38 left to play, going ahead by 41 points (97-56) following another 9-0 run.
Truman vs. Emporia-Feb. 19, 2000
It was on Feb. 11, 1995, in Kirksville the last time the Bulldogs enjoyed a victory over the ESU women. However, Truman knocked off the No. 1 team in the South Central Region 75-72 and handed Emporia its second loss in the MIAA, and third for the season in the two team's last meeting.
The 'Dogs held up to ESU's relentless pressure and played one of their best defensive games of the year, holding Emporia to 31.9 percent from the field.
Truman battled back from an early seven-point deficit to take its first lead at 14:12 in the first half on a jumper by junior guard Wendi Sobaski. Emporia quickly answered with a layup by Jennifer Perine, but the 'Dogs had their own answer as Kreuser made a jumper to give Truman the lead for the next 11 minutes.
The Bulldogs were ahead by nine points at the 3:54 mark in the first. ESU then came back behind a 12-2 run to take a 36-35 lead with 1:52 left in the first period. The Bulldogs then grabbed the lead back on a layup by senior forward/center Jennifer Happel (now a student assistant coach at Truman). Tara Holloway tied the score again with a free throw with 1:12 to go, only to see Perkins sink a jumper for Truman. However, Holloway tied the score at the break with a layup.
Kreuser began second-half scoring with a jumper, sparking a 11-4 run for the 'Dogs who led by seven points by the 15-minute mark. ESU took a a brief 55-54 lead at 11:14 and another one-point lead at 10:41. But Kreuser again performed the heroics with a layup that began an 8-2 run for the 'Dogs. The Lady Hornets tied the score at 67 with 4:30 left to play, but Warren-Grice made a free throw to put Truman back on top.
Emporia grabbed the lead on a three pointer by Tawanda Barnes with two minutes to go and built a three-point margin over the Bulldogs. Kreuser then hit two free throws, while April Warren-Grice, now a graduate assistant coach for Truman, made the steal and assisted Kreuser on the layup to give Truman its final lead in the game 73-72 with 43 seconds on the clock. Down by just one, Holloway missed a jumper with 29 seconds left and ESU fouled Warren-Grice who missed both free shots. ESU grabbed the defensive rebound after the second shot and again, Holloway missed on a jumper but was saved by Perine who grabbed the offensive rebound, but also missed on a three-pointer with two seconds to go. With one second left to play, ESU quickly fouled Perkins, who sank both shots from the line to give Truman its final 75-72 margin of victory.