Jan. 23, 2001

Women's Basketball Squad Looks to Break Five-Game Skid at Winless Missouri-Rolla

The Game: Truman State University Bulldogs (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association/NCAA Division II) vs. University of Missouri-Rolla Lady Miners (NCAA DII/MIAA)
Date/Time: Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2001/5:45 pm
Location: Rolla, Mo.
Arena (Capacity): Bullman Multi-purpose (5,000)

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. 27 and Feb. 10 games.

Team Line: Live KRES broadcast by calling 1-800-846-4700. Access Code: 6350

Truman Probable Starters
40-Jennifer Fisher, So., F, 6-2 (10.5 ppg, 8.7 rpg)
24-Annie Westhoff, Fr., F, 6-0, (8.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg)
35-Jennifer Perkins, Jr., C, 6-1 (15.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg)
10-Jessy Fletcher, Jr., G, 5-11(9.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg)
23-Emily Turnbull, Fr., G, 5-6 (3.2 ppg, 1.5 rpg)

Missouri-Rolla Probable Starters
24-Amy Milliken, Sr., F, 6-0 (9.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
35-Jackie Kelble, Sr., F, 5-10 (15.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg)
31-Leah Kessenich, So., C, 6-2 (7.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg)
10-Jamie Schroetlin, Sr., G, 5-9 (7.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg)
22-Latisha Poulard, Fr., G, 5-7 (7.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg)

Truman (6-9 overall, 1-6 in the MIAA): The Truman women have out-rebounded 12 of their 15 opponents this year to rank first in the MIAA in rebounding offense (42.7 rpg), as three Bulldogs rank among the conference's top 15 rebounders. However, the 'Dogs have lost their last five games, most recently losing to No. 3 Emporia State 66-47 on Saturday. The skid also includes losses to Northwest Missouri 68-56, Southwest Baptist 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 began 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 Miners (3-12 overall, 0-7 in the MIAA): Missouri-Rolla tallied all three of its wins this year in the first four games of the season. They began the year with a pair of victories at the Texas Women's Tournament, beating Kentucky State 74-49 and Dubuque (Iowa), 72-40. UMR tallied its first loss in overtime 85-73 to Evangel in Rolla and followed that with their most recent win, a 67-58 triumph over North Florida, also in Rolla. The Lady Miners completed the non-conference portion of their schedule with losses to Lincoln 70-67, Lynn (Fla.) 55-51, Barry (Fla.) 83-48 and Southern Illinois U.-Edwardsville, 62-50. Since beginning the MIAA season, Missouri-Rolla has losses to Southwest Baptist 100-72, Emporia 86-39, Missouri Southern 88-77, Pittsburg 65-61, Central Missouri 57-54, Missouri Western 88-67 and Northwest Missouri 69-58.

Senior forward Jackie Kelble leads the Lady Miners with 15.9 points a game to rank fourth in the MIAA. She is also tied for sixth in the conference in free throw percentage (.793). Sophomore center Leah Kessenich ranks 10th among league rebounders (6.9 rpg) and is tied for third in blocked shots (1.27 bpg).

Against Northwest Missouri on Saturday, senior forward Amy Milliken and Kelble led the team with 17 points apiece, while Kessenich had 15 points, along with 14 rebounds and four blocked shots. Milliken also hit four three-pointers, and senior guard Jamie Schroetlin had a team-high five assists.

Series Records: This will be the first game between the teams since the Bulldogs slid past the Lady Miners 66-59 last Feb. 23, 2000 in Rolla. Truman holds a slight lead in the overall record between the two teams, 21-19, including wins in the past eight meetings with UMR. The last game the Lady Miners won was on Feb. 21, 1996, when they defeated the 'Dogs 72-60 in Rolla.

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.

Head Coach Linda Roberts has posted a 114-128 record in her nine years with the Lady Miners, including a 5-8 record against the 'Dogs. She has a career record of 272-254 after 21 years. She is assisted by Josh Matthews.

Bulldogs in the MIAA: Sophomore forward/center Jennifer Fisher (Fordland, Mo./Marshfield) is third in conference rebounding (8.7 rpg) and tied for sixth in blocked shots (1.00 pg).

Junior center/forward Jennifer Perkins (Fort Dodge, Iowa/St. Edmund) is sixth in the conference with 15.3 points a game, fourth in rebounding (7.9 rpg), fourth in field goal percentage (.539) and second in MIAA blocked shots (1.33 pg).

Junior guard/forward Jessy Fletcher (Atlanta, Mo.) is 13th in league rebounding (6.5 pg).

Truman vs. Emporia: Freshman forward guard Annie Westhoff (Webster Groves, Mo.) drew first blood just seconds into the game to give Truman its only lead of the night. From there, Emporia went on a 14-0 run to take its first double-digit lead by the 17-minute mark in the first period. The Lady Hornets enjoyed their greatest margin of the half, 14 points, with 4:12 to go before intermission. However, the Bulldogs began cutting into that lead, using an 8-2 run to cut the ESU lead to eight, 30-22, heading into the break.

The Lady Hornets used their own 8-2 run to open the second stanza and take another dpouble-digit lead by the 16-minute mark. Emporia took a permanent double-digit lead by 11:42 and enjoyed its greatest margin over the 'Dogs at 21 points with 2:30 left to play, coming away the winners, 66-47.

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 (131) and from the line, shooting .902 (37-of-41) ... scored in double figures in 10 games this year, including five 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 ... leads the team with 37 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.

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 ... third on the team with 9.7 points a game ... tied for the for the team season game high with six assists against St. Joseph's.

13-Robyn Gerber: Gerber has been hampered by a back injury and missed her first start and game of the year vs. Emporia last Saturday ... 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 an is second on the team for the year with 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 two games this year, she has had one foul and one turnover after walking on in the fall.

35-Jennifer Perkins: The teams leading scorer (15.3 ppg), Perkins has charted 12 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 four double-doubles for the year in the games, most recently with 18 points and 10 boards vs. ESU last Saturday ... has led the team in scoring in nine contests so far this year and tied for the team lead vs. Southwest Baptist ... is currently in the 14th spot on the Bulldog career scoring leaders list with 778 points and is 10th in among all-time rebounders at Truman with 455 ... is third on the Truman list for career blocked shots with 49 ... 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 ... 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 ... is tied for first on the team with 20 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: Turnbull has played in every game and earned her first start against Emporia on Jan. 20 ... has 21 assists and averages 3.2 points a game ... had career highs with 12 points, seven free throws, 10 FT attempts and three rebounds against Missouri Western on Jan. 10.

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 10 games ... fourth in team scoring (8.5 ppg) and rebounding (5.5 rpg) ... 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 on Nov. 24 ... also had two blocked shots vs. St. Joseph's ... led the team with four steals vs. Mt. Mercy and three against Southwest Baptist and Emporia.

Ashlea Wood: Has come off the bench in 14 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. MISSOURI-ROLLA (Jan. 26, 2000): The Bulldogs never trailed after Robyn Gerber (Affton, Mo./Lutheran South) hit a jumper 14 seconds into the game to begin all scoring. The 'Dogs reached a double-digit lead with 5:02 left in the first half on a jumper by Perkins who charted her first double-double of the year, with 11 rebounds and 20 points. At the half, Truman was ahead 36-25.

Junior forward Kelli Kreuser hit a pair of free throws to start second-half scoring and would go 8-of-8 for the night from the charity stripe. Truman took a 20-point lead on another jumper by Perkins at 12:33, and would go ahead by 31 points with 2:01 remaining on a three-pointer by senior guard Mollie Kahn.

Senior guard Stacey Roth and Kahn then hit two free throws apiece in the last 1:37 to give the Bulldogs their final 33-point margin of victory, leaving the score at 86-53 in favor of Truman.

The team shot .958 (23-of-24) from the free throw line, a team and MIAA season high.

TRUMAN vs. MISSOURI-ROLLA Feb. 23, 2000: It was a rough start for the 'Dogs who fell behind 22-6 following a 18-1 run by the Lady Miners in the early going. However, Truman began cutting into UMR's 16-point lead on a layup by junior guard April Warren-Grice at 9:58 in the first period. The last 4:13 of the half saw the Bulldogs go on a 13-2 run beginning with a jumper by Perkins, followed by 6-of-7 free throw shooting and a jumper by senior forward/center Jennifer Happel. Sobaski hit a three-pointer with 33 seconds to go in the half and cut Truman's deficit to one (33-32) heading into intermission.

After the break, the Lady Miners made a layup to begin second-half scoring. But Kreuser answered with her first of three buckets from long range, all of which occurred by the 10:53 mark in the second stanza.

UMR took its last lead of the game at 16:24, 37-35, before Fisher connected from beyond the ark to put the Bulldogs ahead for good with 16:14 to go. Fisher's trey set off a 14-0 run by the 'Dogs which was continued by Kreuser who added two jumpers and another three-pointer, followed by a Perkins jumper and another three-pointer and finished with a jumper by Kreuser to give Truman a 12-point lead. The Lady Miners pulled to within five points with 1:27 remaining, but missed a three pointer with 46 seconds left and had to begin fouling Truman. The Bulldogs made just two of five free throws in the last minute, but managed the win by seven points, 66-59.

MIAA Standings

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