Feb. 13, 2001

Truman Women Travel to Face Northwest Missouri

The Game: Truman State University Bulldogs (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association/NCAA Division II) vs. Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats
Date/Time: Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2001/5:30 pm
Location: Maryville, Mo.
Arena (Capacity): Bearcat Arena (2,500)

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, for the home games and Hank Janssen doing commentary on the road. The pregame show begins approximately 15 minutes before the game.

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

MIAA SAAC Food Drive: The MIAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, in cooperation with the Truman Captains' Round Table, will sponsor a food drive to benefit the Kirksville Salvation Army. Fans who bring one non-perishable food item to the Feb. 21 men's or women's basketball game will gain free admission. Also, from Feb. 10-24, Truman student-athletes will be collecting canned food items door-to-door throughout the community. A drop-off point will be located at Pershing Arena on the campus of Truman State University for those wishing to make a donation.

Truman Probable Starters
24-Annie Westhoff, Fr., F, 6-0 (9.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg)
04-Keagan Thalin, Fr., G, 5-8 (4.0 ppg, 1.6 rpg)
35-Jennifer Perkins, Jr., C, 6-1 (16.1 ppg, 7.9 rpg)
10-Jessy Fletcher, Jr., G, 5-11(10.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg)
13-Robyn Gerber, Jr., G, 5-8 (6.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg)

Northwest Missouri Probable Starters
30-Kristin Anderson, F, Jr., 6-0 (12.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg)
10-Dena McMullen, G, Jr., 5-10 (8.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg)
14-Latisha Brown, G, Jr., 5-2 (4.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg)
25-Jerrica Miller, F, Jr., 5-9 (10.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg)
34-Amanda Winter, F, Jr., 5-8 (12.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg)

Truman (7-15 overall, 2-12 in the MIAA): The Bulldogs are hoping to put an end to a three-game losing streak this week when they take on the Northwest Missouri Bearcats. The 'Cats won the last matchup on Jan. 17, defeating the 'Dogs in Kirksville, 68-56.

The last time the Bulldogs tasted victory was in their Feb. 3 overtime win against Missouri Southern, 70-69. The Lady Lions also fed the 'Dogs their other MIAA win earlier in the season when Truman rolled past them, 91-74, on Jan. 6.

The 'Dogs are 3-8 in Kirksville, and 4-7 on the road.

Truman continues to rank first in the MIAA in rebounding offense (41.3 rpg), defensive rebounds (28.55 drpg) and blocked shots (3.41 bpg).

The Truman women are ninth in the MIAA standings, two games out of the eighth spot. With four regular season games left, the Bulldogs need to put together a string of wins if they are to make their fourth-straight trip to the conference postseason tournament by finishing in the top eight in the MIAA.

Northwest Missouri State (10-12overall, 5-9 in the MIAA): The Bearcats have had a bumpy ride this season, kicking off January with a five-game losing streak that was followed by four consecutive wins, beginning with the 68-56 triumph over the 'Dogs. During that four-game span, the Bearcats also beat Missouri-Rolla, Washburn and Missouri Southern. NWMS hit a three-game slide after that, losing to Emporia, Pittsburg and Southwest Baptist. The 'Cats' most recent win was in a Central Missouri State matchup on Feb. 7, 83-71.

Last Saturday, the Bearcats faced Missouri Western, which blew past NWMS by a score of 105-64.

Northwest Missouri is currently seventh in the MIAA and ranks second in the conference in steals (12.45 spg), but ranks last in field goal percentage (.391), scoring defense (74.0 ppg) and rebounding defense (42.0 rpg).

Guard Dena McMullen tops the MIAA with assists (6.18 pg) and is tied for the fifth spot in steals (2.32 pg). She also is sixth in blocked shots (1.05 pg) and fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.46). Forward Amanda Winter holds the sixth position in three point field goal percentage (.352) and three point field goals made (1.73 pg).

When the 'Cats took on Missouri Western last weekend, Tanesha Fields led in points with 13, followed by Jerrica Miller with 11. Jenna Wolfe grabbed nine boards and Miller had eight.

Series Records: Northwest leads the all-time series with Truman, 34-8. Prior to losing to the Bearcats, 68-56 on Jan. 17, 2001, the Bulldogs had won the last three meetings, including 78-65 and 105-80 victories last season. Before this 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 14-34 as taskmaster for the Northwest Missouri women, and 374-175 as a collegiate head coach.

Perkins Breaks Blocks Record: Junior center/forward Jennifer Perkins (Fort Dodge, Iowa/St. Edmund) broke the Truman record for career blocked shots last Wednesday after swatting five Missouri Western balls. The five rejections also tied the Truman single-game record. Perkins, who now has 62 for her career, swiped the record from Amy Pillard who charted 58 blocks from 1994-96.

Bulldogs in the MIAA & NCAA: Junior center/forward Jennifer Perkins (Fort Dodge, Iowa/St. Edmund) is fourth in the conference with 16.1 points a game, tied for second in rebounding (7.9 rpg), second in field goal percentage (.527) and tied for first in MIAA blocked shots (1.50 pg).

Sophomore forward/center Jennifer Fisher (Fordland, Mo./Marshfield) is fourth in conference rebounding (7.86 rpg) and is tied for seventh in blocked shots (1.00 pg).

Junior guard/forward Jessy Fletcher (Atlanta, Mo.) is eighth in league rebounding (6.9 pg) and 18th in scoring (10.6 ppg).

Junior guard Tessa Thurman (Atlanta, Mo.) is eighth in three point field goals made (1.50 pg) and seventh in three-point field goal percentage (.273).

Bits on the Bulldogs

40-Jennifer Fisher, Jr.: Had a career-high with 25 points and five three-pointers vs. St. Joseph's (Ind.) on Nov. 24 ... leads the team from the line, shooting .891 (49-of-55) ... scored in double figures in 12 games this year, including six double-doubles ... best rebounding game this year was vs. Rockhurst when she grabbed 13 boards ... moved up to fourth on the Truman career blocked shots list with 43 and is 10th in career three-point field goals made (37) ... is also fifth on the Bulldog single season blocks list with 22, just one away from the fourth-best season ever ... led the 'Dogs with 15 points vs. CMSU ... leads the team with 50 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, it is also tied for second with most made in the game in the league ... made game-winning put-back in 70-69 overtime win vs. Missouri Southern on Feb. 3

10-Jessy Fletcher, Jr.: John Wood Community College Transfer ... only player to have started every game ... scored in double figures 14 times with three double-doubles ... had senior college career highs with 17 points and 3-of-4 performance from long range vs. Washburn on Feb. 5, and grabbed a career-high of 14 rebounds vs. St. Joseph's ... second on the team with 10.6 points a game ... tied for the team season game high with six assists against St. Joseph's ... had two blocks in three games this season, most recently vs. Missouri Southern on Feb. 7 ... her 12 blocks this season puts her in the 16th spot on the Truman single season list.

13-Robyn Gerber, Jr.: Gerber is fifth in scoring on the team with 6.3 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.) ... tied for the team season-high with six assists in the first Rockhurst encounter on Nov. 28 and is second on the team for the year with with 44 helpers ... had the game-winning assist in the 50-48 win over Quincy.

35-Jennifer Perkins, Jr.: The teams leading scorer (15.9 ppg), Perkins has charted 19 games with double-digit scoring, including the last 10 games and 18 of the last 19 games .... she has six 20-plus efforts .... had a career-high and team season-best with 26 points at Washburn on Jan. 8 ... has six double-doubles for the year, most recently with 24 points and 12 boards vs. MWSC on Feb. 7 ... has led the team in scoring in 12 contests so far this year and tied for the team lead twice ... is now 12th on the Bulldog career scoring leaders list with 903 points and is seventh among all-time rebounders at Truman with 510 ... broke the school record for career blocked shots after adding five vs. Missouri Western and now has 62 since 1998 ... tied the school record for blocks in a game with five vs. MWSC ... is also second on the Truman single-season blocks list with 33, just four away from the Bulldog record ... had a team season-high with 11-of-20 performance from the field vs. Missouri Western on Feb. 7 ... scored the game-winning bucket in the team's first win in 2000-01 vs. Quincy ... named MIAA athlete of the week for Feb. 5 after averaging 21.5 points and 10.0 rebounds in two games.

Keagan Thalin, Fr.: Thalin has started five games and averages 4.0 points per contest ... had her first double-digit scoring game vs. Nebraska-Omaha with 13 points and charted her second vs. Missouri Southern on Jan. 6 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, Jr.: John Wood Community College Transfer ... leads the team with 33 long range buckets ... has six games scoring in double digits, most recently vs. Southwest Baptist on Feb. 10 with 12 points ... had a senior college career high of 14 points in the season-opener against Tampa and vs. Mt. Mercy ... made four treys against Tampa and Southwest Baptist on Feb. 10 ... with four three-pointers vs. SBU, Thurman entered the Truman career leaders list tied for 12th with 33 and is now 11th on the career three-point field goal attempts list with 121 ... Thurman is also 11th on the Bulldog single-season list for three-pointers and ninth on the single season attempts list.

23-Emily Turnbull, Fr.: Turnbull has played in every game and earned her first start against Emporia on Jan. 20 ... started five contests ... has 39 assists and averages 2.5 points a game ... had career highs with 12 points, seven free throws and 10 FT attempts against Missouri Western on Jan. 10.

24-Annie Westhoff, Fr.: Garnered a starting role in the last 17 games ... third in team scoring (9.6 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (5.4 rpg) ... had double-digit scoring efforts in 10 games ... had a career-high and led the team with 21 points vs. Pittsburg on Jan. 27 ... also led the team with 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 ... had two blocked shots vs. St. Joseph's and Pittsburg on Jan. 27. ... led the team with four steals vs. Mt. Mercy.

Ashlea Wood, Fr.: Has come off the bench in 21 games this year and made her first career start against Pittsburg on Jan. 27, charting career-highs with 10 points, four made field goals, eight field goal attempts, her first three-pointer and three assists ... also started against CMSU on Jan. 31 ... had a career-high with eight rebounds against Missouri Western on Jan. 10 which tied for the team game high ... was 3-for-3 from the free throw line vs. Mt. Mercy.

Truman vs. Northwest Missouri on Jan. 17, 2001: 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.

Truman vs. Southwest Baptist on Feb. 10, 2001: Southwest Baptist drew first blood and never trailed the 'Dogs for the next 40 minutes. Truman kept the SBU lead under 10 until the 4-minute mark when the Bearcats took an 11-point lead. The Bearcats finished the half with a 7-2 run, going ahead 42-26 at the break.

In the second half, SBU continued to build its margin over the 'Dogs, enjoying its greatest lead of the game, 22 points, at the 13-minute. After that, Truman began a rally with a bucket by Westhoff that would see the Bulldogs out-score the Lady Bearcats 24-6 over the next nine minutes and nine seconds, and cut SBU's lead to three points with 3:46 left to play. However the Lady 'Cats held Truman to just two more points for the remainder of the game, while adding a three-pointer, a jumper and 5-of-7 free throw shooting to seal the Bulldogs' fate, 76-65.

MIAA Standings

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