Feb. 16, 2001

Women's Basketball Team To Face No. 2 Emporia State

The Game: Truman State University Bulldogs (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association/NCAA Division II) vs. Emporia State University Lady Hornets
Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 17, 2001/1 pm
Location: Emporia, Kan.
Arena (Capacity): White Auditorium (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, 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 (9.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg)
04-Keagan Thalin, Fr., G, 5-8 (3.8 ppg, 1.6 rpg)
35-Jennifer Perkins, Jr., C, 6-1 (15.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg)
10-Jessy Fletcher, Jr., G, 5-11(10.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg)
23-Emily Turnbull, Fr., G, 5-6 (2.4 ppg, 1.5 rpg)

Emporia State Probable Starters
04-Jamie Blakely, G, So., 5-8 (8.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
11-Ricka McKee, G, Sr., 5-8 (15.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg)
33-Myshka Wilkerson, C, Sr., 6-2 (12.9 ppg, 9.4 rpg)
10-Deena Holloway, F, Jr., 5-9 (8.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg)
42-Emily Bloss, F, Sr., 6-0 (21.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg)

Truman (7-16 overall, 2-13 in the MIAA): The Bulldogs are looking to end the season on a positive note by earning another win or two in their last three games of the season. However, a trip to Emporia tomorrow will be a difficult road game to win. Missouri-Rolla will travel to Kirksville for the 'Dogs last home game on Wednesday, and the Truman women will head to Pittsburg for the regular season finale.

The Truman women are hoping to snap a four-game losing streak that began after their 70-69 overtime win at Missouri Southern on Feb. 3. In fact, the Bulldogs also beat MSSC on Jan. 6 to sweep the season series which accounts for both of their MIAA wins this year.

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

Truman ranks first in the MIAA in rebounding offense (41.3 rpg), defensive rebounds (28.55 drpg) and blocked shots (3.41 bpg). The Bulldogs have out-rebounded 16 of their opponents this season, and tied Emporia at 34 in the meeting on Jan. 20.

The Truman women are ninth in the MIAA standings, two games out of the eighth spot. With three regular season games left, the Bulldogs are in danger of not making their fourth-straight trip to the conference postseason tournament by finishing in the top eight in the MIAA.

Emporia State (22-1 overall, 14-1 in the MIAA): The Lady Hornets are ranked second in the nation this week and have clinched a first-round MIAA postseason tournament home game. ESU's only loss was to Southwest Baptist in Emporia on Jan. 17, 65-62. It marked the Lady Hornets' first loss at home in 62 games.

Senior forward Emily Bloss is ranked fifth in the nation with 21.3 points a game and 20th in field goal percentage (.561).

Series Records: Emporia has a 20-4 lead in the all-time series with the Truman women, and won the first meeting this season 66-47 in Kirksville. 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, both 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 80-8 in his first job as a college head coach. Schneider is 5-1 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.

Perkins Breaks Blocks Record: Junior center/forward Jennifer Perkins (Fort Dodge, Iowa/St. Edmund) broke the Truman record for career blocked shots on Feb. 7 after swatting five Missouri Western balls. The five rejections also tied the Truman single-game record. Perkins, who now has 63 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 tied for third in the conference with 15.8 points a game, tied for fourth in rebounding (7.78 rpg), fourth in field goal percentage (.521) and first in MIAA blocked shots (1.48 pg).

Sophomore forward/center Jennifer Fisher (Fordland, Mo./Marshfield) is third in conference rebounding (7.83 rpg) and is tied for seventh in blocked shots (0.96 pg).

Junior guard/forward Jessy Fletcher (Atlanta, Mo.) is ninth in league rebounding (6.8 pg) and 18th in scoring (10.7 ppg).

Junior guard Tessa Thurman (Atlanta, Mo.) is eighth in three point field goals made (1.43pg)0.

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 13 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 on Jan. 3 ... leads the team with 53 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 in the league for most made in the game ... 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 15 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 10.7 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 ... has missed three games this year due to a back injury, including the Northwest Missouri contest on Wednesday.

35-Jennifer Perkins, Jr.: The teams leading scorer (15.8 ppg), Perkins has charted 20 games with double-digit scoring, including the last 11 games and 19 of the last 20 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 913 points and is seventh among all-time rebounders at Truman with 515 ... broke the school record for career blocked shots after adding five vs. Missouri Western and now has 63 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 34, just three 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 six games and averages 3.8 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 on Jan. 10, 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 127 ... 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 six contests ... has 42 assists and averages 2.4 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 18 games ... third in team scoring (9.9 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (5.4 rpg) ... had double-digit scoring efforts in 11 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 and with 16 points vs. Northwest Missouri on Feb. 14 ... 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 22 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. Emporia: Freshman forward guard Annie Westhoff (Webster Groves, Mo.) scored first 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 left before intermission. However, the Bulldogs began cutting into that lead, using an 8-2 to diminish 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 double-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.

MIAA Standings

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