Feb. 21, 2001
Women's Basketball Team Entertains Missouri-Rolla in Home Finale
The Game: Truman State University Bulldogs (Mid-America Intercollegiate
Athletics Association/NCAA Division II) vs. University of Missouri-Rolla
Lady Miners
Date/Time: Wednesday, Feb. 21, 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, for the home games and Hank Janssen doing commentary on the road. The pregame show begins approximately 15 minutes before the game.
KTRM, the campus station, will also broadcast Wednesday's 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 (9.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
04-Keagan Thalin, Fr., G, 5-8 (3.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg)
35-Jennifer Perkins, Jr., C, 6-1 (15.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg)
10-Jessy Fletcher, Jr., G, 5-11(10.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg)
23-Emily Turnbull, Fr., G, 5-6 (2.4 ppg, 1.5 rpg)
Missouri-Rolla Probable Starters
10-Jamie Schroetlin, G, Sr., 5-9 (6.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg)
20-Sally Nietfeld, G, Fr., 5-4 (4.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg)
24-Amy Milliken, G, Sr., 6-0 (8.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
31-Leah Kessenich, C, So., 6-2 (7.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg)
35-Jackie Kelble, F, Sr., 5-10 (15.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
Truman (7-17 overall, 2-14 in the MIAA): The Bulldogs need to win both today's contest with Missouri-Rolla and a Saturday game at Pittsburg to make the MIAA postseason tournament. A loss in either will knock the Bulldogs out of postseason action. In addition, the 'Dogs need Missouri Southern, which is two games ahead of Truman and in the eighth and final tournament spot, to lose both at Missouri Western on Wednesday and a home game with Northwest Missouri on Saturday.
In which case both teams would be 4-14 in the conference and the Bulldogs would possess the tie-breaker by virtue of their season sweep of MSSC. So a loss for Truman or a win by Missouri Southern tonight will mean the end of postseason hopes for the Bulldogs.
The 'Dogs have made trips to the MIAA postseason tournament the past four seasons.
The Truman women need to snap a five-game losing streak that began after their 70-69 overtime win at Missouri Southern on Feb. 3. However, Missouri-Rolla defeated Truman 73-65 in Rolla on Jan. 24, accounting for the Lady Miners' only win in the league to date.
The Bulldogs are 3-8 in Kirksville, and 4-9 on the road.
Truman ranks first in the MIAA in rebounding offense (40.7 rpg), defensive rebounds (28.04 drpg) and blocked shots (3.21 bpg). The Bulldogs have out-rebounded 16 of their opponents this season, including a 39-28 margin over the Lady Miners in the previous meeting this year.
Missouri-Rolla (4-20 overall, 1-15 in the MIAA): The Lady Miners are out of playoff contention with their only MIAA win coming at the expense of the 'Dogs with a 73-65 win on Jan. 24. They will be looking to register another MIAA win and play spoiler to the Bulldogs.
Senior forward Jackie Kelble is sixth in MIAA scoring (15.3 ppg) and field goal percentage (.487), and fourth in free throw percentage (.800). Sophomore center Leah Kessenich is ninth in league rebounding (6.9 rpg).
Series Records: Truman holds a slight lead in the overall record between the two teams, 21-20. The Lady Miners snapped an eight-game losing streak in the series with their 73-65 win on Jan. 24. Prior to that, the last game the Lady Miners won was on Feb. 21, 1996, when they defeated the 'Dogs 72-60 in Rolla. UMR's last win in Kirksville was that same year on Jan. 17, 75-70, under another first-year Truman head coach, Karin Nicholls.
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 115-136 record in her nine years with the Lady Miners, including a 6-8 record against the 'Dogs. She has a career record of 273-262 after 21 years.
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 third in the conference with 15.8 points a game, fifth in rebounding (7.75 rpg) and in field goal percentage (.514) and tied for first in MIAA blocked shots (1.42 pg).
Sophomore forward/center Jennifer Fisher (Fordland, Mo./Marshfield) is fourth in conference rebounding (7.83 rpg) and is seventh in blocked shots (0.96 pg).
Junior guard/forward Jessy Fletcher (Atlanta, Mo.) is 10th in league rebounding (6.8 pg) and 19th in scoring (10.5 ppg).
Junior guard Tessa Thurman (Atlanta, Mo.) is seventh in three point field goals made (1.54 pg) and in three-point field goal percentage (.276).
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 .895 (51-of-57) ... 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 ... fourth on the Truman career blocked shots list with 44 and is 10th in career three-point field goals made (38) ... is also tied for fourth on the Bulldog single season blocks list with 23 ... led the 'Dogs with 15 points vs. CMSU on Jan. 3 ... leads the team with 57 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 ... second on the team with 46 assists.
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 ... had the game-winning assist in the 50-48 win over Quincy ... has missed four games this year due to a back injury, including the Emporia contest on Saturday.
35-Jennifer Perkins, Jr.: The teams leading scorer (15.8 ppg), Perkins has charted 21 of 24 games with double-digit scoring, including the last 12 games and 20 of the last 21 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 13 contests so far this year and tied for the team lead twice ... is now 12th on the Bulldog career scoring leaders list with 927 points and is seventh among all-time rebounders at Truman with 522 ... 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 seven 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 37 long range buckets ... has seven games scoring in double digits, most recently vs. Emporia last Saturday with 12 points on four three-pointers ... had a senior college career high of 14 points in the season-opener against Tampa and vs. Mt. Mercy ... made four treys against Tampa, Southwest Baptist on Feb. 10 and Emporia on Feb. 17 ... Thurman is 11th on the Truman career leaders list with 37 made three-pointers and is now 10th on the career three-point field goal attempts list with 134 ... Thurman is also 10th on the Bulldog single-season list for three-pointers (37) and ninth on the single season attempts list (134).
23-Emily Turnbull, Fr.: Turnbull has played in every game and earned her first start against Emporia on Jan. 20 ... started seven contests ... tied for second on the team with 45 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 19 games ... third in team scoring (9.7 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (5.2 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 ... had three steals vs. Emporia last Saturday.
Ashlea Wood, Fr.: Has come off the bench in 23 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. Missouri-Rolla: Perkins struck first in the game, but UMR quickly answered to grab away the Bulldog's only lead of the game. The Lady Miners went on a 16-3 run to start the game and enjoyed their first double-digit lead by the 14-minute mark. A few minutes later, Missouri-Rolla expanded its lead to 12, but Tessa Thurman cut that to nine with a three-pointer and the 'Dogs kept the UMR lead under 10 for the remainder of the half. Truman whittled the Lady Miner's lead down to two with 1:30 left before the break, but UMR took a 38-34 lead at intermission after hitting a jumper with seconds left.
In the second half, Missouri-Rolla out-scored the 'Dogs 19-11 through the first 10-minutes to take their largest lead of the game, 14 points. With 6:05 to go, the Bulldogs were down by 10 points and went on an 8-2 run to get their deficit down to four with about two minutes left to play. However, UMR held Truman to just one more bucket, while hitting a jumper and 4-of-4 free throws to put the final score at 73-65 in the Lady Miners favor.
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