Feb. 6, 2001
Bulldog Women Play Host to No. 15 Missouri Western Lady Griffons
The Game: Truman State University Bulldogs (Mid-America Intercollegiate
Athletics Association/NCAA Division II) vs. Missouri Western State College
Lady Griffons (NCAA DII/MIAA)
Date/Time: Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2001/5:30 pm
Location: Kirksville, Mo.
Arena (Capacity): Pershing Arena (1,600)
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.
The campus station, KTRM 88.7, is tentatively scheduled to also broadcast the Feb. 10 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. 10 or 21 men's or women's basketball games 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 (9.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
04-Keagan Thalin, Fr., G, 5-8 (3.9 ppg, 1.5 rpg)
35-Jennifer Perkins, Jr., C/F, 6-1 (15.5 ppg, 7.7 rpg)
10-Jessy Fletcher, Jr., G, 5-11(10.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg)
13-Robyn Gerber, Jr., G, 5-8 (6.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg)
Missouri Western Probable Starters
12-Krista Small, F, 6-1, Jr. (10.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
30-Rebecca Patton, F, 6-0, Jr. (10.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg)
32-Danielle Kneib, C, 6-1, Sr. (13.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg)
10-Annie Heithoff, G, 5-8, Sr. (9.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
23-Lakesha Jones, G, 5-10, Jr. (12.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
Truman (7-13 overall, 2-10 in the MIAA): After breaking an eight-game losing streak with a 70-69 overtime thriller at Missouri Southern on Saturday, the Truman women followed up with a 63-56 loss to Washburn on Wednesday.
Prior to the Missouri Southern win, the 'Dogs only other win in the MIAA was a 91-74 victory in Kirksville over Missouri Southern. The Bulldogs are 3-5 in Kirksville this year and 4-7 on the road.
The Bulldogs continue to rank first in the MIAA in rebounding offense (41.2 rpg), defensive rebounds (28.45 drpg) and blocked shots (3.30 bpg).
The Truman women are ninth in the MIAA standings, still just one game out of the eighth spot. The Bulldogs need a win or two at home this week if they are to make their fourth-straight trip to the conference postseason tournament by finishing in the top eight in the MIAA.
Missouri Western (16-4 overall, 9-3 in the MIAA): The Lady Griffons are currently tied with Southwest Baptist for second-place in the MIAA standings, and are up to 15th in the WBCA national coaches poll this week.
Emporia State ended Missouri Western's nine-game win-streak on Wednesday, 65-58. The Lady Griffons had not lost since beating Truman 81-67 on Jan. 10, and led ESU 39-32 at the half.
MWSC leads the MIAA in turnover margin (+9.00), offensive rebounds (15.10 orpg) and three-point field goals made (7.10 pg).
Junior forward Krista Small led Missouri Western with 11 points against ESU, while senior center Danielle Kneib and senior guard Annie Heithoff ad five rebounds apiece. Heithoff also had six assists.
Kneib is eighth in MIAA scoring (13.1 ppg), tied for 11th in rebounding (6.8 rpg) and leads the league with 1.40 blocks per game. Small is second in the conference in three-point field goal percentage (.456) and tied for 10th in blocks (0.65 pg). Heithoff is second in MIAA steals (3.30 pg) and third in assist/turnover ratio (1.81). Lakesha Jones is eighth in field goal percentage (.426).
Series Records: Missouri Westerns leads the series with Truman, 31-12. Missouri Western handed the Bulldogs a 81-67 loss on Jan. 10 this year. However, Truman won the prior meeting on Feb. 9, 2000, 58-54 in St. Joseph. Missouri Western won the first meeting of the 1999-2000 season on Jan. 12 in Kirksville, 59-62.
The Bulldogs snapped a four-game losing streak to the Lady Griffons with a 78-68 win in the semi-final game of the South Central Region Tournament on March 5, 1999.
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.
Dave Slifer is in his sixth season at Missouri Western and is 116-45 during that time, but is 205-76 in 12 years as a collegiate head coach. He is 8-3 in games with Truman.
Perkins Named MIAA Athlete of the Week: Junior center/forward Jennifer Perkins (Fort Dodge, Iowa/St. Edmund) was named MIAA athlete of the week after averaging a double-double with 21.5 points and 10.0 rebounds in games with Central Missouri and Missouri Southern last week. She shot 54.1 (20-of-37) during the two-game span and charted three blocked shots. Perkins had a team season-high performance, going 11-of-19 (.579) from the field against MSSC, scoring 22 points and grabbing six offensive and six defensive rebounds. It was her fifth game of the year with 20 or more points and her fifth double-double for the season.
Bulldogs in the MIAA: Sophomore forward/center Jennifer Fisher (Fordland, Mo./Marshfield) moved up to second in conference rebounding (8.3 rpg) and is fourth in blocked shots (1.10 pg).
Junior center/forward Jennifer Perkins (Fort Dodge, Iowa/St. Edmund) is sixth in the conference with 15.5 points a game, fifth in rebounding (7.7 rpg), fourth in field goal percentage (.523) and second in MIAA blocked shots (1.30 pg).
Junior guard/forward Jessy Fletcher (Atlanta, Mo.) is tied for eighth in league rebounding (6.8 pg) and tied for 18th in scoring (10.8 ppg).
Junior guard Tessa Thurman (Atlanta, Mo.) is back among the leagues leaders in three point field goals made, coming in tied for ninth this week (1.40 pg).
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 in rebounding with 8.3 a game (166) and from the line, shooting .891 (49-of-55) ... scored in double figures in 12 games this year, including seven double-doubles ... best rebounding game this year was vs. Rockhurst when she grabbed 14 boards ... already ranks fifth on the Truman career blocked shots list with 43 and is 10th in career three-point field goals made (37) ... led the 'Dogs with 15 points vs. CMSU ... leads the team with 47 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 13 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 10.8 points a game ... tied for the team season game high with six assists against St. Joseph's.
13-Robyn Gerber, Jr.: Gerber is fifth in scoring on the team with 6.7 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 40 helpers ... had the game-winning assist in the 50-48 win over Quincy.
35-Jennifer Perkins, Jr.: The teams leading scorer (15.5 ppg), Perkins has charted 17 games with double-digit scoring, including five 20-plus efforts .... had a career-high and team season-best with 26 points at Washburn on Jan. 8 ... has five double-doubles for the year in the games, most recently with 22 points and 12 boards vs. MSSC on Feb. 3 ... has led the team in scoring in 10 contests so far this year and tied for the team lead twice ... is currently 13th on the Bulldog career scoring leaders list with 859 points and is eighth in among all-time rebounders at Truman with 489 ... is tied for second on the Truman list for career blocked shots with 55, three away from the school record ... made a team season-high with 11-19 performance vs. Missouri Southern on Feb. 3 ... scored the game-winning bucket in the team's first win in 2000-01 vs. Quincy.
Keagan Thalin, Fr.: Thalin has started the last four games and averages 3.9 points per contest ... 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, Jr.: John Wood Community College Transfer ... leads the team with 28 long range buckets ... had a senior college career high of 14 points in the season-opener against Tampa and vs. Mt. Mercy ... also scored 11 points in the St. Joseph's game and both Missouri Southern contests to account for all of her double-digit scoring games this year ... made four treys against Tampa.
23-Emily Turnbull, Fr.: Turnbull has played in every game and earned her first start against Emporia on Jan. 20 ... started four contests ... has 35 assists and averages 2.8 points a game ... had career highs with 12 points, seven free throws, 10 FT attempts and three rebounds against Missouri Western on Jan. 10.
24-Annie Westhoff, Fr.: Garnered a starting role in the last 15 games ... fourth in team scoring (9.5 ppg) and rebounding (5.2 rpg) ... had double-digit scoring efforts in nine 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 ... 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, Fr.: Has come off the bench in 17 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. Washburn on Feb. 5, 2001: The Bulldogs went up 6-0 to start the game and built a 12-point lead by the nine-minute mark, outscoring the Lady Blues 17-5 during that time. Washburn then put together a 12-0 run to tie the score at 17 with 5:23 left in the half. For the remainder of the first half, the Lady Blues outscored the Bulldogs 12-7 to take a 29-24 lead at the break. In the second period, Washburn kept the Bulldogs at bay, but never had a double-digit lead. Truman got within a point of WU four times, the last coming at the seven-minute mark. However WU quickly expanded its lead to six and seemed to have an answer for every Bulldog bucket. In the last minute of action, the Lady Blues were 4-of-5 from the free throw line, enjoying their greatest lead with 50 ticks left on the clock, 62-53. Junior guard Tessa Thurman (Atlanta, Mo.) hit her third trey of the game with 40 seconds left to put the final score at 62-56 in WU's favor.
Truman vs. Missouri Western On Jan. 10, 2001: Annie Heithoff of Missouri Western led all scorers with 20 points and began her assault with a three-pointer a little more than 30 seconds into the game. Her trey sparked a 12-0 run for the Lady Griffons. Perkins finally put Truman on the board with a layup at 16:32. A couple of minutes later, the Bulldogs began a come-back when Fletcher made a layup and a pair of free throws that began 15-2 run for the 'Dogs who overtook MWSC 22-20 by the six-minute mark. However, MWSC quickly regained the lead and expanded its lead to eight points with a minute left in the half, and took a 37-29 lead at intermission.
The Lady Griffons hit the ground running again in the second stanza, scoring 11 points to the Bulldogs' three in the opening minutes, taking an 18-point margin over the 'Dogs. Truman managed to cut MWSC's lead to six after a 17-5 run that began with a long range bucket by freshman guard Emily Turnbull (Toulon, Ill./Stark County).
Missouri Western then used an 8-0 run to push its lead back to double digits where it remained for the rest of the game. With Truman down by 18 points with 2:38 to go, the Bulldog defense shutdown the Lady Griffons while scoring on a layup by Fletcher and free throws by Thalin and freshman guard Ashlea Wood (Kirksville, Mo.) to put the final score at 81-67 in the Lady Griffons favor.
Turnbull had career-highs with seven free throws, 10 FT attempts and three rebounds. Wood had a career-high and tied for the team-lead with eight rebounds against MWSC.
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