Nov. 10, 2009 – The Truman women’s basketball team opened the 2010 season with an exhibition contest at Division I Illinois State on Tuesday night, but despite a game-high 15 points from senior guard Laura Joya, the Bulldogs fell 74-48 in Redbird Arena.
Illinois State, picked to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2010, jumped out to a 9-0 lead through the first media timeout before sophomore guard Breanna Daniels got Truman on the board with a jumper in the paint at the 15:16 mark. Daniels hit another jumper later in the half to cut the ISU lead to 20-14, but the Redbirds finished the half on a 12-0 run to take a 32-14 lead into the break.
Truman played nearly point for point with ISU, a women’s NIT semifinalist last season, in the final 20 minutes, as the Bulldogs hit nearly 44% of their field goals and knocked down 13 free throws to score 34 second half points.
Joya’s 15 points came on 6-for-9 shooting and a perfect 3-for-3 effort from the foul line, while Daniels was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field. Junior guard Amy Galey scored five points and had five assists, while junior forward Malorie Kiecker added six points and five rebounds. Truman, despite giving up height at nearly every position, stuck with ISU on the glass, losing the rebounding margin by just nine at 40-31.
The Bulldogs turned the ball over 21 times leading to 28 ISU points, while Truman turned 11 Redbird miscues into just 12 points.
Truman will kick off the 2009-2010 season one week from tonight on Tues., Nov. 17 in Pershing Arena against Hannibal-LaGrange. Tip-off for the season opener is set for 7:30 p.m.