Jan. 9, 2010
(MARYVILLE, Mo.) – Shelly Martin buried a three-pointer at the buzzer to complete a late comeback for Northwest Missouri, as the Bearcats erased a nine-point Truman lead with six minutes to play and dealt the Bulldogs a heartbreaking 68-65 loss on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Breanna Daniels scored 14 points and was one of three Bulldogs with five rebounds.
Truman (6-9, 1-7 MIAA) led 59-50 with 6:09 left in the game, but after starting the second half by hitting eight of its first 12 field goal attempts, the Bulldogs hit just three of its final 11 shots and finished the day with 19 turnovers to allow Northwest (7-7, 3-4 MIAA) to come back for the win.
The Bearcats built up their biggest lead, 30-20, with 4:48 left in the first half before Truman closed the deficit to 34-29 at the break. The Bulldogs battled back and tied the game at 44, traded possessions with points, then took a three-point lead off a Julie Guinn (Holden, Mo.; Holden HS) trey with 11:42 to play. That basket kick-started a 13-4 run, leading to a nine-point Truman lead, before the Bearcats started their final rally with four straight by Abby Henry.
The Bulldogs maintained its advantage, leading by five off a Sarah Seberger (Geneva, Ill.; Montini Catholic HS) lay-up with 2:11 to play. But Truman would not score again, as Henry drained two free throws before a pair of threes – one to tie with 1:25 remaining and one at the buzzer to win – by Martin handed Truman its fifth straight loss.
Truman had a chance for the final shot, gaining possession off a Seberger block, and called timeout with 23 seconds to play. Junior guard Amy Galey (Excelsior Springs, Mo.; Excelsior Springs HS) penetrated but couldn’t get a shot to fall with eight seconds left, allowing Henry to garner the rebound, drive the length of the floor and kick to Martin for the game-winner as time expired.
Daniels’ (Ridgedale, Mo.; Hollister HS) 14 points led the Bulldogs and came on 5-of-10 shooting and a 4-of-6 effort from the free throw line. Senior guard Laura Joya (Wheeling, Ill.; Wheeling HS) added 13 points and five rebounds off the bench, while freshman guard Becka McHenry (Fraser, Mich.; Fraser HS) scored nine points and dealt four assists in a starting role.
Galey added a balanced effort with seven points and four rebounds to go with six assists, upping her season-long and MIAA-leading assist average to 4.7 per game, while freshman forward Jennifer Conway (Waterloo, Ill.; Waterloo HS) started, scored seven points and was the third Bulldog with five rebounds.
Truman shot 43% (21-for-49) for the game and went 21-for-26 (81%) from the free throw line, while Northwest countered by hitting just 34% (22-for-64) from the field and 16-for-19 (84%) at the charity stripe. But the Bearcats turned Truman’s 19 turnovers into 19 points – wiping out the Bulldogs’ 39-29 edge on the glass.
Martin’s 18 led Northwest Missouri, while both Henry and Gabby Curtis added 12.
The Bulldogs will wrap up a two-game road trip next Wednesday night at Missouri Western, tipping off at 5:30 in St. Joseph.
Additional Notes:
- The Bulldogs lost for the first time this season when winning the rebounding battle. Truman is now 6-1 this season when coming out on top or even with opponents on the glass.
- The last two games in Maryville between these two teams have come down to the final possession, as Northwest won last year’s game on a pair of free throws with two seconds left to win by one point.
- The Bulldog bench out-scored Northwest’s bench, 26-13, aided by Joya’s 13 and eight from Seberger.
- Truman is up to 76% on the season as a team from the free throw line and are a shade less than 80% from the line in MIAA games.