Feb. 10, 2009 - With one game down and one win in the books during a crucial three-game homestand, the Bulldogs look to pick up a second consecutive win on Thursday night against Fort Hays (Kan.) State in Pershing Arena. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
The Bulldogs (5-17, 2-13 MIAA) torched the nets and passed the 80-point mark for the first time in the 2008-09 campaign with an 87-80 win against Southwest Baptist on Saturday. The squad is now just two and a half games out of the final MIAA tournament spot with five games to play.
On Thursday night’s docket are the FHSU Tigers (9-12, 5-9), a squad that has dropped two in a row and seven of its last eight games since winning back-to-back games against Truman and Central Missouri in early January.
Earlier this season, FHSU dropped 12 three pointers - including seven from the MIAA’s top long-range bomber Naomi Bancroft - and built up a 19-point halftime lead in a 71-46 win against Truman on Jan. 3.
Sophomore Malorie Kiecker came off the bench to lead the Bulldogs with 12 points, while the team’s leading scorer, senior Georgia Mueller, did not play.
SERIES INFO:
Fort Hays State leads the limited all-time series 4-2, with the two squads splitting the two games played in Kirksville. The Bulldogs defeated FHSU 67-61 last February in the teams’ last meeting at Pershing Arena.
Half of the six games have been played in Hays, with the Tigers claiming all three, while the Bulldogs have the lone neutral-site win in the series – an 86-73 decision back on November 27, 1998 at Washburn University.
MEET THE COACHES:
Michael Smith is in his first season with the Bulldogs after spending time as an assistant coach at Arkansas-Little Rock and a head coach at Moberly Area Community College. He has a 107-51 (.677) career head coaching record and is 5-17 in his first season at Truman.
Smith is assisted by Taira Roth, who is also in her first season at Truman. Roth came to Truman after working in the same position at Lake Superior (Mich.) State.
Tony Hobson is the head coach of the Tigers, and he is 9-12 (.429) in his first season at Fort Hays. He is in his 8th season as a collegiate head coach and has a career 220-52 (.809) record.
MIAA TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK:
The Bulldogs (2-13 MIAA) did themselves a huge favor with the seven-point win against Southwest Baptist (4-10), as Truman kept its elimination number at four. With the purple Bearcats currently holding the 8th-place spot, a combination of four SBU wins and/or Truman losses would eliminate the ‘Dogs from postseason play.
Hot on the heels of the purple Bearcats though is a surging Missouri Western squad (4-11). The Griffons have won two in a row and head to sixth-place Nebraska-Omaha (6-8) on Wednesday.
Between the Bulldogs and Griffons sit the green Bearcats of Northwest Missouri (3-12), who are idle until Saturday when they host Missouri Western. Truman’s opponent on Thursday - Fort Hays State
- currently holds the No. 7 spot at 5-9, one game ahead of SBU.
Half of the field is accounted for in the chase for Kansas City and the 2009 MIAA tournament, as Emporia State (13-2), Washburn (12-3), Pittsburg State (12-3) and Missouri Southern (10-4) have punched their tickets to Friday’s games at Municipal Auditorium, while Central Missouri (9-5) will look to wrap up its spot for the third time on Wednesday against Washburn. The Jennies need either a win or a Mo. Western loss to clinch a bid.
BREANNA DANIELS: BEARCAT TAMER:
Freshman guard Breanna Daniels picked up her second big game of the season against Southwest Baptist, logging career-highs in points (24), field goals (nine), and free throws (five). For the season, the freshman from Hollister, Mo. averaged 18.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game against SBU in two contests, while hitting 56% of her field goal attempts.
Daniels also recorded a block in each game against the Bearcats, equaling half of her season total.
GUINN DIALS LONG-DISTANCE:
Junior guard Julie Guinn set a new career-high with four three-pointers against SBU on Saturday, giving her a team-best 21 on the season. The four triples also set a new season-high for any Bulldog, surpassing the three she hit against Northwest Missouri on Jan. 10.
MUELLER NAMED CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT:
Last Thursday, forward Georgia Mueller was named to the ESPN The Magazine College Division Academic All-District second-team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). It was her second career second-team all-district selection after receiving the same honor last season. The 5-foot-11 senior is majoring in Mathematics with minors in Biology and Statistical Methods.
She currently holds a 3.51 GPA and was just one of four MIAA players to make one of three all-district teams.
And, as always, a full “Mueller Watch” chart is available in the full PDF notes version of this release detailing her climb up both Truman’s and the MIAA’s points, field goal, assists, blocks and games played categories.
SEALING IT AT THE STRIPE:
In Truman’s five wins this season, the squad is connecting on 76.8% of its free throws in the final five minutes (and overtime). That’s up from the season five-minute-and-less mark of 67.7% as well as the full season average of 74.2%.
The Bulldogs remain the MIAA’s top free throw shooting team in conference-only games, having hit 78.8% (164-of-208) of its opportunities.
UP NEXT:
Truman will look to keep its postseason chances alive in a quick turnaround game on Saturday against Nebraska-Omaha. The Mavericks defeated Truman 68-62 in Omaha on Jan. 7. That game will be Truman’s “Pink Zone” event, as the Bulldogs join more than 1,300 programs across the nation to raise money and awareness for Breast Cancer Research.
More information about the 2009 “Pink Zone” event can be found in the full PDF notes version of this release as well as on Truman’s official Athletics Web site - gobulldogs.truman.edu.