Box Score

 

Feb. 12, 2009

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – A solid defensive stand in the waning seconds propelled the Truman women’s basketball team to its second straight win and kept its postseason hopes alive Thursday night with a 59-54 home victory against Fort Hays State. Senior Georgia Mueller had 22 points and a team-high eight rebounds for the Bulldogs.

 

Truman (6-17, 3-13 MIAA) took a 29-27 advantage into the intermission and built the lead to six on a pair of jumpers out of the break. The Bulldogs held a slim advantage until Morgan Clark hit a pair of free throws with 43 seconds remaining to give Fort Hays (9-13, 5-10 MIAA) its first lead since the opening minute at 54-53.

 

On the next possession following a Bulldog timeout, Mueller drew a foul and converted a pair of free throws to put Truman back on top with 30 seconds to play.

 

FHSU used its last timeout of the game and drew up a jumper for Naomi Bancroft, but a well-defended effort by Mueller and the rest of the Bulldogs saw the Tiger shot hit the side of the backboard before Mueller ripped down the rebound. Hays coach Tony Hobson picked up a technical foul disputing the call, allowing Mueller to sink four free throws and seal back-to-back wins for Truman at home.

 

Truman led by as many as ten in the contest and were paced offensively by Mueller’s 22 point night. Junior guard Laura Joya finished with 12 points and four rebounds, while freshman Breanna Daniels started and scored eight. The Bulldogs shot 38% from the floor and hit five three-pointers – one more than the potent Tiger long-range attack. FHSU was just four-of-16 from beyond the arc, including a three-of-13 night for Bancroft, the conference’s top sharpshooter.

 

The Bulldogs committed two more turnovers (15-13) but were more efficient in turning those miscues into points, as Truman scored 11 points off turnovers compared to just 10 for Hays.

 

Erica Biel matched her season average with 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers but struggled from the charity stripe – hitting just three-of-10 free throw chances. Kayla Klug added 11 and Ashley Cornett chipped in 10.

 

Truman wraps up a three-game home-stand on Saturday when they host Nebraska-Omaha at 1:00 p.m. in Pershing Arena. The contest is Truman’s “Pink Zone” game, in which all fans wearing pink will be admitted for free and collections will be taken throughout the contest to help raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research.