Feb. 20, 2009 - The Truman women’s basketball team will look to salvage a season-split and try to stop a two-game losing streak on Saturday night in St. Joseph against Missouri Western. Tip-off is 5:30 p.m. in the Looney Fieldhouse.
The Bulldogs (6-19, 3-15 MIAA) saw their chances of reaching the MIAA tournament effectively ended on Wednesday night, as Northwest’s Abby Henry hit a free throw with 1.4 seconds to play in a 67-66 Bearcat win in Maryville. Truman can, at-best, hope to tie a handful of teams, but would likely come up short in tie-breaker scenarios.
Meanwhile, the team currently holding the final postseason spot awaits on Saturday, as the Missouri Western Griffons (6-18, 5-12 MIAA) come into the weekend as one of the conference’s hottest teams - winning four of their last five games.
Earlier this season, the Bulldogs dropped a 68-64 decision to Missouri Western in Pershing Arena on Jan. 14. It marked the first win of the 2008-09 campaign for the Griffons and kick-started a six-game Bulldog slide.
Saturday night is the final home game of the season for Missouri Western, but the squad won’t be celebrating Senior Night, as the gold and black feature no fourth-year players on their very young roster.
SERIES INFO:
Missouri Western leads the all-time series 46-13, with the Griffons hold a 24-4 edge in games played in St. Joseph.
Truman hasn’t won at the Looney Fieldhouse since the 1999-2000 season, when Kelli Kreuser scored a team-high 13 points and Stacey Roth added 12 in a 58-54 win on Feb. 9, 2000. The Bulldogs have lost nine straight since, including two games in the 2001-2002 season.
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 108-53 (.671) career head coaching record and is 6-19 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.
Lynn Plett is the head coach of the Griffons, and he is 18-33 (.353) in his second season at Missouri Western. He is in his 15th season as a collegiate head coach and sports a career 294-267 (.524) record.
MUELLER MOVES UP REBOUND CHARTS:
Another game and another place up the MIAA career rebounding chart for senior F Georgia Mueller, as her five rebounds Wednesday night at Northwest Missouri State moved her into eighth in MIAA history with 858 career boards.
The 5-foot-11 senior from Springfield, Ill., is locked into multiple spots on both Truman and MIAA charts but still has a chance to move up a pair of Truman lists in the final two regular season games.
With 239 assists, Mueller sits just nine behind Katie Fowler (248; 2004-08) for eighth on Truman’s all-time assist chart. And while Mueller became Truman’s all-time leading shot blocker during her junior season, she needs seven more to crack the 200-block plateau.
Finally, the two-time first-team all-MIAA player is in a ninth-place log-jam with 108 career games played and can move all the way up into a tie for third all-time should she play in each of the final two games.
As always, a full “Mueller Watch” is available in the PDF version of these game notes on page three.
DANIELS MAKING CASE FOR MIAA FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR:
Entering this week’s play, freshman G Breanna Daniels ranked third amongst all MIAA freshmen in scoring at 8.8 points per game. Daniels, from Hollister, Mo., is averaging a shade less than 10 points per game in MIAA play and has pulled down 3.6 rebounds per game for the full season.
She currently sits third on the Bulldog squad with a 42% field goal mark and has had 12 double-digit scoring performances this season. Her 16 made three-pointers in conference play is second on the team, one behind junior G Julie Guinn’s 17.
SAAC CANNED FOOD DRIVE:
The Truman Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is once again sponsoring their canned food drive this year. Fans are being offered free admission to the Feb. 28 home game against Central Missouri if they bring a minimum of one can of food. For more information, contact the Truman Athletics office.
UP NEXT:
With the scheduled idle date built into the MIAA slate twice for each team, Truman will sit out of next Wednesday night’s contests before hosting Central Missouri on Saturday, Feb. 28 to wrap up the regular season. The Bulldogs will celebrate Senior Day that afternoon, with Sarah Gordon, Eli Medina and Georgia Mueller being honored between the women’s and men’s games.
Tip-off against the Jennies in Pershing Arena on the 28th is 1:00 p.m.