Weekend At-A-Glance:

After picking up a four point win in the 2009-2010 season opener, the Truman women’s basketball team heads to Minnesota this weekend for games on back-to-back days on the Southwest Minnesota State University campus. The Bulldogs (1-0) take on the host Mustangs (0-0) on Friday night at 6:00 pm before facing Minnesota State-Moorhead (1-0) on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 pm.

Meet the Coaches:

Michael Smith is in his second season as the head coach of the Bulldog basketball program following stints at Arkansas-Little Rock (assistant coach), Moberly Area Community College (head coach) and Angelo State (assistant coach). As a head coach at the Div. II level, he has a 9-19 career record, all accumulated at Truman.

He is assisted by Taira Roth, who is also in her second season at Truman after spending one season at Lake Superior (Mich.) State as an assistant. Roth is no stranger to the MIAA, as she played at Missouri Western from 2001-2004 and was a graduate assistant at Central Missouri from 2004-2006.

Mike Jewett is the head coach at SMSU and is in his fourth year with the program. He has a 33-53 record as a Mustang and a 95-73 career record through six seasons.

Karla Nelson is the head coach at MSUM and is in her ninth year with the program. She has a 140-91 career record at Moorhead.

Series Info:

Truman vs. Southwest Minnesota State (First meeting between schools).

Truman vs. Minnesota State-Moorhead (First meeting between schools).

2009-2010 Season Preview:

With the departure of the women’s basketball program’s second leading scorer and the addition of seven new cast members for the 2009-2010 season, a common theme amongst opposing conference coaches and media at the MIAA’s annual media day all revolved around the same statement:

This is a brand new bunch of Bulldogs.

A handful of question marks surround second-year head coach Michael Smith’s squad, as he continues to rebuild the Bulldogs into what he hopes will become a dominant force in the MIAA – one of the nation’s toughest conferences from top to bottom. And despite the Bulldogs’ 11th-place prediction in the MIAA preseason poll, it may be a reflection of more uncertainty than a lack of respect by those in the league eyeballing the new-look ’Dogs.

Smith, along with assistant coach Taira Roth, do have a group of core returners that can provide leadership on the court, starting with a trio of seniors in Laura Joya (27 gm, 11.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 50 steals in 2008-09), Julie Guinn (24 gm, 6.3 ppg, 2.7 apg, 24 3FG) and Sarah Seberger (24 gm, 9.3 mpg, 1.7 rpg). They’ll be joined by junior Malorie Kiecker (27 gm, 10.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 20 3FG) and sophomore Breanna Daniels (27 gm, 8.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 42% FG), who both saw significant minutes in 2008-2009.

For the first time in program history, three transfers joined the squad during one off-season, as Amy Galey and Cassie Hunt enter the program as juniors after each having two successful years at the junior college level while Jenny Dorman comes to Truman after seeing time as a true freshman last year at Missouri Science & Technology.  Hunt scored more than 1,000 points in two seasons at North Central Missouri College and finished as the program’s third-most scorer, while Galey averaged 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists per game last year at Highland Community College. Both were all-Americans, with Hunt picking up second-team honors and Galey notching third-team accolades. Meanwhile, Dorman was just one of six players on a Missouri S&T squad to play in all 29 games, as she averaged 12 minutes and four points per game off the bench for the Lady Miners.

In addition to the three transfers, four college basketball newcomers grace the roster through three freshmen and a senior. Kristen Nissen, after playing two seasons with the Truman volleyball squad switched to basketball in her final year. Nissen brings both the experience of lettering in basketball for four seasons in high school as well as some added height to the squad, as she is the team’s tallest listed player at 6-foot-1.

A trio of freshmen – all sporting all-state honors at the high school level – join the 09-10 squad and look to make an immediate impact. Jennifer Conway (Waterloo, Ill.) averaged a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds per game as a senior, while Becka McHenry (Fraser, Mich.) logged 16 points, five assists and three steals in her final year at Fraser High School. Megan Sharpe (Edwardsville, Ill.) will continue the volleyball to basketball dual-sport transition, started last year with Eli Medina, by joining the squad at the conclusion of the Truman volleyball season. Sharpe was an all-state second-team pick at the 3A/4A level in Illinois basketball after shooting better than 60% from the field and averaging 15 points and five rebounds per game.

Conway may look familiar to readers of Sports Illustrated, as she was featured in the magazine’s ”Faces in the Crowd” section of the Feb. 19, 2009 edition.

In looking at the 09-10 schedule, four regular non-conference games, a two-game tournament the weekend prior to Thanksgiving and a full bevy of MIAA action will challenge the squad across the Midwest. The ’Dogs will host Hannibal-LaGrange and soon-to-be conference-member Lincoln (Mo.), play road contests at Quincy (Ill.) and Maryville (Mo.), and participate in Southwest Minnesota State’s tournament where they’ll face the host SMSU along with Minnesota State-Moorhead in non-conference play.

MIAA action kicks off with a road game at Missouri Southern on Dec. 2 and concludes with a trip to Warrensburg to face Central Missouri on Feb. 27. In between features three straight home games during the school’s winter break, a themed Hawaiian night on Jan. 20, a Thursday/Saturday tilt at Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Omaha, and the annual “Think Pink” breast cancer awareness night on Feb. 17 against Northwest Missouri.

Smith’s squad will be looking to reach the MIAA postseason tournament, held March 4-7. The top eight of the conference’s 11 teams will qualify for the annual event at the historic Municipal Auditorium in downtown KC.

Up Next:

The Bulldogs will travel to nonconference rival Quincy (Ill.) University for a 5:30 pm showdown on Tues., Nov. 24.

Truman will be home next Saturday, Nov. 28, against future MIAA-foe Lincoln (Mo.) University at 5:30 pm

Courtesy Truman State University