The Truman Women’s Basketball team will exorcise a past demon on Saturday as they travel to Washburn (Kan.) University for a 1:30 p.m. MIAA conference game in Topeka.
The Bulldogs enter the match-up with a 7-1 overall record and 2-1 in league play while the #15 Lady Blues are 9-2 and 2-0 in the conference.
Truman comes into the contest following Wednesday night’s 79-54 victory over Southwest Baptist in which four players scored in double-figures led by Becka McHenry’s 18 points and 10 assists.
Freshman Allie Norton scored all of her 13 points in the first half to help break the game open and Breanna Daniels closed the period with 10 straight to shut the door on the Bearcats.
McHenry (14.1ppg) is averaging 20 points in three conference games, while also dishing out 42 assists and shooting 48% from the field from her guard position.
Fellow junior Jennifer Conway is second on the squad at 13 points per game and leading in rebounding at 7.6 per contest.
Norton (11.8/g) has been the team’s top three-point shooter with 23 made in 49 attempts (46%) and is second on the team in assists with 28. Daniels, the team’s leading scorer from a season ago, is averaging 10.5 points on 41% shooting and 39% from beyond the arc.
The Bulldog offense (77.5 ppg) is averaging nearly 15 points more per game than a season ago with the balanced scoring from the starters but will have to contend with a defense in Washburn that is allowing a shade under 50 points per game (49.8).
Last season, Truman held the lead at the half in both games but Washburn was able to prevail 57-51 in Kirksville and 62-53 in Topeka to extend their winning streak to 18-games over Truman.
In the first match-up, Cassie Lombardino scored 29 of the Lady Blues 57 points but it was the eight minute scoring drought in the second half by the Bulldogs that gave Washburn the win.
In Topeka, the Bulldogs led by as many as 14 points in the second half but Schultz scored all 19 of her points in the final seven minutes to lift Washburn to their 24th straight win in Topeka against the Bulldogs.
Bulldogs Fast Start:
This is the fifth time the Truman program has started the season with a 7-1 record.
The last was the 2007-08 season. Only two other times has a Bulldog women’s basketball team been 8-1, those years were 1998-99 and 2007-08.
Truman has had the lead at the half in six of the first eight games this season and have outscored opponents in the first 20 minutes 302-209 (+93).
Notable Conference Rankings:
Truman is ranked in the top five in 15 categories tracked by the MIAA.
The team’s highest ranking is second in three-point field goal percentage (43.1%) and turnover margin (+5.8).
The Bulldogs are fourth in scoring offense (77.5), scoring defense (56.5) and margin of victory (+21.0) while third in free throw percentage (74.1%).
Individually, the four Bulldogs in double-figures in scoring are ranked in the top 30. Becka McHenry (14.1) is eighth, Jennifer Conway (13.0) is 12th, Allie Norton (11.8) is 19th and Breanna Daniels (10.5) is 29th.
McHenry is second in assists per game at 5.3 while also being ranked in steals (1.4/T13th), free throw percentage (76.0%-11th) and assist/turnover ratio (1.9/4th).
Norton is tied for seventh in assists (3.5/g), eighth in three-point field goal percentage (46.9%) and third in three-pointers per game (2.9/g).
Jennifer Conway is ninth in rebounding (7.6/g), 10th in field goal percentage (51.3%), free throw percentage (78.6%) and is also ranked in blocks (15th), offensive rebounds (9th) and defensive rebounds (11th).
Daniels is 15th in rebounds per game (6.6) and seventh in defensive rebounds (5.4/g).
Bianca Szafarowicz is 14th in offensive rebounds per game at 2.5/g.
Nicole Gloor is tied for 13th with McHenry in steals at 1.4 per game.
Courtesy Truman State University
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