As the MIAA celebrates 100 years as a conference, two of the three charter members of the league will square off on Saturday afternoon as the Truman women’s basketball team (8-3; 3-3 MIAA) will travel to defending conference champion and NCAA Final Four participant Northwest Missouri (2-11; 0-6 MIAA) for a 1:30 p.m. start.
The Bulldogs are looking to rebound after dropping consecutive conference games to Emporia State (Kan.) and most recently Fort Hays State (Kan.) on Monday.
An 0-for-8 cold spell in the second half doomed the ‘Dogs in a 69-63 loss to the Tigers.
Breanna Daniels scored 10 of her game-high 14 points in the first half while Allie Norton added 10.
Maggie Marnin scored 11 points but Northwest Missouri shot just 24% from the field in a 62-51 loss at Missouri Western on Wednesday night.
The Bearcats trailed by as many as 24 but closed the game on a 17-4 run. It was the eighth straight loss for Northwest.
About The Bulldogs:
Five players have started all 11 games for the Bulldogs this season and have accounted for 72% of all points scored. Junior Jennifer Conway leads the team with 12.2 points per night average and is also the team’s leading rebounder at 6.5 per game.
Conway played just four minutes against Fort Hays State as she left the game with an injury.
Junior Becka McHenry is second at 12.1 points per game and is the team leader in assists with 53.
Breanna Daniels is third at 10.2 points and tied for the rebounding lead with Conway at 6.5 per game.
Freshman Allie Norton has averaged 10 points per game and is the leading three-point shooter with 27 makes in 54 attempts (50%) while dishing out 30 assists in her first season.
The Bulldogs are averaging 72.7 points per game, up nearly ten points from last season while shooting 42% from the field, 41% from beyond the arc and 77% from the foul line.
About the Bearcats:
The Bearcats are led by senior guards Abby Henry and Shelly Martin at 12.3 and 10.3 points per game respectively. Maggie Marnin lead the team with 6.8 rebounds per contest.
Northwest is averaging 61 points per game while allowing over 71 and shooting just 35% from the floor and 25% from beyond the arc.
The Bearcats have also struggled on the boards as they are a minus-7.8 in rebounding margin and allowing opponents 46.5 rebounds per game.
Of the 229 points scored against the Bulldogs last season in three games by Northwest, the Bearcats return just 64 points or 27%.
The Series:
Overall the series has been dominated by Northwest by a 51-13 advantage, including a 25-6 mark in Maryville. Truman’s last win at Northwest was a two-point victory in 2003.
Since 2008, the series is a bit closer with Northwest leading 6-3 with three games needing overtime before being decided.
Last season, the teams met three times with the Bearcats taking the trio.
The first game in Kirksville was a 73-72 double-overtime thriller with five Bulldogs in double-figures while Gentry Dietz scored 27 points for the Bearcats.
The return game in Maryville was all Northwest as they won 87-69 behind 23 points from Kyla Roehrig while Becka McHenry paced the Bulldogs with 17.
The third game was the opening round of the MIAA postseason tournament as the eighth-seeded Bulldogs put a scare into top seeded Northwest as the Bulldogs trailed by just two points with 3:30 left to play.
Gabby Curtis scored eight points in the final minutes to help Northwest move on with a 69-62 win over Truman.
Courtesy Truman State University
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