(AP) -- The Truman women’s basketball team is set to wrap up a brutal conference stretch against the MIAA’s top five teams on Wednesday night with a trip to 11th-ranked Washburn University. Tip-off in Topeka, Kan., is set for 5:30 p.m.
Truman (4-16, 1-12 MIAA) will have to adjust in its second trip to Kansas in four days, as the Bulldogs go from the MIAA’s most dynamic offensive attack in Emporia State to its most stingy defense in the No. 11 Lady Blues (17-3, 10-3 MIAA). WU is allowing just 57.5 points per game on the season and boasts a scoring margin of +13.2, the conference’s second-best mark behind No. 4 ESU.
Earlier this season, the Bulldogs saw just how tough that defense can be, as Truman was held to its lowest offensive output in two years in a 58-39 loss on Dec. 13 in Kirksville. Senior Georgia Mueller posted a team-high 16 points, but the Bulldog women’s basketball team committed 26 turnovers and gave up 18 offensive rebounds to the then second-ranked Lady Blues.
SERIES INFO:
Washburn leads the all-time series 35-8, with the Lady Blues holding a 21-1 margin in games played in Topeka. Truman won the first-ever meeting between the two squads, held on Washburn’s campus, on Nov. 15, 1979, but have yet to win in Lee Arena since.
Washburn currently holds an 11-game winning streak in the all-time series, with Truman’s last win coming in Pershing Arena on Feb. 1, 2003 - a 76-71 decision.
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 106-50 (.679) career head coaching record and is 4-16 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.
Ron McHenry is the head coach of the Lady Blues, and he is 231-47 (.831) in what is now his ninth season at Washburn. He is currently seventh on the MIAA’s winningest coach chart and is just eight wins behind recently-retired SBU coach Jim Middleton for sixth all-time.
MUELLER CONTINUES TO CLIMB THE CHARTS:
With seven games to play in the regular season, senior F Georgia Mueller (Springfield, Ill.) has many chances to continue her climb up multiple Truman and MIAA charts.
Her 820 career rebounds puts her just three away from cracking the MIAA’s top-10, while her pursuit of the conference’ top-10 scoring chart has become a bit more precarious. Mueller (1,764 career points) needs to average 21.6 ppg the rest of the way to catch Emily Bloss for 10th all-time in MIAA scoring. Bloss currently holds the No. 10 spot as well in MIAA career rebounding.
In regards to Truman lists, Mueller moved into a tie for ninth all-time in career assists with 226 and is just 22 behind recent-graduate Katie Fowler (248; 2004-2008) for eighth place. Mueller has crushed the program’s blocks chart, as she is more than 70 ahead of the current second place holder. With just 12 more blocks, Mueller would hit 200 for her career.
A full “Mueller Watch” chart is available in the full PDF notes version of this release.
ONE-AND-ONE:
Truman has improved its free throw shooting as each month of the season has progressed, as the Bulldogs hit 67% of its free throws in November, 71% in December and 82% in January. As a result, the Bulldogs are the MIAA’s top charity stripe team in conference-games alone, having hit 79.2% (133-for-168) of its opportunities.
Both Mueller and sophomore F Malorie Kiecker sit amongst the MIAA’s elite, as Kiecker is fourth in full-season consideration (81.5%) and second in MIAA-only games (88.6%). Mueller, meanwhile, ranks seventh for the full-season (80.6%) and fifth in MIAA-only (86.8%). Combined, the two have missed just ten free throws in MIAA games (72-for-82).
DOG’GED DEFENSE:
Truman’s defensive intensity nearly led to an upset of fourth-ranked Emporia State on Sunday, as the Bulldogs held the nation’s second-ranked offense nearly 20 points below its season average (66 points).
The Bulldogs had the Lady Hornets on their heels twice this season late in the second half, before the MIAA’s top scoring margin team (+24.6 ppg) escaped with an 11-point win in Kirksville and a nine-point victory in Emporia.
The 49 field goal attempts taken by ESU marked a season-low by a Bulldog opponent, and the Bulldogs forced the Lady Hornets into 24 turnovers while committing just 19 of their own.
MIAA TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK:
Half of the field is accounted for in the chase for Kansas City and the 2009 MIAA tournament. Emporia State (12-1), Washburn (10-3), Missouri Southern (10-3) and Pittsburg State (10-3) have punched their tickets to Friday’s games at Municipal Auditorium, while Central Missouri (9-4) needs just one more win to do the same.
The final three spots are currently held by Nebraska-Omaha (5-7), Fort Hays State (5-7) and Southwest Baptist (4-8), while Northwest Missouri (2-11), Missouri Western (2-11) and Truman (1-12) are looking to steal a berth with seven games left to play.
The Bulldogs need help but do have a bit of an inside track to have a chance to move up, as the five teams directly ahead of them make up five of their last seven games. Truman’s elimination number currently sits at five, as a combination of five SBU wins and/or Truman losses would eliminate the ‘Dogs from postseason play.
UP NEXT:
After finishing a stretch of playing four of the MIAA’s top five on the road (while hosting the fifth in Kirksville) with Wednesday night’s game at Washburn, the Bulldogs return home for a three-game homestand that starts Saturday afternoon with Southwest Baptist. The Lady Bearcats (7-12, 4-8 MIAA) and Bulldogs played to a 63-60 SBU win in Bolivar on New Years Eve.
From there, Truman will host two games in three days, as Fort Hays State visits Kirksville on Thursday (Feb. 12) and Nebraska-Omaha comes for a visit on Saturday (Feb. 14). The game against UNO is Truman’s “Pink Zone” game to help raise awareness for Breast Cancer Research.
Courtesy Truman State University
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