KIRKSVILLE, MO -- The SBU Lady ‘Cats picked up an MIAA win this afternoon by defeating the Truman State Bulldogs 66-53.
This afternoon’s MVP – unquestionably – was the SBU team defense. It was a defense that held the Bulldogs to 28.6% from the field and 24.0% from the arc. A defense that had 13 steals and forced 19 Truman turnovers. A defense that gathered 30 defensive rebounds to Truman’s 27. And a defense that held Georgia Mueller, the MIAA’s #3 scorer, to only 12 points.
The SBU defense was particularly tough during a 7-minute stretch between 2:00 minutes remaining in the first half, and 5 minutes deep into the 2nd half. During that stretch, the Lady ‘Cats held Truman to a single field goal. It was during that time the Lady ‘Cats built their first lead of the game.
Coach Jim Middleton was delighted in his team’s defensive performance.
“We wanted to put lots of full court pressure today. We forced turnovers and rushed their shots. They wanted to go to (Georgia) Mueller – but we were able to discourage them. At halftime – we talked about rebounding. We felt like they were out of rhythm. The biggest difference between this game and the first time we played them – is that in the first game – they made 8 layups. This afternoon – we kept them out of the lane.”
Early, SBU was cold from the 3-point line. They missed their first 5 treys. At one point, both teams were a combined 5-32 from the arc. But Rachel Graves and Cortney Shewmaker began making their 3-point attempts, leading the way to an SBU victory.
Shewmaker ended with 21 points. Graves added 13, which included 3 of 6 three-pointers. Courtney Creed added 14.
Truman’s Natalie Schupbach turned in a solid performance with 17 points and 18 rebounds.
SBU moves to 12-9 overall and 4-8 in the MIAA. They host Washburn, in Bolivar, on February 6.
Final Stats
