Box Score | Season Stats

BOLIVAR, Mo. -- The Bearcat women have one of their more dominating performances of the year, as they defeat the Truman State Bulldogs, 67-51. In what could be considered a must-win game to earn a trip to the MIAA Tournament, the Bearcats held Truman State to 36% shooting from the floor, including just 12.5% from beyond the arc. This marks the third victory in a row for SBU, who struggled in the first half of the MIAA season. "Right now we're just going out there, and playing with a lot of confidence," said head coach J.C. Carter after the win.

SBU jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the opening minutes, as Kourtni Williams, in just her second start as a Bearcat, scored five of the first eight points for SBU. Truman would battle back with a pair of layups from Megan Sharpe, and a deep two from Laura Joya would tie the game at 10-10. Truman pulled ahead, 16-13, but another three from Williams would tie the game halfway through the first period. The freshman from Fayetteville, Ark. would finish with a career high 12 points, after putting up her previous career high earlier this week against Pittsburg State.

The Bearcats would start to pull away on a 7-0 run highlighted by a trey by Rachel Graves off a pass from Courtney Heady to give SBU a 25-19 lead with just over 5 minutes left in the first half. Truman would climb back before the end of the first half, cutting SBU's advantage down to three points, with a 28-25 halftime score. Heady and Williams led the 'Cats with 8 points apiece in the first half, and Jasmine Sanford controlled the boards with 6 rebounds.

The Bearcats maintained a narrow lead throughout the first nine minutes of the second period, never building more than a five point lead until a three pointer from Heady put the 'Cats up by six. A quick steal from Ashleigh Gallio and the foul on a fast break gave Gallio a pair of free throws to build the lead to 45-37 with ten minutes remaining. The Bearcats lead would stretch to double digits after Graves' layup put the score at 47-37, but was answered immediately by Joya's jumper. After Freddie Sims' trey, followed by a layup with just under six minutes left put the 'Cats up by 15,  Truman's comeback attempt couldn't get started.

Heady was the high scorer for SBU, finishing with 18 points, just two shy of her season and career high of 20 that came against Pittsburg State. Whitney Malone was the leading rebounder for the second consecutive game, with seven. Gallio, a junior point guard, finished with 11 points and five rebounds.

Laura Joya led the Bulldogs with 10 points, shooting 5-for-13 from the field. Sarah Seberger pulled down a team-high 7 rebounds.

With the win, the Bearcats move to 4-10 in the MIAA, and 6-15 overall. Arguably the toughest stretch of the schedule comes up next week, as they take on the top two teams in the conference. SBU travels to Emporia State, followed by a trip to Washburn. The game against Emporia is set for Wednesday, February 10; tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 pm.