Issue date: 5/1/08 Section: Sports

No matter who the Bulldogs played this season, one thing was certain: Georgia Mueller was going to have a big game.

Mueller, a junior forward, was a machine all season long, averaging 22 points and nine rebounds per game while garnering first team All-MIAA honors and helping lead Truman to its best record in eight seasons.

"I wanted to play for my seniors and my teammates because they come out and work hard," Mueller said. "They really just opened up a lot of opportunities for me. Being consistent is probably the most important thing in basketball. I just came out and tried to focus on doing what I needed to do and getting things done."

The bigger the implications riding on the game, the more Mueller stepped up. Mueller slightly increased her production in conference play, averaging more than 23 points and 10 boards. In the final game of the regular season against Pittsburgh State University, the Bulldogs badly needed a victory heading into the MIAA tournament. Mueller answered the call with 34 points and 14 rebounds to lead Truman to the conference tournament for the first time in three seasons.

Mueller's importance to the Bulldogs cannot be overstated. She accounted for 30 percent of the Bulldogs' scoring and grabbed 24 percent of the team's rebounds. Her leadership and ability to score were evident during a midseason seven-game losing streak that all but ended the Bulldogs' NCAA tournament hopes.

"It's always tough to go through a losing streak because you get frustrated, and the tension between teammates can rise a little bit," Mueller said. "You have to persevere through those losing streaks and try to keep your confidence and just not give up."

Senior guard Candace McGee said it is Mueller's ability to make everyone else on the floor better that makes her special.

"Obviously Georgia was our go-to player," McGee said. "She also got everyone else involved when people would collapse on her. She was just a really good player."

Mueller was able to benefit from the style of play the Bulldogs have implemented during her three seasons at Truman. The 'Dogs like to quickly get up and down the floor to avoid giving defenses a chance to set up. This gives Mueller a chance to get set up in the post before defenses can double- and triple-team her.

"It's just kind of how I've always played," Mueller said. "So I guess in that sense it's definitely a strength just because I've had so many years of practice in that kind of style of basketball."

Continued...

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