Box Score (Rolla, Mo.) - Tamara McCaskill scored a career-high 30 points on 13-of-25 shooting but in the end it wasn't enough as the Missouri S&T Lady Miners fell 79-75 to Southern Indiana on Saturday afternoon at Billy Key Court.

Just like their past two games the Lady Miners (9-10, 3-8 GLVC) fell into an early hole trailing 5-0 a little over a minute into the contest. McCaskill's old-fashioned three-point play got S&T on the board but Southern Indiana (11-8, 4-6 GLVC) was lights out from the field for a majority of the first half shooting at nearly a 60 percent clip leading by as many as eight in the opening 10 minutes.

The Lady Miners cut the deficit to 27-22 on another lay-in by McCaskill at the 7:45 mark but from that point the Screaming Eagles went on a 17-2 run over the next five-plus minutes to build their largest lead of the game at 44-24. USI got seven straight points from Rinesha Soaper at one stretch during that run hitting back-to-back three's.

S&T broke its cold spell getting six straight from McCaskill in about a minute to cut the deficit to 14. After Soaper hit a pair of free throws to push the lead back to 16, before Courtney Kemp (Fredricktown, Mo./Fredricktown) got a steal and a lay-in with 0:32 remaining to trim the deficit to 46-32 at the break.

McCaskill literally kept the Lady Miners in the contest scoring 18 points and was 8-of-14 (57 percent) from the floor and pulled down seven rebounds. The rest of the team shot just 30 percent (6-of-20) from the field and were 0-for-6 from downtown.

Southern Indiana on the other hand shot 55 percent (17-of-31) from the field and was 5-for-7 (71 percent) from behind the arc. Soaper and Ellen Young lead USI with 11 apiece.

S&T started the second half strong opening on a 9-3 in the first three minutes to cut the deficit to 49-41 getting five points from Lauren Dubbert (Madison, Mo./Madison) in the run. It began the half knocking home six of its first seven shots. The game would hover around the 10 point mark for roughly the next six minutes before the Screaming Eagles scored six straight points extending the lead back to 63-48.

The Lady Miners began making a push scoring nine straight points including five from Jazmine Bell (Euclid, Ohio/Euclid) and two each from McCaskill and Brittany Percival (Hartville, Mo./Hartville ) to cut the lead to 63-57 with 6:09 remaining. Unfortunately though Young got free just 0:10 later and buried a three pushing the lead back to nine. The two teams traded free throws over the next minute before S&T began making another run scoring seven straight to cut the lead to just 68-66 with 3:10 to go. Percival played a big part in the run scoring five straight at one point.

After a jumper by Ninette Evans pushed the lead back to four S&T had a chance to get back within two but Katie McElrath (Owasso, Okla./Owasso) made only 1-of-2 at the line with 1:47 to play and then Young got a lay-up and after a couple of turnovers by the Lady Miners Amie Newhart made 1-of-2 at the line extending the lead back to six with under a minute to play.

McCaskill answered right back with a three to get the game back to a single possession but the Lady Miners had to foul sending Newhart back to the line hitting two more at the charity stripe extending the lead back to five. After a missed three by Bell and a turnover on the offensive rebound Young was fouled and went to the line making two more to make it a seven point advantage.

S&T refused to quit getting a lay-up by Percival with 0:22 left and then on the ensuing inbounds pass Bell tied up Young giving the ball back to the Lady Miners. Percival cut the lead to just two on a three pointer right in front of the Lady Miner bench with 0:15 left. S&T was forced to foul again sending Newhart back to the line making another pair to ice the game.

The Lady Miners did a much better job on the defensive end in the second half holding USI to just 8-for-21 shooting (38 percent) and just 1-of-7 from downtown but the Screaming Eagles went the foul line 18 times making 16 of them.

S&T shot 55.2 percent (16-for-29) from the floor and 4-of-7 from three in the second half but couldn't quite climb out of the hole.

McCaskill led all scorers with her 30 while Percival finished with 14, all in the second half, and Bell dropped in 11.

Young led five Screaming Eagles in double figures with 20. Newhart had 14, Soaper finished with 13, Evans dropped in 11 and Brittany Neuman contributed 10.

The Lady Miners will hit the road playing five of their next six away from home beginning next Thursday evening at Missouri-St. Louis with the tip set for 5:30 pm.