Box Score (Rolla, Mo.) - Saturday night was a very historic night at Billy Key Court as the Missouri S&T Lady Miners honored its six seniors by defeating Missouri-St. Louis 80-58 and advanced to the GLVC Tournament for the fourth consecutive year thanks to Rockhurst's win over Southern Indiana earlier in the day.

Senior Tamara McCaskill became the school's all-time leading scorer with her 27 point performance passing Joee Kvetensky's record of 1,484 points. The win also marked the first time in school history that the Lady Miners have won 15 or more games in four straight seasons. This senior class also became the winningest in school history going 74-41 with at least one more game to play.

The Lady Miners (15-12, 7-10 GLVC) came out of the gates red hot opening the game on a 20-4 run behind 10 points from McCaskill, four apiece from Jazmine Bell (Euclid, Ohio/Euclid) and Courtney Kemp (Fredricktown, Mo./Fredricktown) and a pair from Katie McElrath (Owasso, Okla./Owasso). They opened the game hitting nine of its first 12 from the floor and did the job on the defensive end as well allowing just two Triton (7-21, 3-14 GLVC) field goals in the opening 10 minutes.

S&T began to go cold from the field around the 10 minute mark of the frame allowing UMSL to get back within eleven on a pair of Hailee Deckard free throws with 5:18 to play. That would be as close as it would get though as the Lady Miners scored six straight points, four straight by McCaskill, to push the lead back to 17.

The lead would be cut back to 12 on a Kelly Carter jumper with 3:05 to play in the half but once again S&T had the answer running off six straight points grabbing a 39-21 lead with just over a minute to play. Each team traded baskets in the final minute of the half to send the Lady Miners into the break with the 18 point advantage.

S&T dominated the paint outscoring the Tritons 28-12 in the frame and converted 17 turnovers into 22 points while shooting 17-for-30 (57 percent) from the floor. UMSL was only 38 percent (8-for-21) from the field.
McCaskill led all scorers with 14 points in the frame. Bell had nine, Kemp dropped in six while McElrath and Sheena Chadwell (Mason, Mich./Mason) had four apiece. Deckard had eight to lead Missouri-St. Louis.

The Lady Miners wasted little time extending their leading by as many as 26 just three minutes in. That lead would grow to 30 on a three-pointer by Jenny Dorman (Pella, Iowa/Pella) at the 12:26 mark. The Tritons started to get back into the game thanks to their three point shooting knocking down four in a about a four minute stretch cutting the lead to under 20 with 6:37 to go.

McElrath's jumper with 3:13 remaining extended the lead back to 23 then a fast break lay-in by McCaskill put the game away with just about two minutes left in the contest.

Caitlyn Moody hit another three with under a minute to play cutting the lead back to 20 but Chelsea Stangel (Manitowoc, Wisc./Roncalli )'s jumper was the final points of the contest.

McCaskill led all scorers with her 27 and was joined in double figures by Bell with 13. The Lady Miners once again controlled the paint outscoring the Tritons 22-2 in the second half finishing with a 50-14 advantage.

Moody finished with 23, 21 in the second half with five three's, to lead UMSL. Deckard finished with 15.

As a team S&T finished the contest shooting 54 percent from the floor (34-for-63) and held UMSL to just 35 percent shooting for the game.

The Lady Miners return to action next Friday evening, March 6th, in the opening round of the GLVC Tournament taking on Wisconsin-Parkside at approximately 8:30 p.m. at Pepsi Arena in Quincy, Ill.