Box Score (Rolla, Mo.) – The Missouri S&T Lady Miners led wire-to-wire on its way to snapping its three-game losing streak with a 59-41 win over Westminster on Thursday evening at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building. S&T opened the game on an 8-1 run and wouldn't look back as it led by as many as 24 in the contest.

Katelyn Heil (Dexter, Mo./Dexter) got the scoring started hitting a three just 0:25 into the contest. The Blue Jays (1-2) cut the deficit to two points as Kenna Cornelson hit 1-of-2 at the charity stripe with 19:02 to play. That would be the closest WC got the rest of the game. Kylie Cooper (Andover, Kan./Andover) answered on the other end with a layup and then Kyesha Hall (Dodson, La./) buried a three from the top of the key to make it 8-1. Talisha Washington answered with a three to make it 8-4, but the Lady Miners (2-3) responded scoring 11 of the next 15 points to take a commanding 19-8 advantage. Toni Knar (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) hit a three during the run while Erica Askew (Chicago, Ill./Morgan Park) and Karli Sample (St. Joseph, Mo./Benton) also provided buckets.

Westminster would cut the deficit to nine, but back-to-back three's from Knar and Askew pushed the lead to the largest of the half at 25-12 halfway through the stanza. S&T would go into cold spell over the final 10 minutes of the stanza as it was held to just six points. Thankfully its defense picked up the slack on the other end holding the Blue Jays to just seven points.

Westminster cut the lead to 27-19 on three by Cornelson with less than five minutes to play in the frame, but the Lady Miners scored the final four points of the half and went into the locker room with a 31-19 lead on a Sample basket with 0:04 left.

S&T shot only 37.1 percent (13-for-35) from the floor, but was 5-of-11 from behind the three-point line. Each team had 22 rebounds in the half. Hall led the Lady Miners with seven points while Knar dropped in six and Askew had five.

Westminster made 8 of its first 19 shots but missed its final 10 of the frame to finish the half shooting 27.6 percent (8-for-29) and was 2-of-5 from three. Washington led the way with five points while Cornelson, Hannah Kloster and Mackenzie Haddox had four apiece.

The Blue Jays scored four of the first five points to begin the second half to trim S&T's lead to 32-23 on a layup by Kloster two minutes into the half. The Lady Miners responded in a big way scoring 14 straight points and holding Westminster scoreless for nearly four minutes. Askew gave S&T's its biggest lead of the night hitting a jumper to make it 48-24 with 13:28 left in the contest.

The Blue Jays would cut into the lead to 19 points on a jumper by Washington with 11:31 remaining, but the Lady Miners pushed the lead back to 24 when Heil converted on a fast break layup from Hall at the 7:35 mark. S&T was outscored 9-3 for the remainder of the game eventually settling for the 59-41 margin.

The Lady Miners shot 35.7 percent in the second half and finished the contest shooting 36.5 percent. They made a season-high eight threes, but were just 5-for-10 at the charity stripe. Hall led the way with 11 points while Hailee Parks (Sullivan, Mo./Sullivan) chipped in with 10. Heil dropped in eight points and Askew and Sample chipped in with seven each off the bench. Heil and Parks had seven rebounds apiece.

S&T held Westminster to a season-low 29.1 shooting percentage (16-for-55), 4-of-12 from three and 5-for-11 at the foul line. The Blue Jays outrebounded the Lady Miners 44-to-40. Kloster led WC with nine points while Washington added eight.

S&T is back in action next Thursday when it travels to Springfield, Mo., to open GLVC play against Drury beginning at 5:30 p.m.