ROLLA, Mo. – Following their first extended road trip in Great Lakes Valley Conference play, Missouri S&T's basketball teams will return to the home court to resume competition against teams from the league's Western Division this weekend at Billy Key Court.

The Lady Miners and Miners will host Quincy University Thursday evening in a doubleheader that will begin with the women's contest at 5:30 p.m.; the men's game follows at 7:30 p.m.  The University of Illinois Springfield visits Saturday with the women's game slated to begin at 1 p.m. and the men's game with the Prairie Stars at 3 p.m.

Women's Game: Thursday vs. Quincy

Thursday's matchup between the Lady Miners and Lady Hawks will be a battle between the top two teams in the GLVC West Division, as Quincy has won its first four conference games after going 2-6 in non-conference play prior to Christmas and the Lady Miners enter the game at 4-1 in league play.

The Hawks, 6-6 on the season and winners of five in a row overall, have recovered from their slow start largely due to the scoring of junior guard Lucy Cramsey – this week's GLVC “Player of the Week” – who has averaged 15.5 points a game since conference play started and leads the Lady Hawks in scoring with an average of 12.7 points per game.  She also ranks second in the league in rebounding with 9.2 per game and leads in steals with 19.

Kelly Buresh is also in double figures with an average of 11.8 points per game and Hannah Weedman, a 6-4 post player and transfer from the University of Evansville, has upped her scoring output to 9.2 points a game on the strength of three double figure performances in GLVC play.

Missouri S&T (8-5) dropped its first conference game Saturday in heartbreaking fashion, falling 74-71 on the road to No. 5-ranked Indianapolis as the Greyhounds made three free throws with 0.8 seconds to play to win the game.  Hailee Parks (Sullivan, Mo./Sullivan), S&T's leading scorer and rebounder on the season, is coming off a 25-point performance in the loss and has scored in double figures in 12 of S&T's 13 games this year.

Parks ranks fifth in the GLVC in scoring with her 16.2 points per game, seventh in rebounding at 8.4 a game and second in field goal percentage at 57.4 percent, just 0.1 percent behind Southern Indiana's Anna Hackert.  Toni Knar (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein), who is second in the GLVC with 2.8 three-pointers per game (a league-high 36 overall in 13 games), also had a huge game on S&T's recent road trip with 23 points at Saint Joseph's and is averaging 11.5 points per contest.

Men's Game: Thursday vs. Quincy

The men's game between the Miners and Hawks features two teams who are seeking the first GLVC victory of the 2013 calendar year.  Missouri S&T (4-8, 0-5 GLVC) is looking to end a four-game losing streak against a Quincy team that has also dropped its last four outings.

The Miners got a career-high 20 points from Zach Ellis in their 93-77 loss Saturday at No. 7-ranked Indianapolis, as four S&T players scored in double figures.  Despite shooting 48.1 percent from the field against the Greyhounds, the Miners were unable to match the firepower of UIndy in the game as the hosts connected on 54.1 percent of their shots and hit 10 three-pointers.

Mudi Eruteya continues to lead the Miners in scoring with an average of 13.9 points per game and has reached double figures in eight of his last 10 games.  Eruteya, who has four double-doubles this season, also ranks second in the GLVC in rebounding with 8.7 per game and owns the third-highest total of double-doubles in the conference this year.

Quincy does have a conference win under its belt as it beat Illinois Springfield in December, but has lost its last four GLVC outings since league play resumed on Jan. 3.  The Hawks, 6-7 overall, lost a pair of eight-point decisions to teams ranked in the top 10 nationally a week ago despite the efforts of Chris Babbitt, who has averaged 16.6 points in conference play and had a 25-point performance in the loss to No. 6-ranked Kentucky Wesleyan last Thursday.

Babbitt is averaging 14.2 points a game, while Tyler Thompson, who led Quincy with 19 points in the loss to No.10 Southern Indiana Saturday, is scoring 12 points per contest.

Saturday's opponent: Illinois Springfield

 Illinois Springfield's women are currently 4-8 overall and 1-3 in GLVC play, losing their last three conference contests after opening with a win at McKendree.  The Prairie Stars have been plagued in recent games by poor shooting from the field, as they have been held under 40 percent in each of the three setbacks and have shot better than 46.4 percent in only one game this year. 

As a result, UIS ranks last in the GLVC in scoring at 58.2 points per game – but is only allowing 59.7 per game on the other end.  Megan Bergerud leads the Prairie Stars in scoring at 12.3 points per game, while Elizabeth Kelly is the top rebounder with 7.5 per contest while shooting 57.4 percent from the field.  Alyssa Palmer ranks among the league leaders with 44 assists and 24 steals.

The men's team at UIS recorded a huge victory last week with a 73-71 upset win over No. 10 Southern Indiana and comes into the week at 4-9 overall and 2-3 in GLVC play.  Kyle Gupton, who poured in six three-pointers in a 26-point performance in the win over Southern Indiana, leads the Prairie Stars in scoring with 11.7 points per game.

Dylan Sparkman is averaging 11.2 points a game as well, while West Dawson is pulling down 6.8 rebounds per outing.  The Prairie Stars rank fifth in the conference in three-point shooting at 35.9 percent, with Gupton connecting on 46.2 percent of his tries with a team-high 30 treys.

Illinois Springfield will play at Drury Thursday before playing in Rolla Saturday.

Women's Game Notes: Lady Miners vs. Illinois Springfield
Men's Game Notes: Miners vs. Illinois Springfield

Women's Live Stats
Men's Live Stats

Live Audio
Live Video