Rolla, Mo. – The Missouri S&T Lady Miners are hosting a four team classic this weekend, including an in-region contest for the Lady Miners on Saturday afternoon. Attending this year's classic are LeMoyne-Owen, Saginaw Valley and Saint Mary (Kan.).
S&T opens play in the event on Friday evening against Saint Mary at 7:30 p.m. The Lady Miners will then square off against Saginaw Valley on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. LeMoyne-Owen will play Saginaw Valley at 5:30 p.m. on Friday and then will play Saint Mary at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The Lady Miners are 1-0 on the season after downing Hannibal-LaGrange last Friday night 81-49. S&T had four players finish the contest in double figures led by
Raetchel Gray (Allen, Okla./Byng ) with 17 points while
Jamy Douvier (Sedgwick, Kan./Sunrise Christian Academy) and
Joe'l Bland (St. Charles, Mo./Homeschooled) added 16 points each.
Janie Arand (Washington, Mo./St. Francis Borgia) chipped in with 11 points as well. Gray also had nine assists and five steals in her S&T debut.
S&T shot nearly 50 percent from the floor and hit eight three's in the game. Bland went 4-for-4 from beyond the arc.
Saint Mary enters action this week with a record of 1-3 overall and plays Sterling on Thursday night. The Spires won their season opener over Avila but has dropped its last three contests by an average of 28.3 points per game.
The Spires are led in scoring by Imani Dixon with an average of 13.3 points per game; Dixon also leads the team with seven three-point baskets and in rebounding with 7.8 per game. Andrea McClary is the only other Saint Mary player averaging in double figures with her scoring mark of 12.3 points a game, while Kelsey Switzer has a team-high 11 assists. The Spires are averaging 56.5 points per game over the first four contests and are shooting only 31 percent from the field.
Saginaw Valley enters this weekend's action with a record of 0-2 after dropping both games last weekend to a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference teams. The Cardinals fell in their season opener to second ranked Lewis University 65-56 last Saturday and then on Sunday lost a hard fought 76-70 double overtime contest to Saint Joseph's.
Saginaw Valley is led in scoring by 6-3 junior Emily Wendling who averaged 18.5 points in the two contests which included a 21-point performance against Saint Joseph's. Anna Hall is also averaging in double figures with a mark of 12.5 points a game. Wendling and Hall combined to shoot 25-of-43 (58.1 percent) from the field last weekend.
Saturday's contest is the second all-time meeting between the Lady Miners and Cardinals. S&T defeated Saginaw 60-55 on Nov. 18, 2006 in Rolla. In that game Nicole Dierking and Chism McEntire led the Lady Miners with 15 points apiece while Tamara McCaskill and Katie Bunge had eight points each.
LeMoyne-Owen opened its season Wednesday with a 71-53 win at Montevallo, as Shantiera Miller led three Magicians in double figures with 15 points. Rachel Hughes added 14 points and hauled in 22 rebounds, while Maraja Johnson finished with 12 points.
