Rolla, Mo. – The Missouri S&T Lady Miners used an 11-2 run at the beginning of the fourth quarter to build a double digit lead to pull away and defeat the Lincoln Blue Tigers 73-66 on Wednesday evening in Rolla. The Lady Miners (2-1) finished with five players reaching double figures in scoring led by Janie Arand (Washington, Mo./St. Francis Borgia) with 15 points.

S&T trailed by as many as six in the third quarter before outscoring the Blue Tigers (0-2) 12-5 over the final 4:18 of the period. Joe'l Bland (St. Charles, Mo./Homeschooled) and Sandra Douvier (Sedgwick, Kan./Sunrise Christian Academy) combined for eight points in that run and it was Douvier's jumper with 2:09 left in the quarter that gave the Lady Miners a lead they wouldn't relinquish. S&T looked like it was headed to the final quarter with at least a three-point cushion but a steal by Erica Gibbons and score by Azaria Nave brought Lincoln within 50-49 at the quarter break.

The Lady Miners scored the first six points of the final quarter building a seven-point lead just 1:30 into the frame. Hunter Yoakum brought the Blue Tigers back within five but Arand hit a three-pointer after an offensive rebound by Bland and then a minute later scored again off a pass from Elsie Greenwood (Breckenridge, Mo./Penney High School) to make it 61-51 midway through the quarter.

Lincoln would cut the margin to 63-57 thanks to a three-pointer from Nave and an old-fashioned three-point play by Yoakum with 4:06 remaining. S&T countered that run with six straight, four from Aricca Daye (Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines East) and two more from Douvier to regain its double digit advantage with 2:38 left. The Blue Tigers continued to try and claw their way back cutting the lead to five points with 0:33 to play but the Lady Miners made 4-of-6 shots at the foul line in the closing seconds to secure the win.

S&T finished the game shooting 44.3 percent (27-for-61) from the floor, made only 3-of-12 (25.0 percent) from beyond the three-point line and shot 76 percent at the foul line. It outrebounded Lincoln 43-33 and the Lady Miner bench outscored the Blue Tigers 33-7 for the game and 20-0 in the second half.

Arand was joined in double figures by Daye and Douvier with 13 points each while Bland and Jamy Douvier (Sedgwick, Kan./Sunrise Christian Academy) finished with 10 points each. Sandra Douvier (Sedgwick, Kan./Sunrise Christian Academy), Bland and Runge combined for over half of the team's rebound total with 23.

Lincoln finished the game shooting 36 percent (23-for-64) from the floor, made 5-of-16 attempts from downtown and went 15-for-18 at the foul line. Yoakum finished with a game-high 22 points while Nave added 16 and Tempary Gunter added 10. Gunter led the Blue Tigers with seven rebounds.

S&T is back at home on Saturday afternoon hosting Missouri Baptist in a 1 p.m. contest at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.