Rolla, Mo. – The Missouri S&T Lady Miners couldn't overcome a slow start in its 87-75 loss against Missouri Southern on Monday evening. The Lady Miners (6-4) missed 11 of their first 12 shots and trailed by 10 at the end of the first quarter.

The Lions (7-5) led for a majority of the game, after an early tie, getting six straight points from Deb Holcomb to grab an 8-2 lead less than four minutes into the contest. S&T had its opportunities but was cold from the floor before Raetchel Gray (Allen, Okla./Byng ) snapped a four minute scoreless streak with a three-pointer from the top of the key to make it 8-5 with less than five minutes to go in the opening frame. MSSU responded with a 13-4 run over the next four minutes to stretch its lead to 21-9 but Katey Brown (Craig, Neb./Guardian Angels Central Catholic) brought
the Lady Miners back to within 10 with a jumper with 0:32 left in the quarter.

The Lions used an 11-2 run in the first 3:32 of the second quarter to stretch their lead to 32-13 after a pair of free throws from Jasmine Green. S&T got hot from the three-point line over the next few minutes hitting four treys to trim the MSSU lead to 38-29 after Gray's third trifecta of the half. The Lions countered with five straight to extend their lead back to double digits to take a 43-31 lead at the half.

Missouri Southern shot 50 percent from the floor in the first and was 8-for-9 from the foul line. It outrebounded the Lady Miners 22-15 and had a 20-13 edge in points in the paint.  Holcomb led the Lions with 10 points while Green and Jenson Maydew added eight each.

After its slow start S&T heated up in the second quarter shooting 47 percent from the floor and knocked down 4-of-8 from the three-point line. Gray led the Lady Miners with 11 points while Brown, Jamy Douvier (Sedgwick, Kan./Sunrise Christian Academy) and Elsie Greenwood (Breckenridge, Mo./Penney High School) added six points each.

The Lions started the second half on an 11-4 building their largest lead of the game at 56-35. S&T started to claw its way back cutting the deficit to 13 points after a layup by Janie Arand (Washington, Mo./St. Francis Borgia) with 2:42 left in the quarter, but MSSU responded with a 9-2 run the rest of the quarter to take a 20-point lead into the final frame.

The Lady Miners opened the fourth stanza on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 12 but were unable to get closer than 10 points the rest of the way as the Lions answered each threat that S&T made. The Lady Miners did outscore the Lions 25-17 in the final stanza as Brown scored six of her 12 points in the quarter while Arand and Aricca Daye (Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines East) added four points each.

S&T finished the game shooting 41 percent (30-of-74) from the floor, went 9-for-10 from the foul line but struggled to shoot the three making just 27 percent from the beyond the arc. Greenwood led four Lady Miners in double figures with 15 points while Gray added 13. Brown chipped in 12 and J. Douvier finished with 10.

Missouri Southern shot 47 percent (28-for-60) from the field and dominated on the foul line making 23-of-27 attempts. It outrebounded S&T 42-32 its bench outscored the Lady Miners 34-25. Holcomb led all scorers with 18 points. Desirea Buerge chipped in 13, Green added 12 and Chelsey Henry dropped in 10.

S&T is off until Saturday, Dec. 31 when it travels to Springfield, Mo., to take on Drury in a 1 p.m. contest to begin the second half of the season.