Rolla, Mo. – Missouri S&T's women's basketball team gets its 2017-18 season underway this weekend hosting the Lady Miner Classic this Friday and Saturday at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building. The Lady Miners open the season against LeMoyne-Owen on Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. and then will play Purdue Northwest on Saturday at 6 p.m.

S&T returns five letterwinners from last year's team including its leading scorer in Janie Arand (Washington, Mo./St. Francis Borgia) who averaged 10.8 points per game. Also returning is Maddie Raley (Haubstadt, Ind./Gibson Southern), who emerged as one of the top three-point shooting threats in the GLVC during the second half of the year. Raley finished the season shooting nearly 41 percent from beyond the arc.

Also returning to the team are seniors Joe'l Bland (St. Charles, Mo./Homeschooled) and Kim Runge (Freedom, Wis./Freedom) and sophomore Jordan Kabetske (Republic, Mo./Republic). Bland averaged 3.3 points and 1.7 rebounds per game while Runge added 3.2 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. Kabetske contributed 2.0 points and 0.9 assists per game during her freshman campaign. The Lady Miners are looking forward to getting back junior forward Bria Pierce (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley North) who missed all last season with a lower leg injury. Two years ago she led the team in scoring with 11.8 points per game and averaged 5.1 rebounds a contest.

S&T has six newcomers to its roster this year highlighted by three junior college transfers. Michelle Borgen (Tinley Park, Illinois/Andrew) played for two years at Moraine Valley where she averaged nearly 26 points and 11 rebounds per game last season. Katie Moreno-Bonnett (Wichita, Kan./Life Preparatory Academy) and Ashley Harvey (Raytown, MO/Raytown) were teammates at Penn Valley Community College in Kansas City last year. Moreno-Bonnett averaged 6.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest while Harvey scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds before suffering a season ending injury.

Also joining the team this year are freshmen Marta Durk (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township), Karleigh Faust (Hillsboro, Mo./Grandview) and Kristin Steins (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway South). Durk finished her prep career at O'Fallon Township averaging 14.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. She scored over 1,000 points in her high school career. During her senior year she averaged 18.5 points, grabbed 3.7 rebounds and dished out 1.9 assists per game. Faust helped lead the Grandview Eagles to a 22-4 record last season averaging 4.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Steins averaged 13.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game last year for Parkway South and helped guide the Patriots to a 15-13 record and an appearance in the Missouri Class 5 District 6 championship game. She was named the Suburban West Conference Player of the Year last season and was a three-time all-conference and all-district selection.

LeMoyne-Owen went 8-22 last season and was 5-13 in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Magicians return eight players off of last season's squad including their second leading scorer, Tenesha Wright who averaged 13.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Also returning are sophomores Courtney Banks and Ariyan Hines. Banks contributed 6.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while Hines dropped in 5.2 points and grabbed 3.2 rebounds per game. LeMoyne-Owen defeated Harris-Stowe in an exhibition game last Saturday 74-60 in Memphis, Tenn.

Purdue Northwest begins its first season as a member of NCAA Division II. The Pride will open the season against Illinois Springfield on Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. in the Lady Miner Classic before taking on S&T on Saturday. PNW went 24-9 last season and advanced to the NAIA Division II National Tournament where it was defeated by Indiana East 85-80.

The Pride return seven faces off of last year's squad but will have to replace their top two scorers in Cassidy Deno and Darien Hutchinson who combined to score nearly half of the team's points last season. Shae Rhonehouse and Ellie Michalski are the team's top two returning scorers averaging 11.5 and 9.0 points per game respectively last season. Also returning are senior Jessica Kiser who averaged 2.3 points per game and junior Michaela Kirkendall who dropped in 4.7 points per contest.