Rolla, Mo. – The Missouri S&T women's basketball team almost certainly will be tested at various times throughout the 2018-19 season and one of those will likely occur this weekend (Nov. 24-25) at the highly-competitive Ashland (Ohio) Thanksgiving Tournament, which will be held at AU's Kates Gymnasium. The tourney pairings, which have already been determined, have Missouri S&T taking on the nation's second-ranked team in the Ashland Eagles this Saturday (Nov. 24) at 2 p.m. (CT). The Miners will wrap up the two-day tourney action on Sunday (Nov. 25) with a 12 p.m. (CT) tilt against the Wayne State (Mich.) Warriors.
2018-19 Record: Missouri S&T is 2-1 overall and 0-0 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) following a 63-58 non-conference home loss to Westminster (Utah) this Wednesday (Nov. 21) night at S&T's Gibson Arena. The Miners are presently 2-1 at home, 0-0 on the road, and 0-0 at neutral sites to date this season.
Last Game: A 10-4 Westminster (Utah) run in the final five-plus minutes proved decisive as Missouri S&T dropped a narrow 63-58 decision Wednesday (Nov. 21) at Gibson Arena. The Miners, who trailed 49-43 after three quarters, led 17-12 following the game's initial 10 minutes and trailed by two (29-27) at halftime. A pair of junior forwards,
Ashley Harvey (Raytown, Mo./Raytown) and
Maddie Raley (Haubstadt, Ind./Gibson Southern) led the Miners with 12 points apiece while junior center
Mykala Baylor (South Bend, Ind./Clay) posted her first S&T double-double with an 11-point, game-high 16-rebound performance to go with two blocked shots. The Miners finished the game shooting 36.2 percent (25-69) from the field, 25.0 percent (5-20) from three-point field goal territory, and three-of-four (75 percent) at the charity stripe. S&T would post a 27-25 scoring edge in the paint area and outscored the Griffins 12-1 in second-chance point opportunities.
S&T Head Coach –
Alan Eads (Missouri, 1973), 17th season, 204-234 (.466). The school's all-time winningest coach, Eads has led the Miners to two NCAA Division II Tournament appearances during his tenure at S&T. Eads became the program's all-time leader in wins on Jan 29, 2011 as a result of the Miners recording a 65-63 overtime win over Maryville. Eads currently third among active coaches in the GLVC in wins at his or her institution. The Miners have made nine appearances in the GLVC Tournament under Eads, including trips to the semifinals in 2006, 2008 and 2009.
Missouri S&T had its best season in school history during the 2007-08 season when it made its first trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament in 12 years. Under Eads' tuleage, the Lady Miners posted a record of 24-7 on the year, breaking the school record for victories in a year, and reached the championship game of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional before falling to eventual national champion Northern Kentucky. S&T finished in second place in the GLVC West Division with a 15-4 record and won its opening round game in the conference tournament over Bellarmine before falling to NKU in the semifinals. Missouri S&T earned the No. 3 seed to the regional tournament, then knocked off Michigan Tech for its first-ever win in the NCAA Tournament and Quincy in the semifinal round to reach the title game in Springfield, Mo. Since joining the GLVC in the 2005-06 season, the Miners have posted a record of 74-42. They were 17-11 in each of their first two seasons as a member of the league and made the conference tournament both times.
Eads came to Missouri S&T after serving as an assistant coach at Southeast Missouri State University for the previous eight seasons. While at Southeast, Eads served as the team's chief recruiter and worked primarily with the post players and the team defense.
Eads has also built an impressive resume as a head coach, leading Moberly Area Community College to a record of 199-37 over a span of eight years from 1986-94. He took the Lady Greyhounds to the NJCAA national tournament on five occasions, including a third place finish in 1986-87 and fifth place showings in 1987-88 and 1993-94. Moberly had two 30-win seasons under Eads and also had seasons with 29, 28 and 26 wins during his tenure. Eads was inducted in 2008 into the institution's Athletic Hall of Fame. He was named as the Region XVI "Coach of the Year" on five occasions and also led the Lady Greyhounds to five region titles, all of which eventually led to berths in the national tournament. Moberly was the region runner-up on three other occasions and won the regular season title in all eight seasons Eads spent there. He was also chosen after the 1990-91 season to serve as an assistant coach for the South team in the United States Olympic Festival in Los Angeles, Calif., as that team would go on to win the gold medal during the 1991 festival.
Eads served as the head coach at Moberly High School from 1979-83, where he led his teams to two district titles and two trips to the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Tournament.
This Week's Opponents
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Ashland: The Eagles, who are presently ranked second nationally in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) NCAA Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll as of Nov. 20, improved to 3-0 overall and are 0-0 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) this season with a 93-51 non-league road win at Walsh (Ohio) last Wednesday (Nov. 14) at WU's Cecchini Center in North Canton, Ohio. The Eagles, who are directed by first-year head coach and Ashland's two-time WBCA National Player of the Year Kari Pickens, are 0-0 at home, 2-0 on the road, and 1-0 at neutral sites this season. AU claimed a season-opening 84-74 triumph over Cedarville (Nov. 9) in Columbus, Ohio, before registering a 94-74 road win against Ohio Dominican (Nov. 10). Junior guard-forward Jodi Johnson (25.0 ppg., 7.0 rpg.), who was the 2017-18 WBCA NCAA Division II National Player of the Year and was also tabbed the 2018-19 GLIAC Preseason Player of the Year, along with junior guard Renee Stimpert (14.7 ppg., 6.0 rpg.), senior guard Maddie Dackin (13.0 ppg., 1.7 rpg.), and junior forward Sara Loomis (12.0 ppg., 11.0 rpg.) lead the Eagles, who are averaging 90.3 points per game while holding their opponent to a 66.3 points a contest average to date this season. Ashland was selected to second in the 2018-19 GLIAC's South Division Women's Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll. A season ago, the Eagles went 36-1 overall and a first-place 20-0 GLIAC South Division ledger en route to finishing as the NCAA Division II National Runner-Up. AU was NCAA Division II National Champions in 2013 and 2017 while garnering national runner-up honors in the 2012 and 2018 seasons.
All-Time Series - First Meeting -- 0-0 Home, 0-0 Away, 0-0 Neutral;
Last Meeting - N/A.
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Wayne State (Mich.): The Warriors are currently 1-2 overall and 0-0 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) this season after posting a 73-71 non-conference road victory over Tiffin (Ohio) this past Saturday (Nov. 17) at TU's The Gillmor Student Center in Tiffin, Ohio. Wayne State, which is coached by eighth-year head coach Carrie Lohr, dropped its initial two season-opening contests at the GLIAC/G-MAC Challenge (Nov. 9 and 11) held at WSU's Matthaei Center in Detroit, Mich. as the Warriors fell 71-51 to Findlay (Ohio) on Nov. 9 and then suffered a 68-57 setback to Lake Erie (Ohio) on Nov. 11. WSU presently has three individuals averaging double-figure points in junior guard Alex Matus (12.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg.), junior guard Nastassja Chambers (12.0 ppg., 4.3 rpg.), a 2018-19 All-GLIAC South Division Preseason Team member, and senior guard Ja'Nae Williams (10.7 ppg., 12.0 rpg.). The Warriors, who are 0-0 at neutral sites, 0-2 at home, and 1-0 on the road, were selected to place third in the 2018-19 GLIAC South Division Women's Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll. WSU compiled a 19-8 overall record for the 2017-18 season, which included a second-place 14-6 mark in the GLIAC's South Division.
All-Time Series - Missouri S&T leads 2-0 -- 2-0 Home, 0-0 Away, 0-0 Neutral;
Last Meeting - Won 68-62 (11/21/09 at Missouri S&T).
2018 Ashland Thanksgiving Tournament
The pairings for this weekend's (Nov. 24-25) 2018 Ashland (Ohio) Thanksgiving Tournament are as follows:
Saturday (Nov. 24) - Slippery Rock vs. Wayne State (Mich.) @ 12 p.m. (CT); Missouri S&T at Ashland @ 2 p.m. (CT)
Sunday (Nov. 25) - Wayne State (Mich.) vs. Missouri S&T @ 12 p.m. (CT); Slippery Rock at Ashland @ 2 p.m. (CT)
Solid Nucleus Returns: The Miners return seven letter winners from last season's team, which includes three of S&T's top points leaders in
Maddie Raley (Haubstadt, Ind./Gibson Southern) (13. 4 ppg.), senior forward
Bria Pierce (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley North) (8.8 ppg.) and junior guard
Jordan Kabetske (Republic, Mo./Republic) (8.5 ppg.). The Miners' top returning rebounders are
Bria Pierce (6.4 rpg.),
Ashley Harvey (Raytown, Mo./Raytown)(4.4 rpg.) and
Maddie Raley (4.2 rpg.). S&T will be returning 57.5 percent (1,005-1,749 of its scoring output and 56.5 percent (515-911) of its rebounding production from the 2017-18 campaign.
Miner Details: Mykala Baylor (South Bend, Ind./Clay) recorded her second consecutive double-digit rebound performance with a game-high 16 boards against Westminster (Utah) (Nov. 21). Baylor, who presently leads the Miners with an 11.3 rebounds per game average (34 rebs.), grabbed 11 caroms versus Southern Arkansas (Nov. 17) ...
Maddie Raley (Haubstadt, Ind./Gibson Southern) moved into ninth place among S&T's all-time three-point field goals leaders with two treys against Westminster and currently has amassed 91 career triples in 55 outings. Raley is now 12 three-pointers away from tying Becky Reichard (103 career; 1994-96) for eighth place on the program's career leaders list ... Junior guard
Jordan Kabetske (Republic, Mo./Republic), who has tallied 286 career points in 52 contests to date, is 14 points shy of registering her 300th career point ... The Miners' top two rebounding leaders,
Mykala Baylor (South Bend, Ind./Clay) (34 rebs.) and freshman center
Alex Kerr (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph's Academy) (20 rebs.), have combined to account for 39.4 percent (54-137) of the team's output ... S&T currently has two players,
Maddie Raley (Haubstadt, Ind./Gibson Southern) (15.3 ppg.) and
Alex Kerr (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph's Academy) (12.7 ppg.) averaging double-digit points and the pair have generated 35.7 percent (84-235) of the squad's scoring production.
2017-18 Season: The Miners registered a 9-17 overall record for the 2017-18 season, which included a 4-14 mark in the GLVC's West Division. S&T was 7-6 at home, 2-9 on the road, and 0-2 at neutral sites.
NCAA II Statistics: Both NCAA Division II team and individual national statistical leaders for this 2018-19 season can be accessed at this link -
NCAA Statistics.
2018-19 GLVC Preseason Poll: S&T was selected to finish 14th place in the
2018-19 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Coaches Preseason Poll, which was released Oct. 17 by the Conference office. The Miners accumulated 39 points in the poll as voted on by the league coaches. Lewis was picked to win the conference title with 175 points and seven first-place votes. Drury registered a second-place 174 points to go with six first-place votes while the one remaining first-place vote went to Southern Indiana, which accumulated a third-place 155 points.
New GLVC Format: The GLVC regular season will no longer include the three-division format which were adopted last season with 15 teams. The top eight teams with the most points derived from the GLVC Point Rating System at the end of the 2018-19 regular season will earn a berth to the GLVC Basketball Championship Tournament to be held on March 7-10 at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Ill., on the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
GLVC Standings/Schedule: Fans can view the complete 2018-19 GLVC Women's Basketball Standings at this link -
GLVC Standings. The composite 2018-19 conference women's basketball schedule can be accessed at this link -
GLVC Schedule and the GLVC statistics at this link -
GLVC Statistics.
Follow The GLVC: Fans can follow @GLVCsports on
Twitter,
Instagram, and
Facebook using hashtag #GLVCwbb. Complete coverage of all 2018-19 conference games can be accessed on
GLVCSN.com.
Up Next: Missouri S&T begins Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) play next Saturday, Dec. 1, as the Miners face the Drury Panthers in Springfield, Mo. A 1 p.m. (CT) start is scheduled for the conference in-state matchup at DU's O'Reilly Family Event Center.
