Ashland, Ohio. - The Missouri S&T women's basketball found out how difficult going up against the nation's second-ranked team is as the Miners suffered a 100-72 loss to the Ashland (Ohio) Eagles this Saturday (Nov. 24) afternoon in the second opening-round game of the Ashland Thanksgiving Tournament at AU's Kates Gymnasium.
Ashland, which improved to 4-0 overall on the season and were the 2017-18 NCAA Division II National Runner-Up, utilized an up-tempo offense and a deep bench to overpower Missouri S&T. The Miners, who dressed only 10 players due to a combination of illness and injuries, keep the game close the first 10 minutes of action before the host Eagles pulled away in the second quarter to take a 47-29 halftime lead. The second half saw Ashland increase its margin, which included an 11-point advantage in the third quarter alone.
Junior forward
Maddie Raley (Haubstadt, Ind./Gibson Southern) turned in a productive game for Missouri S&T, which falls to 2-2 this season, by netting 16 points to go along with a game-high 11 rebounds. Raley's 11 boards equaled her career best which she set last season (1/15) versus William Jewell. The Miners, who went 25-of-68 from the floor for 36.8 percent, received 14 points from sophomore guard
Marta Durk (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) while freshman guard
Michaela Davis (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) tossed in 12 and junior guard
Jordan Kabetske (Republic, Mo./Republic) added 10 points. S&T went 10-of-18 from beyond the three-point arc as Raley drained four triples, Kabetske three, and Durk had two.
Ashland was led by Sara Loomis' game-high 27 points while Karlee Pieru and Maddie Dackin totaled 18 and 12 points, respectively. Loomis, who nailed five-of-eight trey attempts, also was effective defensively with a team-leading 10 rebounds and a squad-most three blocked shots. The Eagles, who outrebounded S&T 50-42 for the game, went 46.5 percent shooting (40-86) from the field while going 31.4 percent (11-35) in three-point field attempts.
At the free throw line, Missouri S&T made good on 12-of-19 opportunities for a 63.2 success rate while Ashland connected on nine-of-14 attempts which resulted in a 64.3 percentage.
The Eagles controlled the paint area, outscoring the Miners 54-24 and recorded an 18 points (42-24) advantage in bench scoring.
After 1st Q - AU 23, S&T 14
A
Jordan Kabetske (Republic, Mo./Republic) three-point field goal with 6:41 left gave S&T a 10-7 lead before the Eagles went on a 10-1 run to go ahead 17-11 with five minutes remaining in the quarter.
Maddie Raley (Haubstadt, Ind./Gibson Southern)'s three-ball with under five left narrowed the Miners' deficit to three (17-14), but Ashland countered with six straight points to close out the first quarter.
After 2nd Q - AU 47, S&T 29
The second quarter saw Ashland reel off 16 unanswered points in a three-minute span to go up by 24 points (43-19) with 4:24 remaining in the second quarter. The Miners chipped away and were able to get within 18 points at 47-29 just 38 seconds before intermission on a
Maddie Raley (Haubstadt, Ind./Gibson Southern) three-point field goal.
After 3rd Q - AU 76, S&T 47
The third quarter was dominated by Ashland as the Eagles led by as many as 32 points (76-44) with under a minute left in the frame after holding a 20-points plus margin all for about one minute.
FINAL SCORE: AU 100, S&T 72
Missouri S&T managed to outscore the Eagles albeit by one (25-24) in the final quarter although the outcome had long been decided. The Miners managed to cut a 31-point deficit down to 22 points at 78-56 with 7:26 left in the game, but were unable to get any closer as the host team built its lead up to 29 points (96-67) and reached the century mark with 48 seconds remaining on a layup..
Up Next: The Miners wrap up play at the Ashland (Ohio) Thanksgiving Tournament this Sunday (Nov. 25) taking on the Wayne State (Mich.) Warriors at 12 p.m. (CT) in AU's Kates Gymnasium.
Stay Tuned: Stay up to date with the Miners throughout the 2018-19 season by liking or following @minersports via Twitter and Facebook.
