ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's women's basketball team couldn't quite get over the hump late in Thursday's game with McKendree, as the Bearcats were able to hold off the Lady Miners for a 68-64 win at Billy Key Court.

The Lady Miners (8-17, 3-14 Great Lakes Valley Conference) trailed by seven with just over a minute remaining and by five with 12 seconds to go, but got into a position to tie the score in the final seconds.   After Maddie Raley (Haubstadt, Ind./Gibson Southern) hit a three-pointer to trim the lead to two, McKendree's Madison Hart missed two free throws with six seconds left and S&T's Joe'l Bland (St. Charles, Mo./Homeschooled) was fouled on the rebound.

Bland hit the first of her two free throw attempts, but the second rimmed out and the Bearcats (11-13, 7-10 GLVC) got the rebound.  Sydney Diekhoff made both free throw to extend the lead back to three, then Jordan Morton blocked Janie Arand (Washington, Mo./St. Francis Borgia)'s three-point attempt to tie the game in the waning seconds.

The Lady Miners started the game cold from the field, as they went just four-of-17 from the field in the first quarter and coupled with McKendree's 67 percent shooting in the period, trailed by 10 after 10 minutes of play.  S&T warmed up in the second period and cut what was a 12-point Bearcat lead to one in the final minute of the half when Arand took a lead pass from Bland and scored.

McKendree got a short jumper from Callie Pohlman before halftime to take a three-point lead to the intermission and held onto that advantage until Bria Pierce (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley North) made two free throws midway through the third quarter to give S&T its first lead since the early stages of the game at 38-37.

The teams swapped the lead a couple of times before McKendree regained the advantage on a Pohlman layup with 3:16 left in the third, but the Lady Miners took the lead back early in the fourth quarter on a jumper by Raley.

Raley scored again with 6:22 left to give S&T a 51-49 lead, but Jordan Heberg hit a three-pointer on McKendree's next trip down the floor to start a 9-0 run to put the Bearcats up for good; the Lady Miners went scoreless for better than four minutes during that stretch until a Marta Durk (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) layup halted the run.

MissourI S&T shot 36.5 percent on the night – a game in which it was just under 50 percent in the second and fourth quarters, but made only 25 percent in the first and third periods combined.  Bland led S&T with 14 points, while Arand and Raley had 12 apiece.

Diekhoff led all scorers in the game with 20 points as the Bearcats shot 46.2 percent in the contest and outrebounded S&T 43-27.

The Lady Miners will close their season Saturday when they face Rockhurst in Kansas City, Mo., in a 1 p.m. game.