ROLLA, MO- The Miners will hit the road this week as they take on West Division rivals Rockhurst on Thursday night and Southwest Baptist on Saturday afternoon.

S&T is coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Cardinals of William Jewell this past Saturday; a hot offensive start for the Miners was soon wiped as Jewell came back strong in the second and third quarters. While S&T caught some momentum to start the second half and take a seven-point lead, WJC would come back with an 11-0 run and would keep their lead until the end and half the Miners the 73-67 loss.

For the season, Laura Rodriguez (Gran Canaria, Spain/Baloncesto Torrelodones) and Alex Kerr (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph's Academy) have led the way for S&T, offensively, with 15.5 and 14.4 points/game, respectively, while Kerr has led the GLVC in blocked shots, defensive rebounds, double-doubles, total rebounds, and rebounds/game.

Marta Durk (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) and Kristen Keys (St. Louis, MO/Westminster Christian Academy) have also been big contributing factors for S&T this season; Keys has had a breakout sophomore season with 11.9 points/game while Durk is scoring 11.5 points/game and leading the team with 31 assists and 18 steals.

Rockhurst
The Hawks have yet to play in 2021 and will open the second half of their season this Thursday when the Miners come to town. Rockhurst (4-2, 4-2 GLVC) most recently downed Southwest Baptist back on December 16.

RU held SBU to just 19 first half points and further extended their lead in the third quarter to as much as 24 after an 8-0 run was capped by a jumper from Hailey Dolphin. The Hawks would cruise to the 73-49 win behind a game-high 22 points from Daly Sullivan and 14 from Jessina Rada.

For the season, Sullivan has been the leading force behind Rockhurst's scoring with 15.3 points/game while Rada is chipping in 10.3 per game.

The last time the Hawks and Miners met this past season, turnovers were the enemy for S&T. They were forced in 22 turnovers that turned into 19 unanswered points for the Hawks. That mixed with 22 points and seven steals from Monika Faerber ended in the Miners facing the 62-59 loss back in December.

Historically, S&T has seen great success over Rockhurst, leading the all-time match-up series 22-11. However, the last three games have gone to the Hawks and the Miners have not seen a win over RU since January of 2019.

Southwest Baptist
The Bearcats (1-8, 1-8 GLVC) broke a seven-game losing streak to open the 2021 season after a 66-60 win over William Jewell. But, just three days later, SBU went to St. Louis to take on UMSL and faced a 77-68 loss.

While SBU held with the Tritons for most of the game, UMSL's Brianna Diestelkamp had a breakout game with 24 points on 8-10 shooting from the field and brought down a game best nine rebounds. That along with Southwest Baptist being forced into 17 turnovers that led to 16 unanswered points led to UMSL taking the 77-68 final.

For the season, Kyleigh Vaught has led the way for the Bearcats with 14.3 points/game and a team best 20 assists while Sydney Bandy and Regan Tibbits are adding in 12.0 and 10.1 points/game, respectively.

Earlier this season when the Bearcats and Miners met, S&T held on for the 79-68 win to pick up their first win of the season.

Four Miners scored in double digits that game; Alex Kerr (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph's Academy) scored a game-high 17 points while Laura Rodriguez (Gran Canaria, Spain/Baloncesto Torrelodones) and Ashley Harvey (Raytown, Mo./Raytown) chipped in 15 and 14 points, respectively. Eryn Puett (Columbia, MO/Rock Bridge) had a career game that day, the freshman scored 10 points while going 3-4 from the field and a perfect 4-4 from the free-throw line.

That win broke a 19-game losing streak against Southwest Baptist dating back to the 1997-1998 season.