ROLLA, MO- Coming off a heartbreaking overtime loss to Southwest Baptist, the Miners will welcome top-ranked Drury to Gibson Arena this Thursday for a GLVC West Division match-up.

After playing dead even with the Bearcats on Saturday afternoon, S&T found themselves tied at 78 heading into overtime.

The Miners would take a one point lead after Marta Durk (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) found an open Kristin Steins (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway South) under the basket for an easy lay-up with 2:57 remaining in overtime, but a free-throw from Kyleigh Vaught and a four-point play from Mary Rose Foster would push the Bearcats out to an 86-82 lead. That offensive push would be enough for SBU to keep the lead and eventually take the 92-86 win.

Laura Rodriguez (Gran Canaria, Spain/Baloncesto Torrelodones) had a career game with 32 points while going 11-19 from the field and a perfect 7-7 from the free-throw line while leading the team with eight rebounds and four assists. Her 30+ point performance was the first time a Miner had scored over 30 points since Janie Arand scored 32 against LeMoyne-Owen in January 2017.

For the season, Rodriguez leads the team with 17.0 points/game while Alex Kerr (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph's Academy) is chipping in 14.4 points and leading the team with 10.5 rebounds/game. Kristen Keys (St. Louis, MO/Westminster Christian Academy) and Marta Durk (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) have also been major contributing factors to the Miner's offense adding in 12.1 and 11.3 points/game, respectively.

Both Kerr and Rodriguez are ranked in the conference in multiple statistical categories: Kerr is ranked 1^st in the GLVC in blocked shots, double-doubles, total rebounds, and rebounds per game while Rodriguez is leading the conference in field goal attempts, second in field goals made, fifth in three-pointer made, and ninth in points/game.

Drury
The Panthers (8-0, 8-0 GLVC) come into Thursday's match-up after a 21-day hiatus. Drury has not played in a game since January 6th where they cruised to a 96-62 win over the Bearcats of McKendree University.

In their win over McKendree, six different Panthers scored in double figures with Emily Parker leading the way with 19 points on 7-12 shooting. Kelsey Winfrey added in 18 points while Haley Meely chipped in 15 points. Katie Kirkhart, Azia Lynch, and Paige Robinson rounded out the remaining players in double-digit scoring with 12, 12, and 10, respectively.

For the season, Robinson is leading the charge with 21.4 points/game and 7.1 rebounds while Azia Lynch is chipping in 14.4 points/game. Emily Parker is also contributing 13.3 points/game.

Earlier this season when the Miners and Panthers met, S&T hung with the top-ranked offense in D2 for 35 minutes of the game. After looking at a 33-26 deficit heading into the second quarter, the Miners offense went cold and was held to just six points. While they were able to pick things back up in the second half, the damage from the second quarter proved to be too much and they suffered the 97-74 loss.

Laura Rodriguez (Gran Canaria, Spain/Baloncesto Torrelodones) led the way for the Miners with 23 points while Marta Durk (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) and Alex Kerr (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph's Academy) added in 18 and 16 points, respectively.

The Miners have not seen a win over Drury since the 2012-13 season and haven't gotten a win over the Panthers in Gibson Arena since December 7, 2011.