ROLLA, Mo. – Looking to rebound after a pair of tough setbacks before the Thanksgiving break, the Missouri S&T women's basketball team will look to rebound in their final non-conference game before Great Lakes Valley Conference play begins, heading west to take on Pittsburg State Saturday at 1:30 P.M. before returning to Gibson Arena for the league opener against defending champion Drury Monday night at 5:30 P.M.
 
The Miners (1-2) are coming off a 68-48 loss on the road to Northwest Missouri State Monday and have dropped their last two games after a record-setting outing in the season opener against Blackburn. Laura Rodriguez (Gran Canaria, Spain/Baloncesto Torrelodones) is the team's leading scorer with 15.3 PPG and is coming off her second double-digit outing of the season, as she scored 16 against the Bearcats. Off the bench, Eryn Puett (Columbia, MO/Rock Bridge) has been averaging 10.0 points per night and scored 12 Monday night against Northwest Missouri State. Freshman Katelynne Roberts (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) is averaging 8.0 points per night and is tops on the team with 19 boards, averaging 6.3 per contest.
 
Four other Miners are averaging better than 5.0 PPG, led by Marta Durk (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) with 7.7 and Kristen Keys (St. Louis, MO/Westminster Christian Academy) with 6.7. Durk is also the team leader with 11 steals while Roberts' 10 blocks are tops on the club. Rodriguez is shooting 60.0% from deep and 42.9% from the floor overall while Roberts is leading the team with a 76.9% shooting rate with Puett second on the team at 52.2%.
 
Pittsburg State (2-1) takes the court Wednesday for a matchup of former MIAA rivals against Lindenwood before welcoming S&T to John Lance Arena Saturday. The Gorillas just missed breaking the century mark in scoring in their last action, a 99-57 win on November 18 against Saint Mary (Kan.) after going 1-1 in the MIAA/GAC Challenge to open the season, besting Oklahoma Baptist 62-53 before dropping a 79-54 decision to Southwestern Oklahoma.
 
The Gorillas' offense runs through Tristan Gegg, who leads the team in scoring and is the only player averaging in double figures this season, scoring 23.0 PPG. Jayme Jackson is close to double-figures at 9.7 per night followed by Grace Pyle (8.7 PPG) and Sydnee Crane (7.7 PPG). Crane is the team's leading rebounder, pulling down 6.3 per night and is also tops on the club with 13 assists while Julia Johnson is averaging 6.0 RPG.
 
Gegg is the team's leader in made field goals with 22 and three-point field goals with 13, and is shooting 48.9% from the floor and 43.3% from beyond the arc. Only one other player for Pitt has made more than 10 field goals this season. As a unit, the Gorillas are shooting 41.3% from the field and 30.4% from three-point land.
 
Drury (7-1) has two games before Thanksgiving this week against as part of the Oasis Hotel & Convention Center Thanksgiving Classic, hosted by the Panthers. The Panthers have won three-straight games after their only loss of the season to date, a 76-75 decision in a neutral site event in Nashville to Kentucky Wesleyan and bested Saginaw Valley State 81-76 Tuesday evening and take on #19 Union (Tenn.) on this evening.
 
The Panthers have three players averaging double figures per game for the season, led by Paige Robinson's 19.4 PPG and followed by Alana Findley (13.1 PPG) and Kaylee DaMitz (12.9 PPG). Findley and Robinson are also the Panthers' top rebounders, averaging 7.6 and 4.7 rebounds per game respectively while both recording a team-best 15 steals on the season. Six other players average better than 4.0 points per contest for DU as that group is topped by Azia Lynch (9.1 PPG) and Payton Richards (8.9 PPG). DaMitz, Richatrds and Terrion Moore are tied for second on the team in steals with 12 as the Panthers have recorded 84 as a team through seven games.
 
As a team, DU is shooting 48.5% from the floor and 45.1% from three-point land. Robinson leads the team in made triples this season with 17 and in total field goals with 45 on 47.4% shooting, while Richards is close behind with 16 and is shooting a team-high 53.3% from deep. Drury has seven players with at least 10 made baskets this season shooting better than 40.0% from the floor.
 
All-time, the Miners are 8-27 against Pitt State but the two teams haven't played since November 28, 2008, a meeting in which the Miners picked up a 78-75 win in a neutral site game in Joplin. The series with the Panthers has seen DU win 31 of 37 all-time and the last 17 meetings dating back to the first meeting of the 2012-13 season, when S&T knocked off DU 66-63 in Springfield.