ROLLA, Mo. – The Missouri S&T women's basketball team was back on friendly ground Monday night at Gibson Arena as they welcomed third-ranked Drury to town for the Great Lakes Valley Conference opener for both teams. The Miners (1-4, 0-1) hung with the Panthers (9-1, 1-0) for most of the night, but the visitors used a big first quarter to keep their advantage throughout the evening to collect a 90-74 win.
 
Laura Rodriguez (Gran Canaria, Spain/Baloncesto Torrelodones) kicked the evening off with a jumper from the wing to score the first points for S&T before Drury got on the board with their second trip down the court and proceeded to score the next 10 points until Rodriguez broke the Miner drought with a layup at 6:22 to make it 10-4. The Panthers kept pushing the pace and extended their lead to as much as 15 at 19-4 with 4:13 remaining. The Miners scored six of the next seven points on layups from Kristen Keys (St. Louis, MO/Westminster Christian Academy) and Jada Lindesmith (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lutheran) and two free throws from Michaela Davis (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) to make it a 20-10 game before DU closed the scoring in the opening period with three free throws to lead 23-10.
 
Katelynne Roberts (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) and Eryn Puett (Columbia, MO/Rock Bridge) scored the first four points of the second quarter for S&T as the pace of the game quickened. The two sides traded baskets as the period progressed and the Miners managed to make headway in cutting into Drury's lead, getting it back down to single-digits at 37-28 with 4:25 to go on two free throws from Roberts. DU managed to answers and push their advantage back to double-digits over the following minutes. Despite being outscored by Missouri S&T in the period, the Panthers took a 47-33 lead into the locker room after 20 minutes.
 
S&T scored first in the third quarter with Roberts posting up and scoring on a layup off an assist from Lindesmith. Drury answered with a basket on their first possession of the half and were able to once again push their lead, leading by 17 at 58-41 with 7:00 to go. Buckets from Rodriguez and Marta Durk (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) allowed the Miners to close back within 11 near the five-minute mark before an old-fashioned three-point play from Eryn Puett (Columbia, MO/Rock Bridge) made it a 10-point game at 63-53 with 4:23 on the clock. The Panthers pushed the lead back to 15 in the final minute of the period but a 2-2 trip to the stripe from Chorus Davis (Kansas City, MO/Lincoln College Prep) got S&T within 13 at 70-57 as the game moved to the fourth.
 
Another hard-fought quarter of play was in store as the final 10 minutes commenced, with the Panthers opening on a 6-0 run before Durk broke the string up with a jumper at 7:41. DU managed to push their lead to 21 at 87-66 as the quarter went on but the Miners kept fighting until the final buzzer against the top-five foe, closing the night on a 6-0 run on an Addyson Kent (North Vernon, IN/Jennings County) three and a trio of free throws from Chorus Davis (Kansas City, MO/Lincoln College Prep) and AJ Agers (DeSoto, MO/St. Pius X) as time wound down and the Panthers managed a 90-74 win.
 
Rodriguez led the Miners with 20 points in 31 minutes while Lindesmith posted her second double-figure game of the season, finishing with 11 points on 5-9 shooting along with three boards. Durk and Puett each finished with nine, the latter playing just 12 minutes due to foul trouble. Roberts led the way on the glass, pulling down 12 rebounds and finished just two points shy of a double-double with eight.
 
Up next for S&T, they hit the road for another GLVC contest, this time in Liberty opposite William Jewell at 5:30 P.M.