ROLLA, Mo. – Coming off the heels of a hard-fought loss Monday night against nationally-ranked Drury, the Missouri S&T women's basketball team will head back on the road to open the month of December with two more Great Lakes Valley Conference games on deck, first making a stop in Liberty Thursday for a game against William Jewell before heading to Bolivar on Saturday afternoon for a matchup against Southwest Baptist.
 
The Miners (1-4, 0-1) continue to be led on offense by Laura Rodriguez (Gran Canaria, Spain/Baloncesto Torrelodones), who is averaging 15.2 PPG after her second 20-point outing of the season Monday night. Eryn Puett (Columbia, MO/Rock Bridge) has been the go-to option off the bench in the early going, averaging 9.4 PPG and shooting .515 from the floor, including .444 from deep. Freshman Katelynne Roberts (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) has been outstanding to start her S&T career, leading the team with 17 blocks and pulling down 7.0 boards per game while scoring 8.8 per contest, reaching double-digits twice already and just missing a double-double against Drury. Michaela Davis' (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) 11 assists lead the team while Jada Lindesmith (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lutheran) is just one behind with 10. Marta Durk (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) leads the club in steals with 12 through five games. Asa team, S&T is shooting .409 from the floor, led by Roberts at .696, and .323 from beyond the arc, with five payers recording at least four made triples with Rodriguez leading the team with eight.
 
The Cardinals (0-5, 0-1) are still searching for their first win of the season and fell to SBU in their GLVC opener 65-35 in Bolivar. Kate Hillyer leads the Cardinals in scoring at 8.6 PPG and is also the team's leading rebounder with 4.6 RPG. Libby Arnold is a close second in both categories, averaging 8.2 PPG and 4.2 RPG. The duo are tied for the team lead with 15 made field goals while the former leads the team with six made treys. Three other players for Jewell are averaging better than five points per night. Katie Knock leads the way with four blocks and eight dimes on the season while Hillyer's eight steals lead the club. As a unit, WJC is shooting .318 and just .206 from three-point land and is getting outrebounded 41.4 to 29.4 on average.
 
The Bearcats (3-3, 1-0) got back in the win column Monday night against WJC and will head to Rockhurst Thursday before hosting S&T Saturday. SBU has been up and down through their first six games of the season, alternating wins and losses each night against a solid slate of opponents. Kyleigh Vaught leads the team in scoring at 11.8 PPG while Mary Rose Foster is second 8.3 PPG and is the team's leading rebounder with 5.8 RPG. Kelsey Blakemore is averaging 8.0 PPG and is one of four Bearcats with seven steals this season. Emma Perry's 11 made triples lead the team while Vaught is the overall shooting leader with 23 made field goals and shotting .417 from beyond the arc. Nyuh Pettus' .567 shooting percentage leads the team as do her five blocks. As a team, SBU is shooting at .419 clip, including .356 from deep.
 
S&T can even the all-time series with William Jewell with a win Thursday as they trail 12-11 and look to snap a six-game losing streak and pick up their first win since 2018 in Rolla. The Miners dropped both games to WJC last season by scores of 73-62 and 73-67. Southwest Baptist leads the series with the Miners 35-26 and saw a 19-game winning streak in the series end last season when the Miners picked up a 79-68 win in Rolla. The Bearcats claimed the second meeting of the regular season in Bolivar but needed overtime to do it, scratching out a 92-86 win.