QUINCY, Ill. – The Missouri S&T women's basketball team was on the road to cap a stretch of three games in five days Monday evening at Pepsi Arena for a matchup with GLVC Eastern Division opponent Quincy. Despite falling behind early, the Miners (6-8, 3-5) managed to overcome the deficit and outscore the Hawks (5-11, 1-7) 40-22 over the balance of the second half and received some standout individual performances en route to a 73-59 win.
Quincy got on the board first in the opening minute with a pair of free throws, but it wouldn't be long before the Miners responded with a three from
Kristen Keys (St. Louis, MO/Westminster Christian Academy) at 8:37. Quincy managed to regain the lead shortly after and was able to extend their advantage to as much as seven in the final 90 seconds before a
Michaela Davis (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) layup to beat the horn made it 18-13 after one period.
Katelynne Roberts (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) and
Alex Kerr (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph's Academy) scored back-to-back baskets to make it a one-point contest less than two minutes into the second quarter, but Quincy was able to respond with a three to try and break S&T's momentum at least momentarily. A
Jada Lindesmith (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lutheran) trey at 6:50 put the Miners back on top and another three from Keys made it a five-point edge at 26-21. A layup from Lindesmith pushed the S&T lead to seven but Quincy showed resolve and battled back to tie the score before the two sides traded baskets for the remainder of the period to go to halftime even at 33.
It was the Hawks who scored first in the third quarter as the back-and-forth exchange continued over from the second quarter. It wasn't until Kerr sank two free throws with 6:24 to go that S&T was able to regain the lead at 41-39.
Michaela Davis (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) was able to make it a five-point game for a brief moment but again, Quincy managed to hang around as they managed to get within one at 48-47 as the period came to an end.
The beginning of the final frame of the evening started as an absolute jailbreak for S&T, who scored 10 straight points to charge out to a 58-47 lead before Quincy was able to break the run with their first made field goal of the quarter, a three with 5:56 remaining. The S&T lead went back to double-figures for good with 4:49 to play in the contest. Stepping to the free throw line, Kerr sank both shots to make it a 60-50 score but more importantly, the first make was the 1,000th point of her S&T career, marking the second significant career milestone for her in the last week. The Miner kept their foot on the gas as Kerr scored the next four followed by
Laura Rodriguez (Gran Canaria, Spain/Baloncesto Torrelodones) as the lead swelled to 15 at 65-50. Another Quincy three broke up the run but four more free throws from Rodriguez and a pair of
Addyson Kent (North Vernon, IN/Jennings County) layups sandwiched around a third QU triple all but wrapped things up and closed out the 73-59 win.
Kerr recorded her second double-double of the year with 21 points and 12 rebounds along with four blocked shots.
Michaela Davis (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) and Rodriguez both finished with 14 points, with the former going 6-8 from the floor in the game and the latter going 7-8 from the charity stripe.
Marta Durk (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) also contributed seven rebounds and six assists to the winning effort.
Heading into the week, Kerr is just two points away from moving into 15th all-time in scoring, where Stacy Mathes currently resides with 1,007 career points
The Miners will next be back at home Thursday evening for their second game of the season against Southwest Baptist, set for 5:30 P.M. in
