KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Missouri S&T women's basketball team was back on the court to ring in 2022 Sunday afternoon, as they traveled to Mason-Halpin Fieldhouse to take on Rockhurst in the first of two matchups this season. It was a high-scoring back-and-forth affair for the duration of the 40 minutes but the Miners (4-6, 1-3) came up just short against the Hawks (6-3, 2-1), falling by a final score of 77-73.
 
It was a frenetic start to the game as the Miners and Hawks traded three-pointers for the first three minutes of the game before Rockhurst managed to gain separation and lead 12-9 following an old-fashioned three-point play at 6:32. Laura Rodriguez (Gran Canaria, Spain/Baloncesto Torrelodones) connected on an S&T triple on the following possession to momentarily tie things back up before RU scored on a jumper to lead 14-12 with five to play. Michaela Davis (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) drained a trey of her own to put the Miners back ahead 15-14 before the Hawks scored the next five to lead by four with 2:08 to play. Baskets were hard to come by in the final two minutes, but Alex Kerr (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph's Academy) connected on a jumper following a Davis steal to make it 19-17 after 10 minutes.
 
Marta Durk (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) tied things up coming out to start the second quarter, but the Hawks quickly regained the lead 22-19 with 8:55 remaining. Durk answered a Rockhurst three and jumper with two treys of her own to make it 25-24 Miners. The sides continued to battle and trade baskets until RU went on a 10-0 run to take their largest lead of the half at 36-29 with 4:19 in the half. Much like they did earlier, the Miners chipped away and battled back to within one going into the locker room on three Rodriguez free throws at 41-40.
 
Kristen Keys (St. Louis, MO/Westminster Christian Academy) started the second half with a three-pointer to give the Miners back the lead but it wouldn't last long as the two sides again went back-and-forth on the scoreboard before a quick 5-0 run from the Miners from Kerr and Rodriguez gave the Miners their biggest lead of the day at 50-46 with 5:25 on the clock. S&T continued to lead in the game until RU hit a pair of free throws with 1:23 to go to even things at 54-54 as three quarters came and went.
 
Two free throws from Kerr allowed S&T to regain the lead but Rockhurst scored the next four as they again jumped back in front. The next five points for the Green & Gold came courtesy of Rodriguez to put the visitors back ahead 61-58 with 6:52 to go in the game. A big moment in the game came on the Hawks' next possession, when Keegan Sullivan connected on a three, but the shot appeared to come after a foul on the play by Rodriguez. The officials went to the monitor to check the sequence of the play, and the basket was counted, and the ball awarded back to Rockhurst following the foul with the game now tied at 61. RU then scored coming out of the stoppage to retake the lead 63-61. A quick 8-3 run from the Miners put them back ahead by three at 69-66 with 3:32 remaining but the Hawks answered with a 7-0 run of their own to regain the advantage 73-71. Kerr scored the tying basket coming out of an S&T timeout but RU scored the final four points of the afternoon the eke out the 77-73 win.
 
Kerr led the way for S&T with a season-high 23 points and added five rebounds, while Rodriguez was back in double-figures with a 16-point outing with three assists. Durk posted her second double-figure game of the season with 10 points on 3-5 shooting, including 2-4 from deep.
 
Up next for S&T, they host Indianapolis Thursday evening at Gibson Arena in a contest set for 5:30 P.M.