ROLLA, Mo. – Back in action for the first of three games away from home, the Missouri S&T women's basketball team lined up against the fourth-ranked team in Division II Drury Saturday afternoon at the O'Reilly Family Events Center. The Miners (7-11, 4-8) kept the pressure up on the Panthers (21-2, 11-1) from start to finish in a tightly contested game and closed to within four points in the final minutes, but the Panthers managed to stave off the upset bid and come away with a 71-59 win.
Drury struck first to open the action but both offenses struggled to find a groove early.
Kristen Keys (St. Louis, MO/Westminster Christian Academy) tied the game at 4-4 before the Panthers briefly retook the lead on their following possession. A
Laura Rodriguez (Gran Canaria, Spain/Baloncesto Torrelodones) three at 6:16 gave the Miners their first lead of the game but DU answered back with a quick five points to make it 11-7. Two minutes of game action elapsed before the next points were scored but Drury was able to keep S&T at bay. An
Addyson Kent (North Vernon, IN/Jennings County) three with 2:14 to play made it 16-12 and Drury led by as much as eight in the final minute, but Keys converted a three-point play opportunity in the final seconds to make it 20-15 after 10 minutes.
Marta Durk (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) turned up the head on Drury with a three-pointer to begin the second quarter and make it a two-point contest at 20-18. The deficit closed to one with 7:17 to play following a 1-2 trip to the free throw line from Rodriguez before the Panthers connected on a jumper in the lane to make it 24-21. The Miners scored the next four points to retake the lead 25-24 and force Drury to call a timeout to regroup. Coming out of the break, the home team rattled off the next 10 points to regain the edge 34-25 before Rodriguez beat the halftime horn with a driving layup to make it a seven-point game going to halftime.
The Miners started the third quarter out slow shooting the ball while Drury was able to keep finding the bottom of the basket and managed to build their lead to as much as 19 at 53-34 with 3:42 to play. The Miners battled back over the final minutes of the period, turning up the defensive pressure and getting points at the free throw line from
Eryn Puett (Columbia, MO/Rock Bridge),
Katelynne Roberts (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) and
Alex Kerr (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph's Academy) to whittle away at the deficit to make it 55-41 heading to the fourth.
A jumper from Keys commenced action in the final frame of the day and made it a 12-point contest but Drury answered with four-straight to make it 59-43. As the action continued and the clocked ticked down, S&T went on a run sparked by a
Michaela Davis (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) triple with 6:38 to play. Two Rodriguez free throws and a three-point play from Kerr closed the gap to seven at 61-54 with 5:25 remaining. Two free throws gave the number four team in the land a brief respite, but the Miners kept charging back, again doing damage at the free throw line to close within six at 63-57. A Rodriguez jumper with 3:25 left got the Green & Gold with four on their next possession, but unfortunately for the Miners, the upset bid would come up just short as Drury scored the final eight points of the game to hang on for the 71-59 win.
Kerr finished the game with her third double-double of the season, recording 13 points and 11 rebounds. Rodriguez also scored 13 points and added four rebounds of her own. Keys and Durk each finished with seven and combined to go 5-10 from the floor.
Michaela Davis (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) and Roberts each finished with six points, with the latter also recording three blocks, the most in a game since the first matchup with SBU in December.
The Miners continue action with two games on the road next week, with a trip to St. Charles Thursday night for a game against Lindenwood at 5:30 P.M.
