Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri S&T women's basketball team concluded its three-game road stretch against Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association opponents with a 73-50 loss at Missouri Southern Wednesday night in Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.
The Miners (2-4) kept pace with the 10th-ranked Lions for the whole first half. At the 7:42 mark in the first period, the Miners took the lead – their only one of the contest -- but failed to score over the final 4:11 of the period that allowed the Lions take the eight-point advantage after 10 minutes.
In the second quarter, at the 8:32 mark, S&T was able to decrease the deficit to four after a layup made by
Alex Kerr (St. Louis, MO/St. Joseph's Academy). Throughout the quarter, S&T was able to decrease the deficit to four points on four separate occasions. With 1:36 remaining in the quarter, the Lions were able to stretch their lead to 11 on a layup by Mia Topping, but S&T would close the quarter with back-to-back jump shots made by both
Katelynne Roberts (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) and
Kristen Keys (St. Louis, MO/Westminster Christian Academy). S&T outrebounded the Bearcats 23-20 in the first half while
Michaela Davis (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) led all Miners with seven. After the first 20 minutes of action, the Bearcats took the 35-28 advantage heading into the break.
In the second half, though, the Miners struggled from the floor. At the 7:37 mark of the third quarter,
Anna Finley (Owensville, MO/Owensville) made a three-pointer which served as the only basket the Miners made in the period as the other five points scored came from the free-throw line. The Lions outscored the Miners 21-8 in the quarter to take a 20-point advantage and later stretched their lead to as much as 27 on a made layup by Amaya Johns.
For the game,
Alex Kerr (St. Louis, MO/St. Joseph's Academy) and
Anna Finley (Owensville, MO/Owensville) both contributed 14 points while Kerr led the Miners with two blocks.
Laura Rodriguez (Gran Canaria, Spain/Baloncesto Torrelodones) added nine points, all coming in the first half, while
Michaela Davis (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) led S&T with nine rebounds while dishing out two assists. As a team, the Miners shot 31 percent from the field, 18.8 percent from behind the arc and shot 78.6 percent from the free-throw line. S&T blocked six shots in the game.
Opponents Stats:
Kryslyn Jones led all Lady Lions with 18 points while shooting 8-of-12 from the field and two-of-three from behind the three-point line. Madi Stokes and Amaya Johns finished the contest with 10 points apiece while Johns hauled down a team-high seven rebounds. MSSU outscored the Miner bench 24-8 while shooting 42.6 percent from the field, 42.1 percent from behind the arc and 70 percent from the free-throw line.
The Miners return to the hardwood Nov. 26 to open Great Lakes Valley Conference play at Southwest Baptist at 1 p.m. in Bolivar, Mo.
