ROLLA, Mo. - The Missouri S&T women's basketball team opened its five-game homestand with a Great Lakes Valley Conference victory over Illinois Springfield 83-69 Saturday afternoon at Gibson Arena.
The Miners (5-5, 3-1 GLVC) opened the scoring for the contest on a three-pointer by
Kristen Keys (St. Louis, MO/Westminster Christian Academy), but it was the early three-point shooting by the Prairie Stars that gave them a jump on the Miners in the opening period. UIS hit seven of its eight three-point attempts in the period, four of them Ariyah Douglas who started a 8-0 UIS run with one of those connections from behind the arc. However, two minutes later the Miners responded with their own 8-2 run which started by a Katelynn Roberts layup and
Laura Rodriguez (Gran Canaria, Spain/Baloncesto Torrelodones) finished it with a layup to decrease the UIS to four. The Prairie Stars held a 27-23 advantage after the period.
The Miners and the Prairie Stars opened the second period exchanging baskets for the first four and a half minutes. At the 3:04 mark,
Alex Kerr (St. Louis, MO/St. Joseph's Academy) started a 6-0 S&T run with a second chance basket that tied the game at 34-34.
Addyson Kent (North Vernon, IN/Jennings County) gave the Miners its first lead in the second quarter on a layup following a UIS turnover. But over the final 1:43 remaining of the half, UIS made a 6-0 run and took a 39-38 advantage into the break.
Coming out of the half, the Miners got their first lead of the second half on a basket by
Alex Kerr (St. Louis, MO/St. Joseph's Academy) and a little over a minute later,
Anna Finley (Owensville, MO/Owensville) drained a three point basket that gave the Miners a one point advantage and start a 6-0 S&T run. The run was snapped on a three-point basket by Liz Uhl that cut the Miner advantage to 48-47, but S&T never surrendered the lead and finished the period by outscoring the Prairie Stars 5-0 to take a 57-51 advantage heading into the final quarter
With 8:11 to go In the fourth quarter, S&T started its biggest scoring run of the period on a 15-foot jump shot by Rodriguez to take a double figure lead for the first time in the contest. UIS was unable to get any closer than seven for the balance of the game and with 1:52 remaining, Rodriguez broke away on a fast break where she was able to battle through the contact resulting in a conventional three-point play to give the Miners a 10 point advantage.
For the Miners,
Alex Kerr (St. Louis, MO/St. Joseph's Academy) recorded her 25th career double-double to lead all S&T players with 28 points while hauling down 12 rebounds.
Laura Rodriguez (Gran Canaria, Spain/Baloncesto Torrelodones) contributed 17 points while dishing out a team-high seven assists and
Kristen Keys (St. Louis, MO/Westminster Christian Academy) concluded the S&T double-figure scorers with 13 points as she went five-of-10 from the field.
Michaela Davis (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) finished the decision with nine points while making seven-of-nine attempts from the free throw line. As a team, the Miners shot 45.3 percent from the field, 36.8 percent from behind the arc and made 18-of-27 attempts from the free throw line.
Opponents Stats:
The Prairie Stars (0-9, 0-4 GLVC) had five players finish in double-figure scoring, led by Ariyah Douglas with 22 points; she knocked down six of her ten attempts from behind the arc. Ivey Schmidt added 12 points with all her points coming on four-of-five shooting from behind the arc. Brianna Zajicek, Sahara Murphy and Liz Uhl all finished with 11 points apiece as the five double figure scorers accounted for 67 of UIS' 69 points in the contest. As a team, UIS shot 37.9 percent from the field, 42.3 percent from behind the arc and 82.4 percent from the free-throw line
The Miners return to Gibson Arena on Dec. 19 for a non-conference matchup hosting the Spartans of Missouri Baptist at 11:30 a.m. for Education Day.
