ST. CHARLES, Mo. – After splitting their games over the weekend, the Missouri S&T women's basketball team opened a critical stretch of games over the final two weeks of the regular season Monday night at Hyland Arena against Lindenwood. The Miners (9-13, 6-10) started the game off on fire shooting the ball and that continued through the night and fended off a fourth quarter push from the Lions (9-13, 6-9) to pick up the 92-79 win.
S&T struck first with a jumper from
Kristen Keys (St. Louis, MO/Westminster Christian Academy), but the Lions quickly answered the early lead traded hands a few times before Keys drilled back-to-back treys with make it 12-8 Miners. Those shots seemed to spark a run of sorts, as the points started coming fast and furious for S&T, as they pushed their led out to 10 over the next three minutes to make it 23-13 with 3:26 to go after a
Michaela Davis (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) jumper. Lindenwood tried to keep up the pace as the margin shifted between eight and 12 points but a
Laura Rodriguez (Gran Canaria, Spain/Baloncesto Torrelodones) three in the final 63 seconds of play made it 32-17 heading to the second.
Lindenwood scored first in the second stanza of the night but five quick points from S&T from
Alex Kerr (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph's Academy) and Rodriguez made it 37-19 at 8:39. The Miners lead stayed about the same as the quarter elapsed with both teams matching each other nearly point for point. The Lions closed to within 11 following two free throws at 4:41 to make it 43-32 but baskets by
Katelynne Roberts (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) and Rodriguez quickly pushed things to a 16-point margin.
Eryn Puett (Columbia, MO/Rock Bridge) gave S&T their biggest lead of the half at 51-34 with layup with 1:12 on the clock but Lindenwood went 1-2 at the line to close the half and make it a 16-point game going to the locker room.
It didn't take long for the Miners to make it a 20-point margin with five points from Keys to open the third quarter. A Lindenwood layup briefly made it 56-37 but
Jada Lindesmith (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lutheran) connected on a three-pointer pushed it back to a 22-point advantage. S&T continued to lead comfortably and led by as much as 27 at 66-39 with 5:28 to go following a jumper from
Marta Durk (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township). The margin stayed above 20 for the remainder of the period as the Green & Gold held a 69-47 lead going to the fourth quarter.
Lindenwood and Missouri S&T traded baskets to begin the final frame of the night but the Miners again managed to stretch their lead, getting back to a 27-point edge at 76-49 following a Keys jumper at the eight minute mark. A 12-0 Lions run followed to get them back to within 17 at 76-61 as things started to tighten in the final five minutes.
Addyson Kent (North Vernon, IN/Jennings County) looked to stop the momentum with a three from the wing but Lindenwood kept coming, eventually closing the lead the nine at 81-72 with 2:41 to play. Another Rodriguez three-pointer seemed to steady things as the Miners maintained a double-figure lead for the final 2:08 of action.
Michaela Davis (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) and Durk iced things at the free throw line in the final minute to close out the evening with a 92-79 win.
Five players finished in double figures for the first time since opening night, as Rodriguez led the way with 20 points for S&T on 7-16 shooting, including 6-10 from three in the game. Keys scored 17 on 7-12 shooting and went 3-4 from deep with four boards and seven dimes, while Kerr had 15 points on 6-9 shooting with five rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
Michaela Davis (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) finished with 13 points and went 5-6 from the field with three rebounds while Durk closed out with 12 points and went 4-6 shooting the rock with four assists. As a team, the Green & Gold shot 62.5% from the floor in the game and recorded 21 assists on 35 made field goals and forced 21 turnovers.
Coming up next for S&T, they'll head to Indiana for the second contest of the season against Indianapolis, scheduled for 4:30 PM CT.
