ROLLA, Mo. – After a long week of road games, the Missouri S&T women's basketball team was back home Thursday night for the first of two home contests to close the regular season, as they played host to Illinois Springfield in the lone meeting of the two schools. The Miners (10-15, 7-12) started the night off strong but fell behind the Prairie Stars (16-9, 11-8) during the middle stages of the game. A late rally came up just short in the closing moments as the visitors managed a 69-62 win.
Laura Rodriguez (Gran Canaria, Spain/Baloncesto Torrelodones) got the home crowd energized early with the first points of the night before
Jada Lindesmith (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lutheran) and
Alex Kerr (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph's Academy) quickly made it a 6-0 game early. UIS was able to get on the board with four points of their own in the moments that followed but S&T was able to hold fast and maintain their early lead. The Prairie Stars briefly tied things at 11 with 2:55 to play but a
Marta Durk (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) trey ensured that didn't last long, as
Katelynne Roberts (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) laid one up and in to reestablish a five-point edge at 16-11. A UIS free throw ended the quarter with S&T up four after 10 minutes.
Kristen Keys (St. Louis, MO/Westminster Christian Academy) again made it a six point game to open the second period as the two sides traded a series of buckets in the first 60 seconds of the action. The Miners continued to lead until the Prairie Stars again tied things up at 22 before Kerr posted up for a layup to regain the advantage with 4:49 left in the half. A
Michaela Davis (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) three-pointer made it 27-22 and allowed the Green & Gold to remain out front until the final minute of play, when UIS converted a three-point opportunity at the stripe the lead to the first time at 30-29. Rodriguez swished one home with 21 seconds left to make it a one-point Miner lead at 31+30 going to the intermission.
Played resumed in the third quarter with both sides coming out aggressive shooting the ball. S&T managed to keep one step ahead until a Prairie Star three at 6:57 put them back on top. The points didn't stop coming as another series of exchanges saw Kerr and Lindesmith answer UIS baskets with ones of their own to tie the game on successive possessions. Following two
Eryn Puett (Columbia, MO/Rock Bridge) free throws, UIs went back ahead for good with a 1-2 trip to the line and managed to push out to a 50-45 lead by the end of the period.
Rodriguez kicked off the final frame of the night with a triple as the first three possessions of the quarter resulted in points for each team. Six-straight points from Kerr kept it a one-point game at 54-53 as both sides refused to give an inch. The score remained close and saw S&T close to 60-59 with 2:51 to play, but they just couldn't get that decisive stop to swing momentum around as the Prairie Stars went on to claim the 69-62 win.
Three Miners finished the night in double-figures, led by Kerr with 20 on 8-12 shooting with Durk adding 13 on 4-9 from the floor and 4-4 from the stripe and Rodriguez with 12. Durk also added three steals while Kerr led the way with six rebounds, followed closely by Roberts with five.
Saturday closes out the regular season for the Miners as they host Lewis for a Senior Day contest scheduled for a 1 P.M. start.
