ST. LOUIS, Mo. – After their first of two scheduled games for this week was postponed, the Missouri S&T women's basketball team was back in action at the Simon Athletic Events Center to take on Maryville in Great Lakes Valley Conference action. The Miners (7-12, 4-9) held the lead late in the fourth quarter but a big push from the Saints (8-10, 4-8) enabled them to come from behind and collect the 70-67 lead.
Maryville opened the game on a 9-0 run before
Alex Kerr (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph's Academy) got the Miners on the board nearly two minutes into the game. The Saints managed to keep S&T at arm's length until a 7-0 run courtesy of
Marta Durk (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) and
Eryn Puett (Columbia, MO/Rock Bridge) made it a one-point affair at 12-11 with 3:58 left in the period. The Green & Gold kept up the pressure on MU as the period concluded, getting a layup from
Laura Rodriguez (Gran Canaria, Spain/Baloncesto Torrelodones) to beat the buzzer to trail 21-20 after 10 minutes.
The Saints were able to briefly gain some breathing room to open the second quarter but the Miners made quick work to erase the five-point advantage, battling back to within one following two
Michaela Davis (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) free throws and answering a pair of MU free throws with a
Jada Lindesmith (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lutheran) triple with 3:04 on the clocks to tie the game at 30. The Saints hit a three of their own next time down the court to make it 33-30 as neither side found the bottom of the basket the final 2:43 heading into the intermission.
S&T took the lead shortly into the third quarter, getting a 6-0 run from Lindesmith and Kerr capped by an old fashioned three-point play to lead by four at 38-34 with 6:43 remaining. Despite the Saints bouncing back to tie things over the following minute, the Miners were able to maintain the advantage following another three-point play from Kerr and a layup from
Katelynne Roberts (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) to make it 43-38. After a Maryville three cut the lead to two, Lindesmith sparked a 7-0 run with a three to push the S&T lead to nine at 50-41. A Maryville three with 90 seconds left cut the lead to six but a
Kristen Keys (St. Louis, MO/Westminster Christian Academy) jumper with 20 seconds to go made it 52-44 Miners heading to the fourth quarter.
The Miners continued to lead as the final frame began and despite the Saints closing to within two at one point, they managed to maintain their advantage and pushed it back to seven with 6:12 to go after a 1-2 trip to the free throw line by Kerr. MU kept applying pressure with solid execution on offense down the stretch and were able to tie the game and take the lead in the final 2:15 with free throws and a three to make it 66-63 with 1:17 remaining. A Lindesmith jumper got S&T back within one but Maryville was able to hit free throws in the final 20 seconds to hold on to win 70-67.
Kerr finished with her fourth double-double of the season and led the Miners with 22 points on 8-14 shooting while also pulling down 11 rebounds. Lindesmith posted a season-high 14 points on 5-7 shooting and was a perfect 4-4 from three-point land, while Rodriguez finished with nine points and nine rebounds.
Up next, the Miners will be back at Gibson Arena Thursday night for another GLVC contest against McKendree at 5:30 P.M.
