ROLLA, Mo. - The Missouri S&T women's basketball team made a late rally Thursday, but the comeback effort came up short as Maryville defeated S&T 75-70 Thursday evening in a Great Lakes Valley Conference matchup at Gibson Arena.
The Miners (7-6, 3-2 GLVC) continued GLVC play for the first time in over a month – in the first of 16 straight GLVC games – but was unable to overcome a 32-21 halftime deficit despite outscoring the Saints in the second half 49-43.
For the first three minutes of action, the Miners and Saints exchanged baskets. At the 6:17 mark, the Saints began a 9-0 run that was eventually snapped at the 2:32 mark on a
Alex Kerr (St. Louis, MO/St. Joseph's Academy) six-foot jump shot to decrease the Maryville lead to six. S&T trailed 16-10 after one quarter and following a Carsyn Fearday basket to open the second period, the Miners began a 5-0 run that was started on a
Chorus Davis (Kansas City, MO/Lincoln College Prep) layup to cut the margin to three. However, Maryville closed the quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 32-21 advantage into the break.
Right out the break, the Miners drew up a play for
Alex Kerr (St. Louis, MO/St. Joseph's Academy) as she was able to start the second half with a layup, but the Saints shot 62.5 percent in the third quarter and made five-of-eight from three-point range to eventually build their lead to 19 on the last of those treys by Hunter Stidham. However, the Miners closed out the quarter on a 4-0 run cut Maryville's lead to 58-43 advantage heading into the fourth period.
For the first two minutes in the final quarter, the Miners and Saints exchanged baskets until the 7:56 mark when
Michaela Davis (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) started a 5-0 run with a three-pointer and that was followed by a
Laura Rodriguez (Gran Canaria, Spain/Baloncesto Torrelodones) jump shot from outside the paint to cut the deficit to 12. At the 4:04 mark, Rodriguez started an 8-0 run on a short jumper that allowed the Miners to get the margin down to five after
Kristen Keys (St. Louis, MO/Westminster Christian Academy) drained a three-pointer with 1:10 left.
Kerr trimmed the Maryville lead to three with 30 seconds to play, but Maryville would end up making four-of-six from the free throw line over the final 25 seconds to hold off the Miners, who outscored the Saints 27-17 in the fourth quarter.
Miners:
The Miners were led in scoring by Kerr as she recorded 23 points while hauling down a team-high nine rebounds. Rodriguez contributed 21 points as she shot seven-of-eight from the field. Davis added 13 points knocking down two-of-three attempts from behind the arc while Keys was the final S&T player in double figures as she scored 10 points while shooting two-of-six from behind the arc.
Maryville Saints:
The Saints (10-3, 5-1 GLVC) were led in scoring by Haidyn Pitsch with 27 points, which included five of the Saints' seven three-point baskets. Fearday contributed 14 points and secured 10 rebounds, while Taylor Kirby added 11 points and Antoinette Mussorici was the fourth in double figures with 10 points. The Saints outrebounded S&T 46-31 while also scoring 17 points on second chance opportunities.
The Miners will conclude its five-game homestand by hosting McKendree Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. in Gibson Arena.
