ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's women's basketball team will be on the floor in games that count for the first time in the 2023-24 season this weekend, as the Miners will take part in the GLVC/GMAC Crossover Tournament at McKendree University.

The Miners have a tall task to open the season with, as they will face 20^th-ranked Ferris State Friday before taking on Ohio Dominican Saturday.  Both games will get underway at 5 p.m.

Missouri S&T saw its first action last week in an exhibition contest against Saint Louis University and was on the short end of a 100-65 decision to the Billikens.  The Miners got 11 points from Katelynne Roberts (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) and 10 from newcomer Bonnie Lew Ludlow (Indianapolis, IN/Covenant Christian) as they shot 48.3 percent in the second half and outrebounded the Division I foe by a 42-34 margin.  Roberts had nine rebounds and Chorus Davis (Kansas City, MO/Lincoln College Prep) had eight to pace S&T.

This year's Miner team has six newcomers to the roster, including Ludlow, a double-figure scorer in both of her seasons at Southwestern Illinois College with averages of 14.8 points per game last year and 12.6 a game as a freshman.  Franchesca Metz (Downers Grove, IL/Nazareth Academy), who also started at SLU, averaged 9.6 points per game a year ago at Morton College and the third transfer, Tessa McMahon (Chatfield, MN/Chatfield), spent her freshman season at the University of Minnesota Duluth and scored 252 points during her senior year at the high school level in 2021-22.

S&T's three freshmen are Norah Gum (Waterloo, IL/Waterloo), the sixth-leading scorer among high school players in the St. Louis area last season with an average of 20.4 points per game; Gabi Burgess (Bloomingdale, IL/Lake Park), who 11.2 points, 3.1 assists and 2.9 steals per game as a high school senior in the Chicago area; and Addison Hopkins (Columbia, MO/Rock Bridge), who shot 47 percent from inside the three-point line and 85 percent at the free throw line for a state finalist team at Rock Bridge High School.

As far as the returners go from the Miners' 15-14 team from a season ago, the top returning scorer for S&T is Anna Finley (Owensville, MO/Owensville) who averaged 7.1 points per game in her freshman season.  The Miners also return veterans in Roberts, Eryn Puett (Columbia, MO/Rock Bridge) and Jada Lindesmith (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lutheran-St. Charles), all of whom have been starters during their S&T careers, as well as returners Addyson Kent (North Vernon, IN/Jennings County) and Davis.

Roberts, who started seven games a year ago, averaged 3.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game while blocking 13 shots last season, while Puett averaged more than 12 minutes per game and added 2.6 points per  outing.  Lindesmith was in the starting lineup at the beginning of the season, but suffered a season-ending injury three games into the campaign.

Kent was one of the top contributors off the bench for S&T last season, connecting 28 times from three-point range, while Davis had 18 assists and 14 steals.  S&T also returns junior Lilli Machado (St. Charles, MO/Francis Howell) and sophomore Morgan Luebbering (Jefferson Ciy, MO/Fatima) to the squad this season.  Machado contributed eight points in the exhibition at SLU.

ABOUT FERRIS STATE:  The Bulldogs finished 17-12 last season, but were picked to finish second in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and were 20^th in the WBCA pre-season poll.  Ferris State's entire roster is back for the upcoming year, led by Chloe Idoni, who averaged 19.3 points per game last season and shot 48.8 percent from the field.  Idoni was also second on the team in rebounding with 7.6 per game to Kenzie Bowers, who pulled down 7.7 per outing.

The Bulldogs had two additional double figure scorers last season in Bowers, who averaged 11.7 points per game and Mallory McCartney, who scored 10.6 points per contest and was the team's top three-point shooter with 62 treys. McCartney also had a team-leading 162 assists a year ago.

ABOUT OHIO DOMINICAN:  The Panthers have 10 returners to the roster, including Gabby Stare who was a first-team all-Great Midwest Athletic Conference and second-team all-region performer a year ago.  Stare averaged 20.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 50.6 percent from three-point range.

Macy Chapman also averaged in double figures last season for Ohio Dominican with her mark of 10.8 points per game and led the team in steals with 50.  The Panthers finished 6-21 last season and were picked to finish in a tie for 13^th in the G-MAC this season.