ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's women's basketball team got off to arguably its best start in a game this season Saturday afternoon at Gibson Arena, but was unable to sustain the early momentum and ended up falling to Illinois Springfield 78-71 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.
The Miners raced out of the gate by taking the lead right away and building it to as much as 15 points in the opening period, only to see the Prairie Stars come back to get the game tied by halftime. After falling behind in the third quarter, S&T got to within one by the end of the stanza, but UIS used a hot start to the final quarter to take control on the scoreboard and held off the Miners down the stretch.
S&T (1-7, 0-4 GLVC) scored nine of the first 11 points of the game, seven of them coming from
Chorus Davis (Kansas City, MO/Lincoln College Prep) that included a lay-up following a steal to give the Miners their early 9-2 lead. They continued to build on the advantage, getting it into double figures following a put-back by
Katelynne Roberts (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) at the 4:37 mark of the quarter and to as much as 15 at 24-9 nearly three minutes later after a lay-up by
Eryn Puett (Columbia, MO/Rock Bridge).
UIS (5-2, 3-1 GLVC) closed the gap to 12 before the quarter ended, then held the Miners off the scoreboard for the first five minutes of the second quarter before a lay-up by
Bonnie Lew Ludlow (Indianapolis, IN/Covenant Christian) restored S&T's lead to seven. However, the Prairie Stars ran off eight points in succession after the Ludlow basket to take their first lead at 30-29.
Puett hit a three-pointer on S&T's next possession to put the Miners back in the lead before the teams swapped baskets and the lead for the balance of the half, with S&T tying it on an
Addyson Kent (North Vernon, IN/Jennings County) three-pointer with 21 seconds to go in the half.
The Miners got a basket from Roberts on their first trip down the floor in the second half to go up 39-37, but that would turn out to be the only time they would lead over the final 20 minutes. UIS went on another 8-0 run – taking the lead at 40-39 on Michaela Gibbons' three-pointer – that moved it in front, but S&T was able to get the lead down to one at the end of the quarter after Davis made one of two at the line.
But at the beginning of the final period, UIS scored on its first five possessions – outscoring the Miners 13-2 during that stretch to go up 66-54 by the 7:37 mark.
S&T scored nine straight points to cut a 14-point deficit down to five, as a basket by Puett after a UIS turnover cut the lead to 68-63, but back-to-back threes by Kayla Rice and Gibbons made it an 11-point game again and the Miners could get no closer than six down the stretch.
Roberts recorded her third double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Miners, while Davis had a career-high 12 points and Puett added 11 to pace S&T. The Miners shot 41.5 percent in the game and outrebounded UIS 38-36, but the Prairie Stars – led by Gibbons with 19 points – shot 64.3 percent in the fourth quarter and 47.7 percent for the contest.
Missouri S&T will step outside of the GLVC Tuesday for a contest against Health Sciences & Pharmacy, starting at 5:30 p.m. at Gibson Arena.
