ROLLA, Mo. –
Alex Kerr (St. Louis, MO/St. Joseph's Academy) put her name in the record books again on Saturday -- but even more important, her team scored a key victory in Great Lakes Valley Conference play as Missouri S&T's women's basketball team slugged out a 52-48 win over Southwest Baptist on Military Appreciation Day at Gibson Arena.
After becoming the program's all-time scoring leader on Thursday, Kerr passed Tanya Hough as the top rebounder in Miner history when she got her 13th rebound of the afternoon and 914th of her career just past the midway point of the fourth quarter.
Saturday's contest was a low-scoring affair right from the outset. S&T (12-11, 8-7 GLVC) used a four-point spurt – which came from a
Laura Rodriguez (Gran Canaria, Spain/Baloncesto Torrelodones) lay-in and
Kristen Keys (St. Louis, MO/Westminster Christian Academy) jump shot at the top of the key to take an early 6-5 lead. The Bearcats, however, answered with eight straight points before the Miners scored six straight to close the period, getting to within one at 13-12 when
Eryn Puett (Columbia, MO/Rock Bridge) made a lay-in with seven seconds remaining.
On the first S&T possession in the second quarter, Kerr gave the Miners a 14-13 advantage on a jump shot inside the paint, then the teams swapped short runs that saw S&T go back with a six-point burst that saw S&T go back in front on back-to-back layups by Keys and a lay-in by
Anna Finley (Owensville, MO/Owensville) to take a 20-17 lead.
The Miners built their lead to 25-21, but the Bearcats came back and Leikyn Walker drained a deep three-point basket with just three seconds remaining that gave the Bearcats a 30-29 lead at the break.
S&T began the second half on a 6-0 run started on a
Katelynne Roberts (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) layup that broke the tie and was capped off on a Kerr jump shot in the paint to give the Miners a 35-30 lead. After each team exchanged a basket, SBU went on a 5-0 run where Tori Hamilton tied the game at 37, but that would be SBU's last points of the period as the Miners got a pair of jumpers from Kerr to take a 41-37 lead into the final quarter.
Keys extended the S&T run to seven after knocking down a three-point basket to make it 44-37, but at the 6:04 mark Hamilton cut the lead to four at 46-42 on a layup. That would turn out to be the closest the Bearcats would get to the Miners until the final score, as on the next two S&T possessions, Kerr made back-to-back baskets to push the lead back to eight again.
The Miners were led by Kerr with 21 points and 15 rebounds, while Keys was the only other lone double-figure scorer for S&T as she contributed 15 points.
Michaela Davis (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) hauled in a career-high 10 rebounds and
Anna Finley (Owensville, MO/Owensville) led with four assists.
On the defensive side, Roberts had two blocked shots and Kerr added one and Davis made four steals as well. S&T held the Bearcats to 30 percent shooting from the field for the game.
The Bearcats (11-11, 5-9 GLVC) had three players finish in double figures, led by Walker with 13 and Hamilton with 11; Kelsey Blakemore added 10 and Hamilton pulled down eight rebounds.
The Miners will close out their four-game homestand by hosting Missouri-St. Louis Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in Gibson Arena.
