ROLLA, Mo. – After picking up its first two Great Lakes Valley Conference wins last week, Missouri S&T's women's basketball team heads to the road for a pair of conference matchups in the upcoming days that will include a game with the current leader in the GLVC standings.

But before the Miners take on that leader – McKendree – they will have to contend with Missouri-St. Louis on Thursday in a 5:30 p.m. game in St. Louis before taking on the Bearcats on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. in Lebanon, Ill.

S&T will seeking its third straight win in conference play Thursday after knocking off Rockhurst and William Jewell last week by double figure margins to move to 5-14 overall and 2-9 in the GLVC.  The Miners got big games from Katelynne Roberts (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) in both wins, helping her land the conference's player of the week award for her efforts.

Roberts averaged 21 points in the two wins, which included her sixth double-double of the season and matched career highs for rebounds and blocked shots in a game during the Rockhurst contest.  On Saturday, she tied an S&T single-game mark that has stood since 1987 when she went nine-of-nine from the field in the 12-point win over the Cardinals.

Entering play this week, Roberts ranks among the team and GLVC leaders in four categories, including the top field goal percentage mark in the conference at 58.5 percent.  She also ranks second in scoring at 17.7 points per game, third in blocked shots with 27 and is fourth in rebounding with 8.4 per contest.

Roberts is the lone Miner averaging in double figures in the scoring column, but S&T is getting 9.1 points per game from Eryn Puett (Columbia, MO/Rock Bridge) as well as 7.9 per game from Bonnie Lew Ludlow (Indianapolis, IN/Covenant Christian), who had 15 points in Saturday's win.  Addyson Kent (North Vernon, IN/Jennings County) is averaging 7.5 points a game and leads S&T with 42 three-point baskets – fifth in the GLVC – 45 assists and 25 steals, while Franchesca Metz (Downers Grove, IL/Nazareth Academy) has dished out 43 assists.

ABOUT MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS: The Tritons, who rallied from a 15-point deficit to beat 66-57 in Rolla on Nov. 25, comes into Thursday's game at 7-10 overall and 5-6 in the GLVC.  UMSL has dropped seven of its last eight games and had second half leads slip in both of its losses last week against Indianapolis and Lewis; it has lost its last three games by a combined 13 points.

Jalysa Stokes comes into Thursday's matchup as the conference's leading scorer with an average of 19.5 points per game, which includes a team-leading 26 three-point baskets, 32 assists and 24 steals.  Amaya Blake is averaging 9.4 points per game, while Morgan Ramthun is scoring 8.9 points a game to go along with eight rebounds per contest.

ABOUT McKENDREE: The Bearcats seized control of first place in the GLVC race last week when it pulled out a two-point win at Lewis in a matchup of the top two teams in the conference, then survived in overtime at Indianapolis two days later to improve to 14-3 overall and 10-1 in the GLVC.  The Bearcats lost two of their first three games of the season, but have gone 13-1 since with the only loss coming to Upper Iowa on Jan. 3.

Clare Breden, the third-leading scorer in the GLVC, is averaging 17.5 points per game and has a team-leading 54 assists, while Naomi McDaniel is scoring 14.8 per game with a 54.5 percent shooting mark from the field; she also leads the Bearcats with 8.3 rebounds per game and 25 blocked shots.  Madyson Harper is just shy of the double figure mark at 9.6 points per game and has a team-high 26 steals to go along with 43 assists.