Katie McElrath

RENSSELAER, Ind. – The Lady Miners opened Great Lakes Valley Conference play Thursday night by jumping all over an undermanned Saint Joseph’s squad, using a 32-0 run over a stretch of nearly 13 minutes to build a huge lead and go on to a 75-40 win over the Pumas at Scharf Alumni Fieldhouse.

UMR led the Pumas 9-8 after a pair of free throws by Michelle Kiger with 14:55 left in the first half. The free throws would be the last points the Pumas would score until Stephanie Boyle made a free throw with 2:03 to go in the half – during which time the Lady Miners rattled off 32 straight points to go up 41-8.

Eight different players scored for the Lady Miners during the run, with Chism McEntire, Lauren Dubbert and Katie Bunge all scoring six points apiece in that stretch.

The Lady Miners led 45-11 at halftime, shooting 57.6 percent from the floor and holding the Pumas to just 3-of-24 (12.5 percent).

UMR was led by Katie McElrath with 16 points, while Bunge scored 13 and Dubbert 12. The Lady Miners finished the night at 54.1 percent while Saint Joseph’s shot 25.5 percent in the contest.

Saint Joseph’s (0-4, 0-1 GLVC), which had only eight players in uniform for the contest, got 17 points from Kiger.

The Lady Miners (3-0, 1-0 GLVC) will face Indianapolis (4-0, 1-0 GLVC) Saturday in Indianapolis at noon. The Greyhounds also opened GLVC play with a win Thursday as they beat Missouri-St. Louis 79-56.