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| Katie Bunge |
After spotting Missouri-St. Louis a basket on its opening possession of the night, the Lady Miners started running...and running...and running.
Missouri S&T would eventually run UMSL right out of the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building, blowing out to a 24-point halftime lead and rolling to a 79-49 win to move one step closer to hosting a first round game in next week's Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.
With the victory -- the 20th of the season for S&T -- all the Lady Miners have to do to wrap up a home game next Tuesday in the conference tournament is to win Thursday at Southern Indiana, which would lock up second place in the GLVC West Division.
Taylor Gagliano hit a three-pointer for UMSL on its first trip down the floor Tuesday, then the Lady Miners cranked up the pressure on defense and with their fast break. S&T scored 27 of the next 29 points after the Gagliano three, moving ahead 27-5 by the 9:39 mark of the first half on a three-pointer by Jennifer Pena.
UMSL had just two field goals in the first 13 minutes of the game, as S&T forced 14 turnovers in the first 20 minutes and scored 18 fast break points during that stretch, either off steals or missed shots. The Lady Miners finished the evening scoring 44 points in the paint as well.
S&T had four players in double figures as head coach Alan Eads was able to get plenty of playing time for everyone with Thursday's game on the horizon. Reserve guard Josie Polk led the way with 12 points, while Tamara McCaskill and Katie McElrath finished with 11 points apiece and Katie Bunge with 10.
The Lady Miners outrebounded the Tritons 49-39 -- Bunge and Lauren Dubbert had seven boards each -- while Jaime Forsberg dished out six assists and Chism McEntire had five.
Missouri S&T improved to 20-5 overall and 14-4 in the GLVC as it reached the 20-win mark for just the second time in the history of the program. The Lady Miners will face USI Thursday at 5:15 p.m. in Evansville, Ind.
(Photo by Seth Sowers, Rolla Daily News)
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