-Missouri S&T women's basketball coach Alan Eads has announced the signing of three additional players for the 2008-09 season, giving the Lady Miners a total of six players who have signed National Letters of Intent to play at S&T next year.

The latest signees are Jazmine Bell, a guard from Cincinnati State Technical College; Jaysa Blackwell, a guard from Doniphan, Mo.; and Kylee Grant, a guard from Illinois Central College. They join early signees Jenny Dorman, Courtney Kemp and Brittany Percival as the newcomers to the Lady Miner roster next season; S&T is also expected to have the services of Julie Meyer, who signed with the volleyball team, at the conclusion of that season.

JAZMINE BELL, a 5-7 guard from Euclid High School in Euclid, Ohio: Bell is transferring to Missouri S&T from Cincinnati State, where she averaged 12.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.3 steals per game last season. She shot just over 40 percent from the field and 72 percent at the free throw line for the Lady Surge as they finished with a record of 22-9. She was a second-team all-conference player in the 2007-08 season and earned the league’s “Player of the Week” award during the course of the season. She averaged 13.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.4 steals a game in her freshman season.

In high school, Bell was named as her team’s most valuable player in her senior year and played all four seasons at the varsity level, earning the team’s top freshman honor along the way.

"Jazmine is a combination guard that we're looking at as a point guard," Eads said. "She is very quick and athletic and has proven that she can score based on her numbers at the junior college level. Jazmine played against some very good competition in junior college and that should help her make the adjustment to playing here at Missouri S&T."

JAYSA BLACKWELL, a 5-4 guard from Doniphan High School in Doniphan, Mo.: Blackwell earned all-district and all-conference honors following the 2007-08 season after averaging 10.1 points a game, while dishing out 93 assists and making 35 steals. She also earned all-region laurels and was named to the all-tournament team at the Lady Royal Classic while playing for her father, Jimbo.

In addition, Blackwell has also played on the Missouri Rockets club team that won the MAYB national championship in 2008. A teammate on that squad was Meyer, who will join the Lady Miner team after the volleyball season.

"Jaysa is a true point guard who is probably the closest thing to a Jaime Forsberg prototype," Eads said. "She is very quick and handles the ball extremely well and is also a fierce competitor having played for her father in high school for four years. Jaysa knows the game and has been coached very well."

KYLEE GRANT, a 5-4 yard from Richwoods High School in Peoria, Ill.: Grant is transferring into the Missouri S&T program from Illinois Central College, where she was a first-team all-region player and most valuable player in the Region 24 Tournament that her team won. On the season, she averaged 9.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 31 percent from three-point range and 75 percent at the free throw line for a team that was 23-9.

As a freshman, Grant averaged 6.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 32 percent from behind the arc and 75 percent at the line. In high school, she was an honorable mention all-state selection and first-team all-conference pick as a senior a year after helping lead her team to an undefeated record and state championship; she earned second-team all-conference honors that year as well as in her sophomore season.

"Kylee is another player with a great basketball background," Eads said. "She was a true point guard at the junior college level and is a great passer -- possibly one of the best that we've had here in a while. She is a solid fundamental player who can also shoot the ball from long range and like Jazmine, has gained valuable experience playing in a very competitive junior college league."

Missouri S&T finished the 2007-08 season with a record of 24-7 and reached the championship game of the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, where it lost to eventual national champion Northern Kentucky.

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Missouri S&T women's basketball coach Alan Eads, who led the Lady Miners to their best season in school history during the 2007-08 campaign, will be inducted into the Lady Greyhounds Hall of Fame at Moberly Area Community College Thursday night during the school's athletic awards banquet.

Eads spent eight seasons as the head coach at Moberly, leading those teams to a record of 199-37 and to five appearances in the National Junior College Athletic Association tournament. His first team at Moberly in the 1986-87 season finished third in the national tournament and later he guided teams to two fifth place showings and a ninth place finish in the event.

After the 1993-94 season, Eads left Moberly to become an assistant coach for the women's program at Southeast Missouri State, then took over the Missouri S&T program in 2002. The Lady Miners went 24-7 this season and reached the championship game of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional, where they lost to eventual national champion Northern Kentucky.

"It's such a great honor to be inducted into the college's Hall of Fame, and even a greater honor to join so many great coaches before me like Dick Halterman on the women's side and so many of the men's coaches such as Cotton Fitzsimmons, Maury John, Charlie Spoonhour, Lee Kariker and Dana Altman," Eads said.

"As a coach, it takes a great group of players to be recognized in this manner and I was extremely fortunate to have been surrounded by several which I coached at the college," he added.

Eads joins a long line of successful coaches who have passed through the doors at Moberly to join the school's Hall of Fame. Halterman led the Lady Greyhounds to the NJCAA national championship in the 1981-82 season and later coached at Oklahoma State and Cameron. Fitzsimmons served as the head coach at Kansas State and with five teams in the National Basketball Association.

John was a head coach at Drake and Iowa State, Kariker coached at William Jewell after his stint at Moberly while Spoonhour guided programs at Missouri State, Saint Louis and UNLV before retiring. Altman is still active in the coaching field as he is the current head coach at Creighton University.

Eads, who is originally from Trenton, Mo., is the eighth individual inductee associated with Moberly's women's basketball program to enter the Lady Greyhounds Hall of Fame. During his eight seasons at the school, Eads was named as the NJCAA Region 16 "Coach of the Year" five times and had eight players who earned All-America honors.

(Some information for this story was provided by Chuck Embree, Moberly Monitor-Index)

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Tamara McCaskill

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Northern Kentucky’s Cassie Brannen all but single-handedly kept the Lady Miners from earning a spot in the Elite Eight Monday night.

The junior forward scored a game-high 25 points -- missing just one shot the entire night -- and sparked a decisive 15-3 run that led the Norse to a 60-52 victory over Missouri S&T in the championship game of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional at Drury University.

NKU will move on to play Wingate in the national quarterfinals, while the Lady Miners’ season ended at 24-7.

The Lady Miners took an early 17-13 lead in the contest, then went into a six-minute scoring drought during which time NKU took its first lead of the game. Danyelle Echoles’ layup at the 8:36 mark put the Norse up 18-17.

S&T regrouped before the end of the half, however, getting a layin from Tamara McCaskill with 26 seconds left to tie it at 25.

After Jaime Forsberg’s three-pointer just over a minute into the second half gave S&T the lead, the teams swapped the lead for the next few minutes. Cassie Brannen’s layin at the 15:26 mark tied the score at 34, then the Lady Miners scored the next five points to take the lead.

Katie McElrath’s layin made it 39-34, but the Norse answered with six straight to go back in front. Katie Bunge got the lead back for the Lady Miners with a three-point play with 8:54 to go, but the Norse scored the next nine points, capped by a Jessie Slack three-pointer with 6:30 left to take a 49-42 advantage.

The Norse led by nine when Forsberg knocked down a three with 1:12 to play, making it 58-52 and S&T had a chance to get even closer with under a minute to go after rebounding an NKU miss, but turned the ball over on the outlet pass and Echoles sunk two at the line to all but ice the win for the Norse.

Bunge had a double-double in her final game as a Lady Miner with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Forsberg also finished in double figures with 11. The Lady Miners shot just 34.5 percent from the field in the contest while NKU finished at 44.2 percent.

Bunge and McElrath were named to the all-tournament team along with Slack, Brannen -- who was selected as the most outstanding player -- and Quincy's Jessica Keller.

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Tamara McCaskill

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Lady Miners fell behind early in the game Saturday for the second day in a row in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional.

But as was the case on Friday, Missouri S&T stormed back to win and now finds itself one game away from a trip to the Elite Eight.

The Lady Miners beat Quincy 79-73 Saturday at Drury's Weiser Gym to advance to the regional championship game Monday against Northern Kentucky, who routed the host school 84-65 in the late game Saturday.

This marks the first time the Lady Miners, now 24-6 on the season, have made it to the Sweet Sixteen of the Division II tournament.

Missouri S&T only shot 28 percent from the field in the first half and fell behind by as many as 11 points. Quincy, which came out of the gate hot, settled for a 38-30 lead at intermission.

The Lady Miners leading scorer, Tamara McCaskill, spent most of the first half on the bench with two early fouls and only had two points at the break.

"We told her at half time, Tamara, you've got to go out there and light things up," said Missouri S&T coach Alan Eads.

And she did.

McCaskill scored the Lady Miners' first six points of the second half and Missouri S&T slowly cut into the Lady Hawks' lead. The Lady Miners went ahead for the first time on a McCaskill jumper with 15 minutes to play.

Later in the half, two free throws by the S&T junior gave Missouri S&T its biggest lead of the game of eight with two minutes to play, then her steal led to a layup by Jaime Forsberg to put S&T up by 10 with 1:20 to go.

Quincy did trim the margin down to five in the final minute, but free throws by Forsberg and Chism McEntire kept the Hawks at bay and ended their season at 20-10.

McCaskill and McEntire, who made five 3-pointers in the contest, each had 17 points to lead S&T while Katie McElrath recorded a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Forsberg had a team-high four assists which allowed her to break the school's all-time assist record that was held by Christie Williams.

For the game, Missouri S&T shot 43.3 percent -- 66.7 percent after the break -- and held Quincy to 37.9 percent. Jessica Keller, a native of nearby Belle, Mo., led the Lady Hawks with 24 points.

(Story by Lance Feyh, Missouri S&T Public Relations, with assistance from S&T sports information director John Kean; photo by John Anderson)

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Lauren Dubbert

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Missouri S&T women's basketball team scored the final nine points of the game Friday to knock off Michigan Tech 75-66 for the program's first-ever victory in the NCAA Division II Tournament and earn a spot in Saturday's semifinals.

The Lady Miners, the third seed in the regional, improved to 23-6 on the year with the win and will face Great Lakes Valley Conference member Quincy, an 82-73 winner over Hillsdale, Saturday at 6 p.m. in Drury's Weiser Gym.

S&T led for most of the second half and held a six-point lead at 66-60 with 3:48 to play. However, back-to-back three-pointers by Katie ZImmerman allowed the Huskies to draw even by the 2:03 mark.

But on the Lady Miners' next trip down the floor, Chism McEntire drilled a three of her own to put the Lady Miners up for good at 69-66, then S&T forced a turnover on MTU's next possession to turn the game into a free throw shooting contest. The Lady Miners were up to the task, sinking all six attempts in the final 50 seconds to lock up the victory.

"We won a lot of close games this year," Missouri S&T coach Alan Eads said. "We were fortunate to win today."

Missouri S&T couldn't buy a shot at the start of the game and fell behind by as much as 11 points in the first half. But the Lady Miners eventually found their groove, thanks to the shooting of Katie McElrath and Chism McEntire, and took their first lead on a three by McEntire at the 4:05 mark of the first half.

Michigan Tech took the lead back by the intermission at 33-30 and held onto the advantage until Lauren Dubbert knocked down a three with 14:29 to go to put S&T up 43-42.

Tamara McCaskill scored at the eight-minute mark to put the Lady Miners up 58-51, then with a little more than three minutes left to play, Jaime Forsberg picked the pocket of a Michigan Tech player and lead a break. Forsberg found Katie Bunge under the basket for a basket that put Missouri S&T up 66-60 lead before MTU got the threes from Zimmerman to draw even with just over two minutes to go.

"We always come back and make it a game," McElrath said. "Today we got over the hump."

Missouri S&T, making just its second appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament, shot 56.7 percent after the break and finished the game at 46.7 percent. The Lady Miners had four players in double figures, led by Katie McElrath with 21 points and Bunge with 14. S&T also got 12 points from McCaskill and 10 from McEntire.

S&T also had a 36-28 advantage on the boards and forced 16 Michigan Tech turnovers, including three after McEntire's basket gave the Lady Miners the lead.

Zimmerman led Michigan Tech (23-8) with 19 points while Katie Wysocky finished with 16.

(Information for this story also provided by Lance Feyh, Missouri S&T Public Relations)

(Photo by John Anderson)

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Tamara McCaskill

On the eve of its first NCAA Division II Tournament appearance in 12 years, the Missouri S&T women's basketball team earned another honor as junior forward Tamara McCaskill has been named to the Daktronics all-region squad for the Great Lakes Region.

McCaskill, the Lady Miners' leading scorer on the year with an average of 15 points per game, was a second-team selection to the all-region squad. The seventh-leading scorer in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, she is also avearging nearly two assists per game, while shooting 49.7 percent from the field, 41 percent from three-point range and 71.6 percent at the line.

McCaskill also has 31 blocked shots and 42 steals on the season; she has led the team in scoring in 15 of its 28 games thus far on the year. On two occasions this season, she was named as the GLVC’s “Player of the Week.”

The Lady Miners, 22-6 on the season, will face Michigan Tech in the opening round of the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Springfield, Mo., at noon Friday.

2007-08 Daktronics All-Great Lakes Region Team

First team
Katie Cezat, Jr., Hillsdale (Player of the Year)
Molly Carter, Sr., Drury
Rachel Folcik, Sr., Ferris State
Jessica Keller, Jr., Quincy
Amber Shelton, Sr., SIU Edwardsville

Second team
Angela Healy, Sr., Northern Kentucky
Karla Mast, Sr., Indianapolis
Kayla Ming, Sr., Wisconsin-Parkside
Tamara McCaskill, Jr., Missouri S&T
Megan Starnes, Jr., Northwood

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The Lady Miners celebrate the announcement of their selection to the NCAA Tournament

For the first time in 12 seasons, the Missouri S&T women's basketball team is heading to the NCAA Division II Tournament.

The Lady Miners were one of the 64 selections to the national field Sunday night and will take part in the Great Lakes Regional that will begin Friday at Drury University in Springfield, Mo. Missouri S&T's first opponent will be Michigan Tech, whom it will face in a noon game Friday at Weiser Gym on the Drury campus.

S&T, the No. 3 seed in the regional, will bring a 22-6 record into Friday's game after dropping a 79-67 decision Saturday to Northern Kentucky in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament semifinals. The Lady Miners set a school record for victories this season with the 22 wins and finished 15-4 in the GLVC.

Michigan Tech, 23-7, won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament title Saturday. Friday's game will mark the first meeting ever between the schools in women's basketball.

The winner of Friday's game will face the winner of the Hillsdale-Quincy quarterfinal game Saturday. The championship game is Monday night in Springfield.

The Lady Miners' last appearance in the NCAA Tournament ended with an 83-60 first round loss to Nebraska-Kearney in the 1996 South Central Regional. That is the only previous appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the Missouri S&T women's basketball program.

NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Schedule (First round games)
Friday, March 14
Missouri S&T (22-6) vs. MIchigan Tech (23-7)
Hillsdale (23-4) vs. Quincy (19-9)
Drury (27-3) vs. Bellarmine (20-11)
Northern Kentucky (22-8) vs. Indianapolis (22-7)

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Katie Bunge

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Lady Miners were unable to slow down a hot Northern Kentucky team Saturday afternoon and fell in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament semifinals by the score of 79-67 at Drury’s Weiser Gym.

Northern Kentucky, who may have needed the win to assure itself of a spot in next week’s NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional, will face Drury in Sunday’s championship game. Despite the loss, the Lady Miners figure to be a part of the regional field as well; the tournament field will be announced at 9:30 p.m. Sunday night.

The Lady Miners were down by as many as 21 points with 4:49 to go in the first half, but thanks to some strong play late in the half from Katie Bunge, got the margin down to 10 by the intermission.

NKU shot 59.3 percent from the field in the first half to build the 41-31 lead, while the Lady Miners connected on just 33.3 percent of their attempts.

The Lady Miners were able to draw to within six on Katie McElrath’s three-pointer with 15:31 to go, then another three by Lauren Dubbert a little over a minute later cut the lead to three at 46-43.

After Jessie Slack answered Dubbert’s three with one of her own, the Lady Miners trimmed the margin to three again when Bunge converted a three-play to make it 49-46.

S&T got the lead down to one on a steal and lay-in by Bunge with 11:49 left, then had three straight possessions with a chance to take the lead but couldn’t score. NKU was then able to push the lead back to double figures after the Lady Miners missed their chances to grab the lead.

The Lady Miners were led by Bunge with 23 points, while Jaime Forsberg scored 14 and Tamara McCaskill finished with 10. S&T shot just 36.8 percent from the field while NKU hit 58.7 percent of its shots.

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Tamara McCaskill

In the midst of its best season in school history, Missouri S&T was well represented on the Great Lakes Valley Conference all-conference team as three members of its squad were named to the 2007-08 all-league team.

Junior forward Tamara McCaskill (Edwardsville, Ill.), the Lady Miners’ leading scorer and seventh-leading scorer in the GLVC, was one of the five first-team selections to the squad. McCaskill enters Saturday’s GLVC semifinal game with Northern Kentucky averaging 15.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and nearly two assists per game, while shooting 50.3 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from three-point range and 71.3 percent at the line.

McCaskill also has 31 blocked shots and 42 steals on the season; she has led the team in scoring in 15 of its 27 games thus far on the year. On two occasions this season, she was named as the GLVC’s “Player of the Week.”

McCaskill was joined on the first team by Drury’s Molly Carter-- who was named as the league’s “Player of the Year” -- Northern Kentucky’s Angela Healy, Quincy’s Jessica Keller and Southern Illinois Edwardsville forward Amber Shelton.

The other two members of the Lady Miners’ front line, senior Katie Bunge (Mexico, Mo.) and junior Katie McElrath (Owasso, Okla.), were named Thursday to the All-GLVC third team.

Bunge is scoring 10.9 points per game and is the GLVC’s third-leading rebounder with 8.4 per contest, which shooting 50.6 percent from the field and making 31 steals. Bunge has recorded a team-high eight double-doubles this year.

McElrath is S&T’s second-leading scorer with an average of 11.6 points a game, including a 21-point effort in the Lady Miners’ quarterfinal win over Bellarmine Tuesday. She ranks among the league leaders in field goal percentage at 54.1 percent and leads S&T with 35 blocked shots. McElrath is averaging six rebounds per contest.

The Lady Miners head into Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. game with Northern Kentucky at Drury University with a 22-5 record and are currently ranked third in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes region. The 22 wins are the most by a Lady Miner team in school history.

2007-08 ALL-GLVC TEAM

First team
Molly Carter, Sr., Drury (Player of the Year)
Angela Healy, Sr., Northern Kentucky
Jessica Keller, Jr., Quincy
Tamara McCaskill, Jr., Missouri S&T
Amber Shelton, Sr., SIU Edwardsville

Second team
Jasmine Baines, Sr., Southern Indiana
LaTasha Henry, Sr., Kentucky Wesleyan
Karla Mast, Sr., Indianapolis
Kayla Ming, Sr., Wisconsin-Parkside
Angela Smith, Sr., Bellarmine

Third team
Lindsay Ballweg, So., Drury
Cassie Brannen, Jr., Northern Kentucky
Katie Bunge, Sr., Missouri S&T
Jessica Canary, So., Indianapolis
Amanda Gibson, So., Wisconsin-Parkside
Katie McElrath, Jr., Missouri S&T
Samantha Meissel, Fr., Indianapolis
Denasha Mondy, Sr., Bellarmine
Melanie Oliver, So., Drury
Jessie Slack, Sr., Northern Kentucky
Katie Willinger, Sr., Bellarmine

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Katie Bunge

The Lady Miners let a 12-point second half lead out of their grasp, but regained the advantage moments later and didn't let it go to earn a berth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference semifinals Saturday afternoon.

After Bellarmine erased the lead to tie the contest at 61 with just over four minutes to go, the Lady Miners were able to make enough key plays down the stretch to come away with the 70-65 win in the opening round contest Tuesday at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

The victory, a school record-breaking 22nd on the season, sends Missouri S&T into the semifinal round where it will take on Northern Kentucky (21-7) Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Drury University in Springfield. The Norse used a game-ending 17-0 run to oust Southern Illinois Edwardsville 68-56 Tuesday.

Drury and Indianapolis will square off in the other semifinal contest.

S&T (22-5) came into the game as the fourth-ranked team in NCAA Division II in field goal percentage, but struggled for much of the night from the floor as it hit just 38.8 percent of its shots. But a strong game from its front line proved to be the difference in the game.

The Lady Miners got a big first half from Katie Bunge, as she recorded a double-double by the intermission to help S&T build a nine-point lead by halftime. Bunge's three-point play just before the half ended gave S&T its halftime margin.

S&T pushed its lead into double figures early in the second half and led by as many as 12 after a lay-in by Katie McElrath with 10:08 to go to make it 55-43. However, the Knights went on an 18-6 run over the next six minutes and tied the score at 61 on a driving lay-in by Angela Smith.

McElrath hit a jumper from just inside the foul line on the Lady Miners' next trip down the floor to put them back in front, then they retained the lead after Smith hit one of two at the line.

The Lady Miners got to four at the line as McElrath hit a pair and Bunge hit one of two before Smith knocked down an open three with 2:41 to make it 66-65. The teams then went scoreless for over two minutes until Tamara McCaskill sunk a turnaround jumper in the lane with 30 seconds on the clock and just before the shot clock expired to push the lead to three.

Bellarmine had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds, but Trisha Bennett's three-point try was off the mark and Jaime Forsberg wrapped up the win with a pair of free throws with 4.5 seconds to go.

McElrath scored 18 of her game-high 21 points in the second half to lead S&T, while Bunge ended the game with 18 points and 16 rebounds. McCaskill also had a double-double for the Lady Miners with 12 points and 11 boards and also added three blocked shots.

Smith and Dana Beaven led Bellarmine with 18 points apiece.

(Photo by Dave Roberts, Waynesville Daily Guide)

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Chism McEntire

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Missouri S&T had a tough time throwing the knockout punch in the second half, but another solid shooting night was more than enough to send it home for an opening round game in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.

The Lady Miners knocked off Southern Indiana 71-61 in PAC Arena Thursday night to tie the S&T single season record for wins and more importantly, lock up a home game Tuesday night in the first round of the conference tournament.

S&T (21-5, 15-4 GLVC) will play the third place team from the GLVC East Division -- which will be determined after league play is completed Saturday -- at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

After Southern Indiana got out to an early lead, the Lady Miners ran off seven straight points near the midway point of the first half and grabbed their first advantage in the process on Katie Bunge’s lay-in at the 10:51 mark. S&T eventually built its lead to as many as 10 points before the Eagles closed to within three at 32-29 at the intermission.

But any hope USI -- a team that had already been eliminated from the GLVC playoff race -- had of pulling off an upset was put in jeopardy right out of the gate when the second half began. The Lady Miners scored the first 11 points of the half, which included a pair of three-pointers from Chism McEntire, to give them a 14-point lead in the first four minutes of the period.

The Eagles got the lead down to five on a layup by Jasmine Baines with 6:23 to play, but eventually S&T got the lead back over 10 when Tamara McCaskill made a steal to lead to a three-point play with 2:43 remaining for a 65-54 lead.

The Lady Miners shot 58.7 percent from the field in the game -- their fifth game in the last six in which they have made at least 50 percent of their shots -- and got 18 points apiece from McEntire and McCaskill. In addition, Bunge recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

S&T was 6-of-13 from three-point range, with McEntire connecting four times in five tries.

The 21 wins the Lady Miners have accumulated this season ties the mark set by the 1995-96 team that finished at 21-7.

Posted by John Kean at 07:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

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)

Posted by John Kean at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Katie Bunge

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Lady Miners' furious comeback effort Saturday fell short, as Drury held off Missouri S&T's rally from a 19-point halftime deficit to come away with a 89-75 win in Weiser Gym.

The loss all but relegates S&T to playing for the second seed in the Great Lakes Valley Conference’s West Division, as it sits a game and a half behind the Lady Panthers with two games to go. Drury will wrap up the top seed from the GLVC West with a victory Sunday over Missouri-St. Louis based on its sweep of S&T this season.

S&T, which still holds a one-game lead over Quincy in the division for second, can lock up the No. 2 seed with wins over UMSL and Southern Indiana next week. The Lady Miners will host UMSL Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

The Lady Miners never led in the contest, but were within one at 8-7 after a three-pointer by Jaime Forsberg at the 15:51 mark. Drury ran off nine straight points to extend its lead to 10 before Lauren Dubbert’s three-pointer ended a three-minute scoring drought for S&T.

However, the Lady Miners turned the ball over 12 times in the opening half and Drury shot 50 percent from the floor to eventually take a 51-32 lead into the intermission.

S&T was able to close the margin down to 13 in the early part of the second half, then got it down to single digits when Sheena Chadwell connected on a pair of free throws at the 13:43 mark.

Drury extended its lead back to 12 before the Lady Miners started chipping away again, drawing to within three on a three-pointer by Chism McEntire with 7:28 to play. Moments later, McEntire had a chance to tie the game but was off the mark on a three, then Drury got the lead back to nine over the next two minutes.

The Lady Miners were able to get the lead down to six three different times after that, but a technical foul on S&T allowed Drury to get the lead back to 10 with just over two minutes to go.

Katie Bunge led the Lady Miners with 20 points and was one of four S&T players in double figures. Tamara McCaskill and Dubbert had 12 points apiece, while McEntire added 10. The Lady Miners shot 62.5 percent from the floor in the second half and finished the game at 52.2 percent, their fourth straight game with a shooting percentage of at least 50 percent.

Molly Carter, who had 30 points in the first meeting between the teams that Drury won in overtime, matched that total to lead all scorers Saturday.

Posted by John Kean at 05:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- With Saturday’s game at Drury looming, the Missouri S&T women’s basketball team made sure to take care of one matter of business before taking their shot at the Great Lakes Valley Conference West Division lead -- beating Rockhurst Thursday night.

The Lady Miners used an early run to take control of the contest and went on to defeat the Hawks 70-52 at Mason-Halpin Fieldhouse, moving to within a one-half game of idle Drury for the lead in the division.

The Lady Miners shot 60.7 percent from the floor -- 17-of-28 -- in the opening half and built as much as an 18-point lead in the first 20 minutes before taking a 41-26 lead to the locker room.

Rockhurst opened the game by taking a 10-5 lead, but S&T rattled off the next 15 points to go up 20-10 and never looked back. Tamara McCaskill’s jumper at the 14:47 mark put the Lady Miners in front. McCaskill and Katie McElrath combined to score 18 of S&T’s 41 points in the opening half.

After the Lady Miners pushed their lead out to 25 in the early stages of the second half, Rockhurst got hot from three-point range and closed the gap to 12 with just over seven minutes to go on a three-pointer by Amy Hake.

Following Hake's second straight trey that made it 59-47, the Lady Miners got the game back into their control on a basket by Katie Bunge and a three-pointer by Chism McEntire to extend the lead to the eventual final margin of 18.

McEntire led a balanced scoring effort with 14 points, while McCaskill finished with 13 and McElrath and Lauren Dubbert posted 10 points apiece. Dubbert posted her first double-double of the year as she also pulled down 10 rebounds.

The Lady Miners shot 50 percent from the floor, marking the third straight game they have made at least 50 percent of their field goal attempts.

Missouri S&T (19-4, 13-3 GLVC), which has already clinched a berth in the GLVC Tournament, will play sixth-ranked Drury (21-2, 13-2 GLVC) at 3:15 Saturday at Weiser Gym in Springfield.

Posted by John Kean at 08:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Missouri S&T women's basketball team remained in third this week in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes regional rankings that were released Wednesday.

The Lady Miners, 18-4 on the season, held their spot after picking up a pair of wins last week, including a two-point victory over a Quincy that is currenly eighth in the region.

Missouri S&T trails Drury -- whom it will face Saturday in Springfield, Mo. -- and Hillsdale in this week's rankings. Ferris State is ranked fourth this week, followed by a quartet of teams from the Great Lakes Valley Conference in Northern Kentucky, Indianapolis, Bellarmine and Quincy.

Northwood and Michigan Tech round out the top ten this week.

Despite dropping an overtime contest last week to the top-ranked team in the Great Lakes region, the Missouri S&T women's basketball moved up one spot in the new regional rankings released Wednesday.

Missouri S&T, which will play at Rockhurst Thursday before the showdown with Drury, also received 25 votes in this week's WBCA/Division II national poll, earning the second-highest total for teams not in this week's Top 25.

NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Rankings
(February 20, 2008)
1. Drury
2. Hillsdale
3. Missouri S&T
4. Ferris State
5. Northern Kentucky
6. Indianapolis
7. Bellarmine
8. Quincy
9. Northwood
10. Michigan Tech

Posted by John Kean at 04:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Tamara McCaskill

For the second time this season, Tamara McCaskill has been named as the Great Lakes Valley Conference's "Player of the Week" for her performances in a pair of Missouri S&T victories last week.

The junior forward from Edwardsville, Ill., averaged 19.5 points and five rebounds per game while shooting 68.2 percent from the field (15-of-22), leading the Lady Miners in scoring in both victories that kept them one game behind Drury in the GLVC West Division.

In S&T's 75-73 victory over Quincy, McCaskill scored 16 of her game-high 19 points in the second half to help it rally to a key win over the Hawks; Quincy entered the game one game behind S&T in the standings. She was seven-of-11 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers, while adding five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

On Saturday, McCaskill had 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the field with two three-pointers, five rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot. She hit both of her three-pointers during the course of S&T's decisive 22-2 run to start the second half of an eventual 72-48 win over Southern Illinois Edwardsville.

McCaskill was previously named as the league's "Player of the Week" in January after Lady Miner victories at Wisconsin-Parkside and Lewis. The Lady Miners have earned three such awards this season, as Katie Bunge also landed the GLVC's weekly award a week after McCaskill was named the first time.

Missouri S&T, currently 18-4 overall and 12-3 in the GLVC, returns to action Thursday when it plays Rockhurst in Kansas City, Mo.

Posted by John Kean at 08:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Chism McEntire

After a number of recent contests with nail-biting finishes -- the most recent being two nights earlier -- the Lady Miners took the drama out of Saturday's game in the first ten minutes of the second half.

That was just fine with MIssouri S&T women's basketball coach Alan Eads.

Leading by eight at halftime, the Lady Miners outscored Southern Illinois Edwardsville 22-2 to start the second half to bust the game wide open and cruised to a 72-48 Great Lakes Valley Conference win on Senior Day at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

S&T held SIUE to just one field goal in the first 10:27 of the half, turning a 28-20 halftime lead into a 50-22 rout. Meanwhile, the Lady Miners connected on 66.7 percent of their shots after the break, including four three-pointers and finished the game at 54.4 percent.

The Cougars had one lead in the game -- a 15-13 advantage after Amber Shelton hit a three-pointer with 8:54 left in the first half -- but the Lady Miners came right back and got the lead for good on a lay-in by Katie Bunge at the 7:21 mark and built the margin to as much as nine in the opening half.

Chism McEntire hit a driving layup 14 seconds into the second half, setting the tone for the next ten minutes of play as the Lady Miners shut down the Cougars and began building the lead, with the run concluding on two free throws by McEntire at the 9:46 mark.

Tamara McCaskill and Katie McElrath had six points apiece during the course of the run and finished the day as the Lady Miners' top scorers with 20 and 10 points, respectively; McElrath also had 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.

The Lady Miners had good balance in the scoring column as Sheena Chadwell had eight points and McEntire and Josie Polk finished with seven apiece. Defensively, the Lady Miners held SIUE to 27.5 percent shooting for the day and held Shelton, the GLVC's top scorer, to 16 points and just two in the second half.

S&T (18-4, 12-3 GLVC) stayed one game behind Drury in the GLVC West Division and two games ahead of Quincy. The Lady Miners will return to the floor Thursday with a 5:30 p.m. game against Rockhurst in Kansas City.

Posted by John Kean at 08:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Lady Miners went through another tense moment at the end of a game Thursday, but this time, they made the defensive play to preserve a critical Great Lakes Valley Conference victory.

Leading by two after Lauren Dubbert missed the front end of a one-and-one with 11 seconds to go, Missouri S&T prevented Quincy's leading scorer, Jessica Keller, from getting a shot off and forced her to turn the ball over in the final seconds to hang on for a 75-73 victory over the Hawks at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

The win allowed the Lady Miners to gain a split of the season series with Quincy and extend their advantage to two games over the Hawks in the GLVC West Division with five games remaining in their quest to host a first round home game in the conference tournament.

The victory, however, didn't come easy by any means.

S&T had an eight-point lead of 33-25 after a basket by Lydia Karlefors with 3:33 left in the half, but the Hawks rattled off 14 straight points to take a six-point lead before Jennifer Pena's three-pointer with 19 seconds to go before the intermission brought the Hawk lead down to 39-36 at the half.

The Lady Miners finally got the lead back on a three-point play by Tamara McCaskill at the 13:53 mark and never trailed again after that, but had a tough time shaking the visitors who were able to stay within five points for the next 12 minutes.

Quincy forged four ties during that span, but the Lady Miners had an answer each time. Whintae Irby's baseline jumper with 6:08 to go tied the score at 63, but a short jumper by Katie Bunge put S&T back in front and a three-pointer by Dubbert moments later gave the Lady Miners their biggest lead since the first half at 68-63 with 4:45 left.

S&T was able to extend a three-point lead to six with 1:26 to go on a third chance basket which led to a three-point play by McCaskill. The Hawks closed to within four on a Megan Gavlick basket, then Katie McElrath hit the first of two at the line with 34 seconds to go to make it 75-70.

Alex Roznowski brought Quincy to within two by sinking a long three-pointer with 15 seconds to go, then the Hawks fouled Dubbert with 11 seconds to play. The junior guard missed the free throw, but the Lady Miners were able to bottle up Keller as she tried to find a path to the basket.

Keller tried to pass the ball out as time was running out, but her pass was intercepted by Pena to preserve the win.

S&T connected on 53.6 percent of its shots in the contest (30-of-56) and had four players in double figures, led by McCaskill with 19 points. Bunge finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double in the last seven games, while McElrath had 13 points and Pena finished with 12.

Keller and Janette Burgin had 17 points apiece for the Hawks, who scored 33 points off of 25 S&T turnovers. The Lady Miners, however, had a 38-33 advantage on the boards and held Quincy to 40.9 percent from the floor.

The Lady Miners (17-4, 11-3 GLVC) will host Southern Illinois Edwardsville Saturday at 1 p.m.; the team's five seniors will be honored prior to the start of Saturday's game.

Posted by John Kean at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Despite dropping an overtime contest last week to the top-ranked team in the Great Lakes region, the Missouri S&T women's basketball moved up one spot in the new regional rankings released Wednesday.

The Lady Miners trail only Drury and Hillsdale in the new rankings heading into Thursday night's contest with Quincy -- the region's seventh-ranked team -- at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building. S&T is 16-4 on the season, with Drury sitting at 20-2 after its win at Rockhurst Tuesday and Hillsdale at 17-3.

Indianapolis, which was ahead of S&T last week, lost at Kentucky Wesleyan Thursday to fall to fourth in the region. Ferris State, Bellarmine, Quincy and Northern Kentucky are in spots five through eight, with Wisconsin-Parkside and Michigan Tech rounding out the top 10.

The Lady Miners and Quincy will tip off at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

Missouri S&T also received 11 votes in this week's WBCA/Division II national poll, earning the fourth-highest total for teams not in this week's Top 25.

NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Rankings
(February 13, 2008)
1. Drury
2. Hillsdale
3. Missouri S&T
4. Indianapolis
5. Ferris State
6. Bellarmine
7. Quincy
8. Northern Kentucky
9. Wisconsin-Parkside
10. Michigan Tech

Posted by John Kean at 04:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Katie McElrath

Missouri S&T junior forward Katie McElrath has been selected to the academic all-district first team for District 7 for the 2007-08 season by ESPN The Magazine and the College Sports Information Directors of America.

As a first team selection, McElrath will be eligible for academic All-America honors; that team will be announced in March.

McElrath is currently the Lady Miners' second-leading scorer with an average of 11.7 points per game and currently leads the Great Lakes Valley Conference in field goal percentage at 57.2 percent. She is also averaging 6.4 rebounds a game and ranks fourth in the league in blocked shots with 28.

Among her on-court highlights for the current season are a career-high 24 point outing in an overtime loss to sixth-ranked Drury last week and a game-winning three-pointer with five seconds left to give the Lady Miners a win over Kentucky Wesleyan in the midst of the team's 10-game winning streak.

McElrath, who is from Owasso, Okla., is majoring in civil engineering at Missouri S&T and is a two-time member of the GLVC's all-academic team.

Posted by John Kean at 04:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Missouri S&T women’s basketball team may have still been feeling some of the sting from Thursday’s stunning loss to Drury, but found a better feeling at the end of the day Saturday as it posted a 69-55 Great Lakes Valley Conference win over Rockhurst at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

Tamara McCaskill, the only Lady Miner to play at least 30 minutes in Saturday’s game, scored 21 points with eight rebounds to get S&T back into the win column after back-to-back losses. The victory also improved the Lady Miners to 16-4 overall and 10-3 in the GLVC, keeping them one game behind Drury and one ahead of Quincy heading into Thursday’s home game with QU.

McCaskill, who had just six points at halftime, took off in the second half as S&T turned an eight-point game at halftime into a 17-point game in less than five minutes. She scored 11 points during that opening stretch of the second half and her three-point play with 15:27 to go in the half gave the Lady Miners a 48-31 lead.

Rockhurst never got closer than 13 after that point.

The Lady Miners had a bit of a slow start Saturday, turning the ball over five times in the first five minutes and finding themselves tied at the 14:39 mark. S&T then went on a 18-8 run over the next six minutes to go up 25-15 on Katie McElrath’s jumper.

S&T would hold a double figure lead for most of what was left of the half, although the Hawks were able to draw to within eight with a minute left after Julie Cook’s three-pointer.

But by making six of their first eight shots of the second half, the Lady Miners were able to seize control of the affair and allow them to use their bench a little more liberally in the latter stages of the second half.

Besides the 21 points posted by McCaskill, S&T also got 15 from Chism McEntire on five three-pointers and 12 from McElrath. The Lady Miners hit 49.1 percent of their shots and held the Hawks to 34.4 percent shooting, while winning the battle on the boards by a 43-28 margin.

Missouri S&T will face Quincy at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

Posted by John Kean at 07:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Lady Miners suffered just their fourth loss of the season Thursday night, but it certainly had to rank as the toughest of the four.

Leading by seven points with 24 seconds to go, Missouri S&T saw Drury erase the margin to send the game into overtime, then the Lady Panthers won the contest in the extra period by the score of 79-69 at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

A tough battle throughout the night between the top two teams in the Great Lakes Valley Conference's West Division seemed to heading into the win column for the Lady Miners, as they had pushed their lead to seven with 24 ticks on the clock after Tamara McCaskill hit the first of two free throws.

However, a basket by Molly Carter and a second chance basket by Ja'Nell Jones off her own miss brought the Lady Panthers back to within three with five seconds remaining. Then, for the second time in the final seconds, the Lady Miners threw the ball away on a inbounds attempt, giving Drury a shot to tie the score.

Carter, who led all scorers in the contest with 30 points, drained a three-pointer from the top of the key with three seconds to go to tie the game at 63 and put all the momentum on the Lady Panthers' side.

After Carter put Drury in front 1:39 into overtime, S&T's Katie Bunge tied the score by hitting a layup. The Lady Miners drew even again at 69 after Jaime Forsberg hit two free throws with 1:42 to go, but Carter scored again on Drury's next trip down the floor to start a game-ending 10-0 run for the win.

Drury had a 27-23 lead at halftime despite being held to 37 percent shooting by the Lady Miners, but 15 Lady Miner turnovers put them in the deficit.

S&T was able to take its first lead of the second half at the 12:03 mark after McCaskill hit a pair at the line, then the teams swapped the lead for the next three minutes. Katie McElrath's three-point play at the 9:06 mark put S&T up 40-38, then after Drury drew even at 42 and again at 44, the Lady Miners moved ahead again on a basket by Katie Bunge with 5:33 remaining.

Chism McEntire's two free throws with 32 seconds left gave S&T a 62-53 lead, but Carter hit a three at the other end five seconds later to cut the margin to six. McCaskill was fouled moments later and made the first of two at the line, setting the stage for Drury's comeback.

McElrath finished with a career-high 24 points to lead the Lady Miners, who hit 46.4 percent of their shots but turned the ball over 33 times in the contest to Drury's 21. S&T also got 16 points from McCaskill and 10 from Bunge as it dropped back-to-back games for the first time since early last January.

The Lady Miners (15-4, 9-3 GLVC), who maintained a one-game lead for second place after losses Thursday by Quincy and SIU Edwardsville, will host Rockhurst Satutrday at 1 p.m. on Fort Leonard Wood Appreciation Day at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building. Saturday's game will be sponsored by Forum Dental.

Posted by John Kean at 10:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Despite its loss Saturday at Quincy that ended a 10-game winning streak, the Missouri S&T women's basketball team remains fourth in the NCAA Great Lakes regional rankings that were released Wednesday.

The Lady Miners, who will take a 15-3 record into Thursday's clash for first place in the Great Lakes Valley Conference's West Division with Drury, are one of six GLVC teams among the top 10 this week. Drury comes into the game Thursday as the top-ranked team in the region with its 17-2 record.

Hillsdale and Indianapolis are sandwiched between Drury and Missouri S&T in this week's regional list. S&T is followed by Bellarmine at No. 5, with Michigan Tech, Ferris State, Quincy, Northern Kentucky and Ashland rounding out the top 10.

All three teams who have knocked off the Lady Miners this season -- Indianapolis, Quincy and St. Mary's -- are ranked in the top 10 in their respective regions. St. Mary's is ninth in the South Central region this week but is the top-ranked team from the Heartland Conference.

The Lady Miners also received votes in this week's WBCA/Division II national poll for the second week in a row, but not enough to reach the Top 25.

NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Rankings
(February 6, 2008)
1. Drury
2. Hillsdale
3. Indianapolis
4. Missouri S&T
5. Bellarmine
6. Michigan Tech
7. Ferris State
8. Quincy
9. Northern Kentucky
10. Ashland

Posted by John Kean at 04:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Katie McElrath

QUINCY, Ill. -- After coming from behind to take a 10-point lead in the second half, the Missouri S&T women’s basketball team went cold and opened the door for Quincy to rally for a 74-70 victory Saturday night.

The loss ended S&T’s 10-game winning streak and dropped the Lady Miners into a tie for first place in the GLVC West Division with Drury, which beat Kentucky Wesleyan 75-72 earlier in the day. Missouri S&T and seventh-ranked Drury will face off for the first time this season Thursday in a 5:30 p.m. game at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

After QU’s Alex Roznowski hit a three-pointer to tie the game with 56 seconds to go, the Lady Miners missed a shot to take the lead and Belle, Mo., native Jessica Keller hit four free throws -- with a key steal in the middle of the sequence -- to put the Hawks ahead to stay.

In the early stages it appeared that neither team was going to miss, as the Lady Miners and Hawks traded baskets for about a three-minute stretch. After the Lady Miners tied the score at 16 on a basket by Katie Bunge, the Hawks went up for good in the first half on Roznowski’s three-pointer at the 12:55 mark.

Quincy took a 41-37 lead into the locker room although the Lady Miners held them to 34.1 percent shooting.

The Hawks led 50-47 when Jaime Forsberg made a steal and lay-in to cut the lead to one. Although she missed the ensuing free throw as she was fouled going in for the layup, the Lady Miners were able to get their first second half lead at 51-50 on a basket by Bunge with 13:02 to go.

The run that started with the Forsberg basket reached 11 points before Keller hit the second of two free throws to make it 58-51.

Forsberg’s three-pointer at the 7:06 mark gave S&T its biggest lead of the night of 63-53 before the Hawks scored nine straight points to cut the lead to one. However, after Keller hit a three to make it 63-62, McCaskill drained a three out of the corner with 4:21 remaining to push the lead back to four.

With the lead at 66-65, Bunge went up strong for a layin with 1:06 to go to get the lead back to three, but Roznowski nailed a three with 56 seconds to go to even the score at 68.

McElrath missed a shot at the basket with 42 seconds to go, then Keller knocked down a pair at the line with 32 seconds remaining to give the lead back to the Hawks. With 15 ticks on the clock, Keller, who finished with a game-high 23 points, stole an inbounds pass and then hit two more free throws to give the Hawks a four-point lead.

The Lady Miners held the Hawks to 31.6 percent shooting for the night, but made only two of their final 13 field goal attempts after building the 10-point lead.

McCaskill led S&T (15-3, 9-2 GLVC) with 19 points while McElrath finished with 16. The Lady Miners also broke a single-game record by blocking 12 shots in the contest.

Posted by John Kean at 08:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Katie Bunge

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- In danger of seeing its winning streak fall one game short of the school record, the Missouri S&T women's basketball team used a surge over the final 14 minutes of the game to secure a 67-60 victory Thursday at Southern Illinois Edwardsville.

Down 46-37 in the second half, the Lady Miners outscored SIUE 28-14 over the final 14 minutes to win for the tenth straight time and for the 15th time in 17 games. S&T tied the school record for the longest winning streak -- set by the 1986-87 Lady Miners -- with the tenth win in succession and is 15-2 for the first time in the program's history.

S&T opened the game by scoring on its first two possessions of the night, but then went into a drought that lasted over five minutes which allowed the Cougars to take a lead they would hold for the duration of the half.

Katie Bunge’s basket at the 4:24 mark drew the Lady Miners back to within three after SIUE had been up by nine, but the hosts – who shot 44.8 percent in the first half – pushed the lead back out to six at 35-29 by the intermission.

The Cougars pushed the lead back to nine in the first five minutes of the second half after a pair of free throws by Amy Austin, but a three-pointer by Chism McEntire and back-to-back treys by Lauren Dubbert, the last at the 12:03 mark, drew the Lady Miners even at 46.

S&T then got its first lead since the early going 35 seconds later on a layin by Katie McElrath, then extended the scoring run to 14 when McEntire hit another three.

SIUE tied the score on a basket by Amber Shelton and a three by Whitney Sykes, but a putback by Dubbert at the 8:12 mark put S&T back in front.

Dubbert’s basket, which made it 53-51, started the Lady Miners’ decisive 12-2 run, which saw the lead end up at 63-53 after McElrath hit two free throws at the 2:29 mark.

McEntire led the Lady MIners with 17 points, while Dubbert had 13 points off the bench. Bunge had 12 points and 14 rebounds for her third straight double-double and Tamara McCaskill had 11 points in her return to her hometown.

The Lady Miners will play at Quincy Saturday in a 5:15 p.m. contest. Quincy (12-6, 7-3 GLVC) knocked off Missouri-St. Louis 92-78 Thursday night.

Posted by John Kean at 07:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Missouri S&T women's basketball team is ranked fourth in the Great Lakes region in the first regional rankings of the 2007-08 season that were released today by the NCAA.

The Lady Miners, who will take a 14-2 record into Thursday's game at Southern Illinois Edwardsville, are one of seven Great Lakes Valley Conference teams among the top 10 this week. Of the other six in the rankings, S&T has wins over three of them, has lost to one and have the other two teams on the upcoming schedule.

Drury, who is 15-2 overall, is atop the regional rankings this week. The Lady Panthers, who will play at S&T on Feb. 7 in the first of two meetings between the teams, are followed by Ferris State and Indianapolis, the team that has handed the Lady Miners their only GLVC loss of the year and only loss within the region..

Missouri S&T is followed by Bellarmine, Hillsdale, Wisconsin-Parkside, Michigan Tech, Quincy and Northern Kentucky. The Lady Miners already own wins over Bellarmine, UW-Parkside and NKU and will play at Quincy Saturday ngiht. S&T and the Lady Hawks will square off in Rolla on Feb. 14.

The Lady Miners did receive votes in this week's WBCA/Division II national poll, but not enough to reach the Top 25.

NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Rankings
(January 30, 2008)
1. Drury
2. Ferris State
3. Indianapolis
4. Missouri S&T
5. Bellarmine
6. Hillsdale
7. Wisconsin-Parkside
8. Michigan Tech
9. Quincy
10. Northern Kentucky

Posted by John Kean at 03:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Katie Bunge

For the second week in succession, a Lady Miner basketball player has earned the Great Lakes Valley Conference's "Player of the Week" award as Katie Bunge was named today as the recipient of the weekly honor.

Bunge, a senior forward from Mexico, Mo., posted double-doubles in both Missouri S&T wins last week to keep the Lady Miners atop the GLVC West Division. She posted 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in S&T's 76-65 victory over Bellarmine, then had a game-high 17 points and 12 boards to help lead the Lady Miners to a 66-42 victory Saturday over 14th-ranked Northern Kentucky.

Bunge also added a blocked shot in Thursday's win over Bellarmine, while adding to her stat line with an assist and three steals in the win over NKU. She was also a part of a strong defensive effort by the Lady Miners last week, as they held the two opponents to under 33 percent from the field, including a combined 27.1 percent mark in the second half of the contests.

Last week, S&T's Tamara McCaskill earned the conference's weekly honor after the Lady Miner victories at Wisconsin-Parkside and Lewis.

Missouri S&T returns to action Thursday at Southern Illinois Edwardsville.

Posted by John Kean at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Katie Bunge

As the university was evolving into its new identity as Missouri S&T, the campus did a "Hello" campaign to introduce the new name to the world.

On Saturday, the Missouri S&T women's basketball team had an announcement of its own -- that it plans to be a part of the Great Lakes Valley Conference and regional races for the duration.

Trailing 23-22 at the half, the Lady Miners made their statement in 20 minutes of playing time as they outscored No. 14-ranked Northern Kentucky 44-19 in the second half and blasted the Norse 66-42 at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

The victory, the ninth in succession for S&T, came as a result of its 66.7 percent shooting in the second half and a defensive effort that saw it hold the Norse to just 32.6 percent for the day and force 27 turnovers.

After a sluggish start to the game on both sides -- neither team made a field goal in the first 4:21 -- the Lady Miners captured their first lead at 7-5 on a fast break layup by Jaime Forsberg at the 12:50 mark. Northern took the lead back a few moments later on a three-pointer by Jessie Slack, but Chism McEntire answered with a three at the other end on S&T's next trip down the floor.

The Lady Miners built that lead to eight points, but the Norse came back and took the lead right before the intermission on a steal and lay-in by Danyelle Echoles.

But once the second half started, it was all Lady Miners.

Tamara McCaskill's layup just seconds into the half put S&T back in front 24-23 and the lead reached double figures after a basket by McEntire at the 15:11 mark made it 37-27. Katie Bunge's three-pointer nearly two minutes later pushed the advantage to 13 and the Norse never got closer than 10 after that.

Bunge posted a double-double for the second straight game with a game-high 17 points and 12 rebounds. S&T also got 11 points apiece from McCaskill and McEntire -- who hit three of the Lady Miners' seven treys in the contest. Katie McElrath added nine points, eight rebounds and a career-high eight assists in the the Lady Miners' first-ever win over the Norse in six tries.

Slack led the Norse with 11 points, but the Lady Miners held NKU's Angela Healy to six points and three rebounds after she entered the game averaging a double-double for the year.

S&T, 14-2 overall and 8-1 in the GLVC West Division, maintained its one-game lead over Drury with Saturday's win. It will return to action Thursday when it travels to Edwardsville, Ill., to take on Southern Illinois Edwardsville in a 5:30 p.m. contest. SIUE (13-4, 6-3 GLVC) beat Southern Indiana 73-70 Saturday in Evansville.

(Photo by Rod Lentz)