Festivities will start during the afternoon with a pre-game meal with the 2008-09 Lady Miner squad and will be open to all alumni and their families.   The alumni team will then face the current team at 7:30 p.m.

As a part of the night, there will be some shooting games prior to or after the game pitting former players against one another.

After the game, there will be a post-game gathering at a local restaurant; more details will be announced later this month.

All former players are invited to attend, even if they are unable to participate in the game.

For more information, please contact head coach Alan Eads (eadsa@mst.edu) at 573-341-4105 or assistant coach Keri Hessel (knhgx2@mst.edu) at 573-341-4179.

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.

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)

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.

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)

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)

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

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)

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.

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

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)

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.

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)

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.

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.