ROLLA, Mo. – Jalysa Stokes led the University of Missouri-St. Louis with 23 points while
Amaya Blake added 16 points and
Kiara Stewart had a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds in the Tritons 75-69 loss at Missouri S&T on Thursday evening at Gibson Arena in Rolla, Mo. UMSL drops to 9-13, 7-9 GLVC while the Miners improve to 13-11, 9-7 GLVC.
Both teams came out of the gates hot as the Tritons hit 10 of their first 14 shots to start the game but S&T was better knocking down 13 of its first 15 shots including 4-of-4 from downtown to take a 32-22 lead after the opening stanza.
The Miners extended their lead to 12 at the start of the second frame after two free throws from Alex Kerr. UMSL ran off nine straight points to cut the deficit to three after a layup by Stokes with 5:37 left in the half. The Tritons went cold the rest of the half as S&T scored the final four points to take a seven-point lead into the break.
UMSL's offensive struggles continued into the third quarter as the Miners opened the frame on a 15-2 run to build its largest lead of the night at 20 points. The Tritons chipped away scoring 13 of the final 19 points of the stanza to cut the deficit to 13 by the end of the quarter.
UMSL trailed by 15 early in the final frame before making a late run to close within 69-65 after a jumper by Blake with 0:38 seconds left. S&T sealed the game at the free throw line hitting six of their last eight attempts at the charity stripe.
The Tritons finished the contest shooting 44 percent (27-for-62) from the floor but were 3-of-17 from three and shot 93 percent at the foul line. They outrebounded the Miners 37-30 in the contest.
S&T shot 43 percent (23-for-54) from the field but was 5-of-14 from three and shot 92 percent at the foul line. Laura Rodriguez led four Miners in double figures with a game-high 30 points. Kerr added 20 points, Michaela Davis finished with 12 points and Kristen Keys had 11 points.
UMSL continues its three-game road trip on Saturday afternoon as it travels to Springfield, Mo., to take on second ranked Drury at 1 p.m. at the O'Reilly Family Events Center.
