Game Notes

Date: December 4, 2021
Time: 1:00 PM
Location: Bolivar, Mo.

Bolivar, Mo. - Southwest Baptist returns to Bolivar after a quick road trip up north against the Rockhurst Hawks. The Bearcats will play host to the Missouri S&T Miners at the Meyer Sports Center.

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
In their first year as full-time members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, the SBU Women's Basketball team finished 15-13 (9-11 GLVC) on the year. The GLVC allows just 8 teams to make the conference tournament. Finishing 10th out of 16 teams in the GLVC, the Bearcats narrowly missed the conference tournament for the second straight year.

The 2020-21 season was a shortened, conference opponent only season due to COVID-19. In that shortened season, SBU finished with a 5-14 record. Their strongest portion of the season came in January, as the team won 4 contests, 3 of those in a row. Arguably their best win came on the road against Maryville, defeating the Saints 100-97 in double overtime. Returning for an extra year of eligibility is All-GLVC selection, Kyleigh Vaught. She started 18 games last year, leading the team with 564 minutes played, scoring 261 points which averages to 14.5 per game (20th in GLVC). From the free throw line, Vaught shot 66-75 (88.0%) which led the conference. Vaught also led the team in three's made (27), assists (41), and steals (26). Eight other Bearcats return from the 2020-21 roster, including Brylee Graddy, Rachel Tippens, Nyah Pettus, Mary Rose Foster, Gabriella Capasso, Natalie Basham, Bella Irlenborn, and Alyssa Williams.

The Bearcats enter Saturday's contest with a 3-4 (1-1 GLVC) record, falling most recently to Rockhurst Thursday evening. On Monday, SBU opened conference play with a dominating 65-35 win over William Jewell, holding the Cardinals to just 13 points in the first half. They have alternated wins and losses so far this year. Kyleigh Vaught continues to lead the team in scoring with 73 points (10.4 ppg) and assists with 19. Nyah Pettus had a career night against Rockhurst, scoring 25 points on 50% shooting. So far this year, Pettus has 63 points on 54% shooting from the field. She leads the team with 40 rebounds (5.7 rpg), 10 steals, and 5 blocks. Mary Rose Foster continues to impact the team down low, scoring 58 points, grabbing 38 boards, dishing 14 assists, making 5 steals, and 4 blocks. From beyond the arc, Emma Perry leads the team with 14 made three pointers.

SCOUTING THE MINERS
The Missouri S&T Miners come into Saturday's matchup with a 2-4 (1-1 GLVC) record. In their first regular season contest, the Miners stomped Blackburn 115-50. Following that contest, S&T dropped their next four, falling to three MIAA schools by 20+ points each. They were then forced to take on #3 ranked Drury in their first GLVC competition, losing to the Panthers 90-74 on the road. Most recently, the Miners took down William Jewell 74-62 in Liberty. Laura Rodriguez is the team's primary scorer, dropping 93 points (15.5 ppg) in 6 contests. She has also snagged 17 rebounds and dished 10 assists. Katelynne Roberts has been strong off the glass, grabbing 41 rebounds (6.8 rpg) and making 19 blocks. As a team, the Miners are shooting 41.3% from the field.

THE COACHES
SBU head coach Kelsey Keizer begins her eighth season on the SBU bench after compiling a 86-104 (49-88 conf.) record while at SBU. Coach Keizer led the Bearcats to back-to-back-to-back winning seasons (2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18) for the first time since the 2000-01, 2001-02, and 2002-03 seasons. Since joining the GLVC in 2019, Keizer has had three AllGLVC selections.

Kira Carter begins her second season as the head coach of the Miners, her first "normal" season with the team. Last year, Carter helped the team improve in a number of categories, finishing with a 4-17 record. Prior to S&T, Carter spent two seasons at Sam Houston State, leading the program to a 35-23 overall record and a 25-13 conference mark.

ALL-TIME SERIES
SBU leads the all-time series 34-26, splitting the 2020-21 season with the Miners. Missouri S&T took the first contest 79-68, but SBU bounced back and won the second meeting 92-86. In that game, Kyleigh Vaught, Rachel Tippens, and Mary Rose Foster each scored double digit points. SBU also won the turnover battle, 7-21.