ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The Hawks traveled down to St. Charles for round one of the GLVC Conference Tournament on Friday night (Mar. 7), as they took on the Miners of Missouri S&T. A back-and-forth thriller between the two teams saw a fourth-quarter push from the Hawks, squeaking by the Miners 74-69.

It was a slow start for both teams offensively, as the Hawks found themselves with a 6-5 lead after five minutes of action, but both teams were shooting 2-8 from the field. After trading buckets back and forth, the Hawks took a three-point lead going into the second quarter after a layup from Taylor Haase to end the quarter.

Heading into the second quarter, the defensive battle continued between the two squads. A three-pointer from Janiece Dawson at the three-minute mark followed by a pull-up jumper from Karsyn Stratton gave the Hawks a 25-22 lead with two and a half minutes left in the second.

The Miners took the lead from the Hawks heading into the halftime break after a 7-2 run after they converted on three free throws and a pair of layups. This was only the eighth time this season the Hawks were down on the scoreboard at the half. 

Quincy began the third quarter converting on three of their first four shots, but as they did all game, Missouri S&T quickly responded with a layup and a deep three from the parking lot to take a 36-34 lead at the seven-minute mark.

It was the beginning of a big run for the Miners, as they found themselves with the largest lead for either side at seven points after their third three-pointer of the quarter with 3 minutes left. The S&T lead would stay at six points for the remaining three minutes, but a pull-up jumper from Stratton to beat the buzzer cut the Miners lead down to 53-49 heading into the final ten minutes.

Stratton continued where she left off, opening the Hawks offense with another midrange jumper, and Nicole McDermott quickly followed with an and-one layup of her own to put the Hawks back on top 56-55 after the first minute.

Both teams continued to trade buckets, with neither team having a lead larger than four, as the two teams found themselves tied at 65 with 2:43 left to go. The score stayed at 65 a piece until Mikayla Huffine slipped down the lane for a layup, plus the foul. Huffine converted the three-point play to give the Hawks a 68-65 lead with a little over a minute to go.

The Miners refused to go away, as S&T quickly responded going down low to the GLVC defensive player of the year Katelynn Roberts for a quick two. Sixteen seconds later, Stratton continued to stay hot on the offensive end with a jumper from the short corner.

With 39 seconds left and trailing by three, the Miners ran a few sets trying to get an open three but ended up going down low to Roberts once again to make it a one-point game with 13 seconds left. Quincy inbounded the basketball quickly to one of the best free throw shooters in McDermott, and she knocked down both to push the lead back to three.

The Miners ran a set play for their all-conference guard Anna Finley, who already hit three threes in the game, but the deep game-tying shot was left short and hauled in by Quincy. A quick timeout from Coach Courtney Boyd advanced the ball into the front court, and Huffine received the inbound and went to the line, icing the game with a pair of free throws.

S&T had three seconds left, but a steal off the inbound from Acheampomaa Danso sealed the deal for the first GLVC tournament victory since the 2015-16 season, securing a spot in the semifinals to face off against Drury University.

The Hawks were led in the scoring column by Stratton, who led all scorers with 19 points, going 7-14 from the field and 2-6 from deep. McDermott and Williams also found themselves in double figures, with Williams also hauling in ten rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season. 

As a team, the Hawks struggled from the field, shooting 38% overall and 25% from beyond the arc, but the offense showed up in crunch time. The Hawks shot 44% in the fourth quarter and a perfect 8-8 at the free-throw line. Quincy was able to win the turnover battle, forcing 16 turnovers from the Miners while only giving it away nine times.

The Hawks will rest up and have a quick turnaround for the semifinals, as they will be taking on the Panthers of Drury University on Saturday (Mar. 8) with tipoff scheduled for 8:15 PM. The two teams faced off against one another twice this season, splitting the two matchups. The Hawks fell to Drury on the road 91-82 in Springfield and then won a double overtime thriller in Pepsi Arena as a part of the Hawks' 15-game winning streak this season.