FAYETTE, Iowa - Missouri-St. Louis (19-3, 15-1 GLVC) outscored Upper Iowa (13-11, 9-7 GLVC) 50-14 in the paint on Thursday night to dictate the game and win, 72-60. The Tritons held the lead for 32:53, halting every Peacock attempt to retake the lead throughout the contest.
Kendyl Lodermeier led the Peacocks with 14 points, all in the second half. Ava Privet scored 12 points while Ellie Foster and Josie Foster each reached double digits with 10 points.
A Josie Foster 3-pointer in the first quarter gave the Peacocks a 10-6 lead, and a Privet 3-pointer kept that lead at four, 13-9. That ended up being UIU's biggest and last lead of the game with 1:40 left in the opening quarter. UMSL ended the period on a 5-0 run to retake the lead, 14-13.
Missouri-St. Louis started the second quarter on a 6-0 run, extending the overall run to 11-0 for a 20-13 lead. UMSL's Mara Rieder hit back-to-back buckets in the paint to cap off the run, scoring her first four points of the game. UIU hung around, cutting the lead to five points three separate times, but could never get within a possession and trailed 34-27 at halftime.
Lodermeier drove to the hoop for a layup, and Ellie Foster knocked down a 3-pointer to start the second half, cutting the lead to 34-32. After another Lodermeier layup to trail, 36-34, UMSL went on a 7-0 run with five points from Jayden Kuper for the nine-point advantage. The Tritons maintained that lead throughout the third quarter for a 55-44 lead entering the final frame of play.
After a Lodermeier free throw to start the fourth, UMSL's Anna Costa Riera knocked down a 3-pointer, and Morgan Ramthun got an offensive board and layup for a 5-0 spurt. The Peacocks battled and got the lead down to nine points with 2:17 to go on an Amelia Valentino 3-pointer, but Ramthun responded with two more jumpers to secure the win.
Lodermeier's 14 points came on a 6-of-11 (54.5%) shooting night, going 6-for-8 (75%) in the second half. She also had six points, a steal and a block. Privet grabbed two rebounds and shot a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
Ellie Foster recorded six rebounds, an assist and a steal. She and Josie Foster were both 4-of-9 (44.4%) from the field. Bryar Duwe and Valentino each had seven points. Duwe secured six boards while Valentino dished out two assists. Sydnee Nelson tallied a team-high six assists with five rebounds. Magi Bjornson had two rebounds and two assists.
Ramthun finished as the game's leading scorer, totaling 19 points with nine rebounds and five assists. She shot 9-of-12 (75%) after making her first four shots. The senior scored 14 of her 19 points in the second half.
Mara Rieder had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Kuper had 12 points and eight boards, Lexi Hanna had 11 points shooting 4-of-5 (80%) from the field and Jaeda Wilson had 10 points. Costa Riera totaled a team-high six assists with seven points.
It was a clean game, with both teams totaling seven turnovers. There were five steals, three by UMSL and two by UIU. The game featured 19 fouls, 10 by UIU and nine by UMSL.
The Tritons outscored Upper Iowa, 12-5, on second-chance points. Upper Iowa had a 14-10 scoring advantage off turnovers. UMSL outrebounded Upper Iowa, 40-31.
The Peacocks shot 22-of-62 (35.5%) from the field while the Tritons shot 30-of-62 (48.4%). UIU was 9-of-28 (32.1%) on 3-pointers, and UMSL was 5-of-17 (29.4%). Upper Iowa was 7-of-10 (70%) from the free-throw line with Missouri-St. Louis going 7-for-9 (77.8%).
UIU wraps up play in Dorman Gymnasium with Senior Day on Saturday against Maryville (Mo.) (18-6, 12-4 GLVC). The Saints fell in overtime to Lewis (Ill.) (15-8, 11-4 GLVC), 70-65, on Thursday night. Tipoff for Saturday's matchup is scheduled for 1 p.m., with Senior Day festivities taking place in between the women's and men's games.
