UMSL’s Kiara Stewart had 20 points and nine rebounds, Saturday afternoon, in the Tritons’ 65-51 win over Illinois-Springfield. (Photo: Nathan Assata)

Score by Period	1	2	3	4	Final
UMSL (9-1, 5-0)	10	16	19	20	65
UIS (7-5, 2-4)	17	13	9	12	51

by Cedric Williams
Senior Editor

The University of Missouri-St. Louis’ dynamic duo of Kiara Stewart and Mallory Ronshausen had another big day for the Tritons on Saturday.

Stewart scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Ronshausen added 13 points, including three three-pointers, to lead UMSL to a 65-51 come-from-behind victory over host Illinois-Springfield at UIS’ Recreation and Athletic Center in Springfield, Ill.

The Tritons also got 12 points from Faye Meissner and 11 points and 12 rebounds from Alex LaPorta, as they extended their winning streak to nine games and improved their overall record to 9-1.

UMSL overcame a slow start, as it only scored 10 points in the first quarter, while UIS hit five of its first six shots and led 17-10 at the end of the first stanza.

The Prairie Stars then extended their lead to as many as 11 points midway through the second quarter, before UMSL closed the half with a 9-2 run to pull to within 30-26.

The second half was all Tritons, as they outscored the Prairie Stars 39-21, which included a 10-0 run in the final three minutes of the third quarter that allowed UMSL to grab its first lead of the game.

In the fourth quarter, UIS cut its deficit to three points midway through the period, but UMSL went on an 11-3 run late in the quarter, sparked by three straight layups by Stewart to push its lead by to 11 points with just under two minutes left in the game.

Even with its hot shooting to begin the game, no UIS player managed to reach double figures in scoring, and as a team the Prairie Stars finished with a .360 shooting percentage for the game. UIS made just seven-of-28 shots and was 0-for-seven on three-point shots in the second half.

Conversely, UMSL made 11-of-23 shots and hit five-of-eight three-pointers in the second half. The Tritons also outrebounded the Prairie Stars 38-25.

The victory gave UMSL a 5-0 record in Great Lakes Valley Conference play and helped the Tritons maintain their first place hold on the GLVC Central Division, where they lead second-place Truman State, which is 6-1 in league play.

UIS is in second place in the GLVC East, where it has a 7-5 overall record and a 2-4 GLVC mark.

The Tritons will look to extend its winning streak on Monday, January 17. That’s when UMSL will take on Indianapolis in another GLVC contest at that school’s Nicoson Hall. Tipoff will be at 4:30 p.m.

UMSL’s next home game will come on Thursday, January 20, when the Tritons will host Truman State at the Mark Twain Building. That contest will tipoff at 5:30 p.m., and will be followed by a men’s game between the two schools as well.

UMSL 65

##	Player	GS	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	ORB-DRB	REB	PF	A	TO	BLK	STL	PTS
24	Kiara Stewart	*	32	9-15	0-0	2-4	5-4	9	3	1	3	1	2	20
10	Mallory Ronshausen	*	28	5-9	3-6	0-0	0-1	1	2	1	3	0	1	13
23	Faye Meissner	*	35	3-7	0-1	6-6	0-1	1	1	2	2	0	1	12
11	Alex LaPorta	*	38	3-9	1-2	4-6	2-10	12	2	5	3	0	3	11
20	Danielle Berry	*	25	1-5	0-2	0-0	2-0	2	5	2	4	0	1	2
04	Jalysa Stokes		24	1-2	1-1	3-4	2-4	6	2	1	2	0	1	6
22	Shania Liburd		18	0-3	0-1	1-2	1-4	5	3	1	3	2	0	1
TM	TEAM		0	0-0	0-0	0-0	2-0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0
	TOTALS	–	200	22-50	5-13	16-22	14-24	38	18	13	21	3	9	65

Ill. Springfield 51

##	Player	GS	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	ORB-DRB	REB	PF	A	TO	BLK	STL	PTS
10	Malea Jackson	*	33	3-9	0-2	3-4	0-0	0	1	0	2	0	0	9
22	Ellie Mitchell	*	29	3-7	1-2	2-4	0-1	1	4	2	2	0	1	9
01	Lauren Ladowski	*	37	3-12	0-2	1-2	1-4	5	3	2	6	0	2	7
21	Ally Gietzel	*	35	2-5	0-0	1-1	1-3	4	2	0	0	0	1	5
04	Olivia Travis	*	23	1-4	0-0	3-4	4-1	5	4	1	2	0	0	5
32	Liz Uhl		21	3-8	1-5	1-2	2-2	4	3	3	2	0	0	8
05	Olivia Stephens		16	2-3	0-0	2-2	1-4	5	3	0	0	0	0	6
11	Kourtland Tyus		6	1-2	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	1	0	0	2
TM	TEAM		0	0-0	0-0	0-0	1-0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0
	TOTALS	–	200	18-50	2-12	13-19	10-15	25	21	8	16	0	4	51

UMSL Tritons Women’s Basketball Upcoming Schedule

Mon., January 17 — at Indianapolis — 4:30 pm

Thu., January 20 — vs. Truman State — 5:30 pm

Sat., January 22 — vs. Quincy — 1 pm

Thu., January 27 — at Rockhurst — 5:30 pm

All UMSL home basketball games will be played at the Mark Twain Building.