SETTING THE SCENE
Fresh off a victory in its first road test of the season, UMSL returns home to host Lincoln on Saturday at 1 p.m. It will be the Tritons' final non-conference game until mid-December as UMSL begins GLVC play next week.  

SIZING UP THE TRITONS
UMSL improved to 2-1 last Saturday with a 65-55 win at Kentucky State. The Tritons scored the final 10 points to help garner the win. Senior Shawnta Johnson recorded 15 points and nine rebounds, while freshman Alex LaPorta notched her second double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
• Four players are averaging double figures, led by Johnson's 14.0 points per game. Johnson, who has scored in double figures in all three games this season, averaged 6.7 points per game last season and only reached double figures six times. Johnson also averages 7.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.

• Junior Arielle Jackson follows with 12.0 points, 4.0 steals and 3.3 assists per game.
 
• Senior Sammie Sproul adds 11.7 points per game and has knocked down 9-of-16 (.563) three-pointers and ranks third in the GLVC in three-point shooting percentage.

• Freshman Alex LaPorta (11.0) rounds out the double-figure scorers and also averages a team-best 10.0 rebounds per game, which ranks second in the GLVC. She already has two double-doubles.

REBOUND THAT BASKETBALL
UMSL is averaging 44.0 rebounds per game, which ranks third in the GLVC. The Tritons are pulling down an average of 19.7 boards on the offensive end, which leads the league and ranks fifth nationally in NCAA DII. At least three players average seven or more rebounds per game, including LaPorta (10.0), Johnson (7.7) and senior Jordan Fletcher (7.0).  

CAREER NOTEWORTHY
Fletcher ranks second on the career charts with a field goal shooting percentage of .564 and is second in blocks with 103.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Lincoln entered a Tuesday night game at Stephens with a 2-2 record. One of its wins came in a 72-57 win over fellow GLVC member Missouri S&T. Senior guard Citlali Lopez averages 13.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game and has netted 12 three-pointers. As a team, the Blue Tigers have 31 long balls in four games and are shooting 34.8 percent from beyond the arc.

SERIES HISTORY
UMSL is 31-18 all-time against Lincoln and earned a 54-51 win in Jefferson City, Mo., last year. The Tritons used a 12-0 late fourth quarter run to pull ahead and then fended off the Blue Tigers who scored the final five points of the game and missed a game-tying shot at the buzzer. Then sophomore Laura Szorenyi led UMSL with 11 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

Head Coach Katie Vaughn is 2-1 against her old school. Vaughn came to UMSL from Lincoln where she spent three years. During the 2011-12 campaign, Vaughn directed Lincoln to its most successful season in school history with a 15-13 record – tying season records for most wins in a season and most MIAA conference wins.

UP NEXT
UMSL begins GLVC play next week on the road at Drury (Thursday) and Truman State (Saturday).