SETTING THE SCENE
• UMSL tips off its 44th season of intercollegiate play at home this weekend, hosting Davenport on Friday before welcoming Grand Valley State on Saturday.

UMSL IN SEASON OPENERS
• In the previous 43 season openers, the Tritons have posted a record of 29-14.
• The Tritons are 4-1 in season openers under sixth-year head coach Katie Vaughn.
• UMSL opened the season with a 42-31 win at Trevecca Nazarene last year.

UMSL IN HOME OPENERS
• The Tritons have won six straight home openers, including all five under Vaughn.

SIZING UP THE TRITONS
• UMSL went 1-1 in exhibition play last weekend against a pair of NCAA Division I teams, defeating SIUE 58-55 on Friday before falling to the Big Ten's Northwestern, 59-40, on Sunday.

• UMSL is coming off a 16-12 record, which included a 10-8 GLVC mark. The Tritons won six of their last seven regular season games, including back-to-back victories over then No. 20 ranked Southern Indiana and No. 17 Bellarmine to secure a GLVC Tournament First Round home game, where they defeated Saint Joseph's, 58-43.

• The Tritons were tabbed to finish second in the GLVC Central Division.

• Vaughn returns six players from last season, including Second Team All-GLVC performer Jordan Fletcher. The 6-3 forward/center enters her final season as the career leader in field goal percentage (.574) and is second in career blocks (101). In her junior campaign, Fletcher led the team with 14.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, while also recording 38 blocks and a 59.3 field goal shooting percentage. She also recorded five double-doubles, three of which came in the final four games she played in, and scored in double figures in 19 games, including nine games of 20 or more points.

• The 2017-18 roster also features five newcomers, including four freshmen.  

EXHIBITION GAMES NOTES AND FIGURES
• UMSL's win at SIUE marked the second time a Vaughn-coached team defeated an NCAA DI program in exhibition play as the 2013-14 team (Vaughn's first year) earned a 59-52 win at Saint Louis.
• Senior Jordan Fletcher averaged 14.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in the two contests, while freshman Alex LaPorta averaged 9.0 points and 9.0 rebounds, while shooting 54.5 percent from the field,
• The Tritons shot a combined 35.4 percent from the field, while holding their opponents to 34.9 percent shooting and were outrebounded 42.5 to 38.5.

SERIES HISTORIES
UMSL-Davenport
UMSL and Davenport have never met in women's basketball.

UMSL-Grand Valley State
UMSL is 2-0 against Grand Valley State. The two programs last met during the 2013-14 season when UMSL posted a 71-57 victory in Nashville, Tenn. The Tritons also claimed a 53-50 win in Allendale, Mich., during the 2007-08 season.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Davenport is in its first year as an NCAA Division II program and as a member of the GLIAC, having transitioned from the NAIA. The Panthers are coming off a 31-4 record and return two of its top four scorers, including senior Emily Severn. A Second Team All-WHAC pick, she averaged 11.2 points per game and went 75-of-203 (36.9 percent) from long rage.

Grand Valley State is coming off a 24-8 record a year ago, in which they earned their second consecutive trip to the NCAA DII Midwest Region Tournament. Picked to finish second in the GLIAC North Preseason Poll, the Lakers return eight players from a year ago, but they combined for just 16 starts, 15 of which came from Preseason All-Conference selection Taylor Parmley. The redshirt junior forward ranked second on the team in scoring last season with 9.7 points per game.

UP NEXT
UMSL is at Kentucky State next Saturday in Frankford, Ky.