ST. LOUIS – The University of Missouri-St. Louis women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought contest to Davenport 62-55 on Saturday afternoon at the Mark Twain Building. The Tritons drop to 0-2 while the Panthers improve to 1-1.

The two sides swapped baskets for the five-plus minutes of the contest and were tied at eight when Morgan Ramthun put UMSL in front 11-8 with a three-pointer from the left wing. However, Davenport closed the quarter on a 12-2 run to take 20-13 lead into the second quarter.

The Tritons opened the second stanza on a 5-2 run to trim the lead to four on a three-pointer from Mallory Ronshausen but were unable to get any closer as the Panthers again closed the quarter strong to take 30-24 lead into halftime.

UMSL came out firing in the third quarter scoring 19 of the first 21 points to take its largest lead of the contest at 43-32 after another three from Ronshausen. Davenport countered with six in a row to climb back within five but another three from Ramthun gave the Tritons a 46-38 with less than a minute to play in the frame. The Panthers answered on the other end as Ellie Toney scored on a layup to cut UMSL's lead to six at the end of the quarter.

Davenport opened the final quarter with the first nine points to retake the lead after an old fashioned three-point play from Makenna Bryant. The Tritons still trailed by three midway through the frame when Amaya Blake hit a jumper in transition and then about two minutes later Jalysa Stokes converted an old fashioned three-point play to put UMSL in front 53-51 with 4:07 to play.

The Panthers tied the game on their next possession as Scout Nelson scored on a layup after a miss by Mary Liedel. The Tritons had a chance to retake the lead but Blake missed a jumper and then on the other end with the shot clock winding down Toney hit a three-pointer to put Davenport in front 56-53 with 2:01 remaining.

Ramthun had a chance to tie the game on the ensuing possession but her three rimmed out and the Panthers got the rebound. UMSL got a stop after Alexa Kolnitys missed a jumper and Shae Dillavou grabbed the rebound. Stokes brought the Tritons within one hitting a jumper in the paint but Kolnitys hit a three-pointer in the final 0:30 to put Davenport up four.

UMSL had another chance to draw closer but Blake, trying to run down a loose ball, was called for stepping out of bounds and the Tritons were forced to foul to try and extend the game. Lillee Gustafson hit both free throws to seal the win.

UMSL shot 38 percent (21-for-55) from the floor in the contest, was 7-of-19 from three and shot 86 percent at the foul line. It outrebounded the Panthers 37-to-26 but turned the ball over 23 times. Stokes led the Tritons with 15 points while Ronshausen and Ramthun chipped in with 11 and 10 points respectively.

Davenport shot 41 percent (21-for-51) from the field for the game including 5-of-13 from three and shot 75 percent at the foul line. It turned UMSL's 23 turnovers into 31 points and outscored the Tritons by 17 in points off turnovers. Toney led all scorers with 17 points while Gustafson added 16.

UMSL is back in action next Saturday as it travels to Nashville, Tenn., to take on Trevecca Nazarene at 1 p.m.