ST. LOUIS – The University of Missouri-St. Louis women's basketball team tips-off its 2022-23 season against top ranked Grand Valley State this Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. at the Mark Twain Building. The Tritons will also host Davenport this Saturday at 1 p.m.
UMSL hung tough in its exhibition loss at Eastern Illinois on Monday evening.
Kiara Stewart led the Tritons with 16 points and six rebounds while
Jalysa Stokes added 12 points and
Olivia Mezan finished with nine points.
UMSL returns three All-GLVC performers from last year's team. Stewart was named First Team All-GLVC while
Mallory Ronshausen was the GLVC's Freshman of the Year and was on the GLVC All-Freshman team along with Stokes.
Stewart led the Tritons in scoring and rebounding last season with 13.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per contest. Ronshausen averaged 9.0 points per game and led the team with 55 three-pointers made. Stokes averaged 8.8 points per contest and connected on 47 percent of her attempts from the beyond the arc.
UMSL was picked to finish third in the GLVC Preseason Poll this season receiving 120 points and one first place vote.
Grand Valley State is coming off a season that saw it win 31 games and advance to the Division II Final Four. The Lakers are ranked first in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Top 25 Preseason Poll with 538 points and received nine first-place votes.
Grand Valley is also the favorite to win the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Association (GLIAC) championship this season. The Lakers are led by First Team All-GLIAC honorees Emily Spitzley and Ellie Droste. Spitzley led Grand Valley in scoring last season with 12.6 points per game while shooting 45 percent from the floor. Droste averaged 11.8 points per contest while shooting 46 percent from the field including 41 percent from three.
The Tritons lost to Grand Valley 61-54 in the season opener last season in Allendale, Mich.
Davenport was picked to finish ninth the GLIAC Preseason Poll and returns eight letterwinners off of last year's squad. The Panthers are led by first year head coach Shonda Sanders as she looks to turn around a program that has not had a winning season since joining the ranks of Division II and the GLIAC.
Davenport's top returning scorer from last season is senior Scout Nelson who averaged 8.7 points per outing and dished out 89 assists. Also returning is sophomore post player Lillee Gustafson who started 28 games as a freshman and averaged 6.0 points and was one of the best rebounders in the GLIAC averaging 7.9 rebounds per game.
UMSL defeated the Panthers 61-43 in Grand Rapids, Mich., a season ago.
