ST. LOUIS – The University of Missouri-St. Louis women's basketball team heads to Owensboro, Ky., on Saturday for a matchup against Kentucky Wesleyan at 1 p.m. at the Owensboro Sportscenter.
The Tritons (6-3) bring a two-game winning streak into Saturday's matinee while the Panthers (7-1) are riding a seven-game winning streak.
UMSL bounced back with a pair of road wins last week defeating Quincy 62-44 and Illinois Springfield 78-60 to improve to 4-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference action.
Jalysa Stokes led the way for the Tritons with 19 points per contest and was joined in double figures by
Morgan Ramthun with 16 points and nine rebounds per outing while
Amaya Blake chipped in with 10 points per game.
UMSL shot 45 percent from the floor in its two games and outrebounded its opponents by five rebounds per game. It held its opposition to just 32 percent shooting from the field including 21 percent from three and 68 percent at the foul line.
About Kentucky Wesleyan – Since dropping its season opener to No. 20 Drury the Panthers have been one of the hottest teams in the Midwest Region. They're averaging over 85 points per game during their seven-game winning streak while holding opponents to just 54 points per outing.
They've scored at least 75 points in six of their seven wins highlighted by a 104-point performance against Simmons. During its current run, KWC is shooting 46 percent from the field including 38 percent from three and over 81 percent at the foul line. It is outrebounding its opposition by 0.3 rebounds per contest but has forced 191 turnovers including 95 steals.
Corina Conley and Jordyn Barga lead the Panthers in scoring and rebounding. Conley is averaging 14.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while Barga is contributing 11.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest. Emily Ralph and Shaylee McDonald are also averaging double figures in scoring with 11.5 and 11.3 points per outing respectively. Ralph leads the team with 24 assists while Conley and Shiya Hoosier have a team-high 18 steals apiece.
Series History – Saturday's contest marks the 35th meeting all-time between the former GLVC rivals with Kentucky Wesleyan holding an 18-16 lead in the series. The Tritons have won the last two meetings in the series defeating the Panthers 60-52 last season and 73-58 during the 2021-22 campaign with both contests coming at the Mark Twain Building. KWC won the last meeting in the series in Owensboro defeating UMSL 58-34 during the 2019-20 season.
Up Next – The Tritons host Purdue Northwest in their final game before the Christmas Break on Tuesday (Dec. 19) at 1 p.m. at the Mark Twain Building.
