SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- The University of Missouri-St. Louis women's basketball team defeated a stubborn University of Illinois-Springfield team 87-67 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference opener for both teams at The Recreation and Athletic Center (TRAC) on Saturday afternoon in Springfield, Ill. With the win, the Tritons improve to 5-1, 1-0 GLVC while the Prairie Stars drop to 0-5, 0-1 GLVC.
 
UMSL recorded season-highs in points with 87, field goals made (37), assists (23) and shot a season-high 61 percent from the field. The Tritons are off to their best start since the 2021-22 team began the season 10-1.
 
UMSL jumped out to an early four-point lead thanks to a jumper from Alex Wolff and two free throws from Morgan Ramthun and wouldn't trail in the contest as it led by as many as eight in the stanza after a layup from Ramthun with 0:27 left in the quarter.
 
UIS opened the second frame with an 8-0 run to even the score at 27 after a jumper by Emari Dorby less than three minutes into the stanza. The Tritons quickly regained the lead on a jumper from Ramthun and a layup by Emerson Weller.
 
The Prairie Stars pulled back to within two after a layup from Saharra Murphy but that was as close as it would get as UMSL scored the next six points with four from Wolff and two from Ramthun to regain its eight-point lead.
 
The Tritons outscored UIS 10-9 over the final three-plus minutes of the half to take a 43-34 lead into the locker room at the half.
 
UMSL extended its lead to double digits midway through the third quarter on a layup from Wolff and wouldn't see its lead dip below double digits for the remainder of the contest. The Tritons outscored the Prairie Stars 8-2 over the remainder of the quarter to take a 61-47 lead into the final stanza.
 
UMSL was red-hot from the floor in the final frame knocking down 10-of-16 shots (63 percent) including hitting three treys in five attempts and would take its largest lead of the game at 87-67 with 0:34 left on a layup by Wolff.
 
The Tritons had two players top 20 points in the contest led by Wolff with 24 while Kate Rolfes added 20 points. The 24 points for Wolff matched her career high. Ramthun added 19 points and Weller finished with 14.
 
UMSL finished the game shooting 37-for-61 (61 percent) from the floor including 4-of-10 from three and shot 90 percent at the foul line. It outscored UIS 48-to-24 in the paint and 15-to-9 in points off turnovers.
 
The Tritons start a three-game homestand on Monday (Dec. 2) hosting crosstown rival Maryville at 5:30 p.m. at the Mark Twain Building.