ST. LOUIS – In a game of runs it was Lewis that had the final one as it scored the final seven points of the game to hand the University of Missouri-St. Louis women's basketball team a 56-50 loss on Saturday afternoon on Chuck Smith Court at the Mark Twain Building. The Tritons drop to 7-2, 3-1 GLVC while the Flyers improve to 7-1, 3-0 GLVC.

UMSL got off to slow start missing their first eight field goal attempts and were held to just two free throws as Lewis raced out to a 10-2 lead halfway through the opening quarter. Mara Rieder and Emerson Weller got the Triton offense going hitting back-to-back field goals to pull UMSL within 10-6.

The Flyers stretched the lead back to six on a layup from Kree Nunnally but a jumper by Rieder and two free throws from Morgan Ramthun brought the Tritons to within two by the end of the quarter.

The second quarter saw UMSL find its rhythm, scoring 20 points on 4-of-11 shooting including 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and shot 90 percent at the charity stripe in the frame. 
Katie Hamill got UMSL going early with a layup and then Kate Rolfes added a three-point basket to give the Tritons their first lead of the game at 16-15. The two sides swapped baskets and were tied at 21 with 4:41 left in the half.

Audrey Martinez-Stewart broke the tie with a three sparking a 9-0 run to give UMSL its largest lead of the half. Martinez-Stewart had five points in the run while Hamill and Alex Wolff had two free throws each.

Lewis ended the half with layups from Ally Cesarini and Taylor Gugliuzza to cut the Triton lead to five at the break.

UMSL scored the first four points of the third quarter to regain its nine-point lead but couldn't shake loose of the Flyers as they countered with nine straight points to tie the game at 34 on a layup from Gugliuzza.

The Tritons regained the lead thanks to a 7-3 run three points from Martinez-Stewart while Rieder and Weller added two points each.

Lewis closed the quarter scoring five of the final seven points to cut UMSL's lead to 43-42 heading into the final quarter of play.

The fourth quarter started out with a turnover on the Tritons, a sign of what was to come. 

UMSL had three turnovers before scoring a single point in the final quarter. The Tritons also went three minutes without a basket, finally getting on the board thanks to a layup by Wolff. 

The Flyers regained the lead at 47-45 on a three-point play from Yahaira Bueno but UMSL got a jumper from Wolff to tie it back up. Cierra McNamee gave Lewis the lead right back with a layup with less than three minutes remaining.

A three-pointer from Ramthun gave the Tritons their final lead of the night with 2:21 to play.

Gugliuzza hit a jumper on the next possession to give the Flyers the lead back. Ramthun had a chance to give UMSL the lead back but missed as Jenna Badali came down with the rebound. McNamee struck again scoring on a layup with 1:02 left to make it a three-point margin.

A turnover by the Tritons gave the ball back to Lewis and McNamee made them pay burying a three in front of Lewis' bench with the shot clock winding down to extend the lead to six.
UMSL had one last chance but Rolfes missed a three and the Flyers ran out the clock to seal the victory.

The Tritons struggled offensively shooting 32 percent (13-for-41) from the floor including 4-of-12 from three and shot 80 percent at the foul line. Wolff led UMSL in scoring with 10 points while Ramthun, Martinez-Stewart and Rieder added eight points each.

Lewis shot 39 percent (23-for-59) from the field but were 1-of-16 on three-point attempts and shot 75 percent at the foul line. McNamee led the Flyers with a game-high 17 points while Gugliuzza added 12 points. 

The Tritons return to the court on Sunday (Dec. 15) as they travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rico Classic. They'll take on Puerto-Rico Mayaguez at 3:30 p.m. (CST).