ST. LOUIS -- The University of Missouri-St. Louis women's basketball team grinded out a 59-57 win over Central Missouri at the Mark Twain Building on Monday evening. The Tritons improve to 8-2 on the season while the Jennies fall to 6-4.
 
The win over UCM was UMSL's first since Feb. 22, 1975, when the then Riverwomen defeated the Jennies 83-69 in the AIAW Tournament. It also snapped Central Missouri's 30-game winning streak in the series.
 
Jayden Kuper got the Tritons going early with a three-point make off the opening tip with an assist from Lexi Hanna. A minute later Mara Rieder started a seven-point run for the Tritons with a jump shot in the paint.
 
The Jens countered with a nine-point run of their own, broken up by two Rieder free-throws. Rieder would break up another mini-run by UCM with a layup in the final three minutes of quarter.
 
Anna Costa Riera hit a three igniting a 10-0 run from the Tritons to start the second quarter. Kuper hit another three to extend UMSL's lead to three points with six minutes left in the quarter.
 
Rieder hit her jump shot with under a minute to go in the quarter to extend their lead to five points heading into the half.
 
It was a cold start in the third quarter for the Tritons but not for the Jennies as they opened on a 19-6 run to take their largest lead of the night at 44-36. UCM hit its first six shots of the stanza including four three's.
 
Morgan Ramthun scored a layup to stop the run but the Jennies answered on the next possession keeping the lead at eight.
 
UMSL closed the third quarter strongly with a 7-0 run highlighted by five points from Kuper and two more from Hanna to cut UCM's lead to 46-45 heading into the final frame.
 
Hanna hit a three on the Tritons' first possession of the fourth quarter but Neely Schaaf answered on the ensuing possession to give the Jennies the lead right back.
 
The Jennies still led 53-50 after a layup from Reese Schaaf halfway through the stanza but a Rieder jump made it a one-point game with 4:53 to play.
 
Taylor Weishaar hit 1-of-2 free throws to extend UCM's lead to 54-52 but Kuper answered on the other end with a three to give UMSL the lead for good. Her three sparked the game deciding 7-0 run as Rieder added a jumper and then Kuper hit two free throws with 1:47 left.
 
The Jennies got an old fashioned three-point play from Weishaar with 1:24 left to make it a two-point game.
 
UMSL had a chance to extend the lead but turned it over on a shot clock violation. The Tritons held on the other end as R. Schaaf missed a layup and Rieder got the rebound.

UMSL had another chance to extend the lead but Riera missed a jumper and Weishaar got the rebound with 9.5 second remaining. UCM didn't get a good look in the final possession as N. Schaaf took a contested jumper that was off the mark and the rebound went out of bounds as the clock expired to end the game.
 
The Tritons shot 38 percent (21-for-56) from the floor in the contest including 7-of-17 from three and shot 83 percent at the foul line. They were outrebounded 34-to-31 in the contest but forced 14 Jennie turnovers resulting in 10 points.
 
Rieder and Kuper led the way for UMSL with 20 points each in the victory.
 
The Jennies shot slightly better at 40 percent (21-for-53) but were held to 6-of-24 from three and shot 90 percent at the line. Weishaar and R. Schaaf had 15 points each for UCM.  
 
The Tritons resume conference play on Friday (Jan. 2) hosting Quincy at 5:30 p.m. at the Mark Twain Building.