ST. LOUIS – The University of Missouri-St. Louis women's basketball takes on Ferris State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at 1:30 p.m. (CDT) this Friday at the Grand Valley State University Fieldhouse in Allendale, Mich. The game will be streamed live through the NCAA Championships Pass and is available free of charge.
Tickets for the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament can be purchased in advance online at GVSUTickets.com. Prices are $11 for general public tickets or $20 for courtside seats plus applicable fees. A single ticket for Friday will allow for admission to the first two quarterfinal-round afternoon games. GVSU is a cashless campus and only credit or debit cards will be accepted at the venue. All online tickets are mobile or can be printed from home.
The Tritons, seeded seventh, are making their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and third in the last 13 years. They're seeking their first NCAA Tournament win all-time. This is their first appearance in the Division II tournament since the 2021-22 season when they lost to Drury in the opening round at Ashland.
UMSL looks to bounce back after falling to Maryville 83-75 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship contest on Sunday afternoon.
Mara Rieder and
Jayden Kuper led the Tritons in scoring with 22.7 and 19.7 points per game respectively while
Jaeda Wilson added 10 points per outing in the final two games of the tournament. Rieder and Kuper were UMSL's representatives on the GLVC All-Tournament team.
Rieder averaged nearly a double-double for the tournament and added 12 blocked shots highlighted by a school and tournament record of nine against Upper Iowa last Thursday. Kuper scored a career-high 25 points against Maryville in the championship game.
Anna Costa Riera averaged nearly five assists per game.
Ferris State, seeded second, is making its ninth NCAA appearance in the program's history, fifth since the 2019-20 season and third straight. They made the field in 2020 before the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bulldogs made the field in 2021-22 and again in 2023-24 when they won their first-ever regional crown to advance to the Division II Elite Eight and the national semifinals. FSU advanced to the second round last season.
The Bulldogs, who are ranked No. 16 nationally this week are 26-6 overall this year and led by Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year Kadyn Blanchard. She's averaging 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.2 steals per game this season. Blanchard is the first player in 25 years to be named GLIAC Player of the Year and second in school history.
Joining Blanchard on the All-GLIAC team were guard Mia Riley and post Mya Hiram. Blanchard and Riley were also named to the GLIAC All-Defensive Team.
Ferris State fell to second ranked and top seeded Grand Valley State, 83-62 in the GLIAC title game on Sunday at Grand Valley. Blanchard and Hiram were the Bulldogs representatives on the GLIAC All-Tournament team.
The winner of Friday's game will take on the winner of the game between sixth seeded Malone and third seeded Northwood on Saturday (March 14) at 4 p.m. (CDT). The championship game will be held on Monday (March 16) at 6 p.m. (CDT).
