ALLENDALE, Mich. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis women's basketball team rallied from an eight-point deficit to upset seconded seeded and No. 16 Ferris State 70-59 in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regional at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena in Allendale, Mich. The Tritons improve to 25-5 while the Bulldogs end their season at 26-7.
 
The win is the first NCAA Tournament victory in program history and sets a new school record for most wins in a season with 25.
 
UMSL had early success in the paint, scoring six points from layups in the first three minutes with Morgan Ramthun finding space early. A Lexi Hanna three set the Tritons on a mini-five points run that carried them to the three-minute mark of the quarter.
 
A three-point make by Jayden Kuper, a defensive rebound by Hanna and a layup by Mara Rieder on the other end sent the Tritons into the second quarter up seven on FSU.
 
Another Kuper three started UMSL's second quarter before the Bulldogs went on a 14-0 run to give themselves a three-point lead. Kuper broke the run with another three-pointer to tie the game at 23 with five minutes to go.
 
An eight-point run following Kuper's three sent the Tritons into the locker room up eight at halftime.
 
It was a nightmare third quarter for UMSL. Ferris St. started the quarter with an eight-point run to tie the score before trading three-point makes with the Tritons. Another eight-point run in the middle off the quarter put the Bulldogs up five.
 
A three-point make by Hanna cut the lead to two but Ferris St. scored the last six points of the quarter to take an eight-point advantage into the final 10 minutes.
 
UMSL engineered a 12-point comeback in the fourth quarter. Hanna made back-to-back three pointers at the seven-minute mark. Kuper added a three before Ramthun and Rieder went to work, scoring two free-throws and a layup respectively.
 
With three minutes to go the Tritons took the lead thanks to a three-point play by Rieder, who scored a layup before converting her free-throw. Kuper hit back-to-back threes on the next two possessions before Hanna added one of her own.
 
The Bulldogs were forced to foul as the clock wound down with Kuper, Hanna, and Anna Costa Riera each making their respective attempts to finish the game 70-59.
 
UMSL shot 41 percent (24-for-59) from the floor including a season-high 12's three's and shot 91 percent at the foul line. Kuper matched her career-high with 25 points while Hanna added 17 points. Rieder had a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds while Ramthun added 10 points. Riera pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds to go along with six assists.
 
Ferris State was held to 30 percent (22-for-73) shooting from the floor in the contest including 7-of-30 from three and shot 73 percent at the foul line. Mia Riley led the Bulldogs with 16 points while Mya Hiram and Kadyn Blanchard added 13 and 12 points respectively.
 
The Tritons will play third seeded Northwood in the Midwest Regional semifinal on Saturday at 4 p.m. (CDT) at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena in Allendale, Mich.