ST. LOUIS -- The No. 25 University of Missouri-St. Louis women's basketball team fended off Lewis 66-59 to advance to its first Great Lakes Valley Conference final in program history at the Mark Twain Building on Saturday afternoon. The Tritons, seeded first, improve to 24-4 while the Flyers, seeded fifth, finish the season at 18-13.

The win sets a new school record for victories in a single season with 24 and it's the first time UMSL has advanced to a conference final regardless of conference affiliation in school history.

Lexi Hanna set the tone in the first quarter with a three-pointer to get the Tritons going early. Morgan Ramthun and Mara Rieder kept UMSL within arm's reach of Lewis when the Flyers went on a run in the middle of the quarter.

Rider had the first three points of the second quarter before Jayden Kuper hit a clutch three to cut Lewis' lead to four with seven minutes to go in the quarter. Ramthun scored on the next possession before Reider had a defensive block to continue the UMSL energy.

With just over a minute to go, Kuper hit another three to tie the game at 30 before the Flyers answered with a layup. Rieder had the last basket of the quarter to send the Tritons into the locker room tied at 32.

The third quarter started with back-and-forth baskets before Hanna hit back-to-back three pointers to put UMSL up by one. Kuper's third clutch three point make just under the halfway point of the frame gave the Tritons a four-point lead and momentum. Jaeda Wilson hit a three pointer with eight seconds left in the stanza to send UMSL into the fourth quarter with a seven-point cushion.

It was a slow start to the fourth quarter with neither team finding the basket. Rieder scored a jumper with 2:26 left for her 1,000-career point and to put the Tritons up five. Ramthun scored on the next possession, forcing Lewis to foul for the final minute. Wilson made five free-throws to see out the game and keep the Tritons in front.

UMSL shot 44 percent (25-for-57) from the field in the contest including 6-of-13 from three and 91 percent at the foul line. It had 17 assists on 25 made baskets and grabbed 31 rebounds. Rieder led all scorers with 22 points while Kuper finished with 17 and Ramthun added 11 more.

The Flyers shot 48 percent (27-for-56) from the floor but were 2-of-10 from three and shot 75 percent at the foul line. Ally Cearini led Lewis with 21 points while Mallory Ramage finished with 14 points.

UMSL plays the winner of third seeded Drury and second seeded Maryville for the GLVC title at 1 p.m. on Sunday (March 8) afternoon on Chuck Smith Court inside the Mark Twain Building.