The University of Missouri St. Louis women’s basketball squad has enjoyed a successful but somewhat disjointed season.
And COVID takes most of the blame.
In exhibition action to open the season, the Tritons played strong in road losses to NCAA Division I squads Illinois State (64-53) and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (74-66). Then, in the regular-season opener at 14th-ranked Grand Valley State, in Allendale, Mich., UMSL fell 61-54 on Nov. 12.
The Tritons have not lost a game since. They have had three games, including league contests with Maryville and Rockhurst, canceled because of COVID, but will enter Thursday night’s league contest against Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill., at 8-1 overall and 4-0 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. The Flyers are 3-9 overall and 1-3 in league play.
“We figured we were through all the COVID troubles last year, but it’s still there,” said UMSL coach Katie Vaughn, who’s in her 10th season with the Tritons. “It’s been tough at times, but fortunately with a veteran team, we’ve been able to battle through so far and hopefully that can continue.”
People are also reading…
UMSL is tied for eighth with conference rival Illinois-Springfield (7-3, 2-2) in the Midwest Region rankings released this week. GLVC power Drury (16-1) is at the top of the regional rankings.
UMSL and visiting Drury are scheduled to meet on Thursday, Feb. 3.
The Tritons are led by a pair of veterans in graduate student Alex LaPorta, of Highland, Ill., and fellow 6-footer Kiara Stewart, of Kingwood, Texas.
LaPorta, a returning All-GLVC first-team honoree, earned honorable mention All-America honors after the 2020-21 season and entered this season among the program’s career leaders in rebounding (second), steals (third), assists (sixth) and points (seventh). She averaged a team-leading 17.3 points and 8.2 rebounds last year and finds herself among the team leaders in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals this season.
LaPorta was a second-team all-GLVC selection following the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
Stewart earned second-team all-league honors last year and entered this season ranked seventh in program history in rebounds. She’s hitting on better than 62% of her shots this season and is averaging 13.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
“We’re an extremely balanced team and I credit a lot of that to the play of Alex and Kiara inside and around the basket,” Vaughn said. “They’re the key to the motion offense we run. A lot of what the two of them do for us is about their grit and their work ethic at both ends of the floor. They’re both gym rats whose effort carries over to the whole team.
“Kiara is a phenomenal defensive player who’s constantly moving to take away drives and to come up with steals. She and Alex have played together for four years and that’s a bond that shows up on the court and that’s played a major role in the success we’ve enjoyed as a team in that time.”
Another key starter for UMSL is senior point guard Danielle Berry, a Francis Howell High grad who played at Eastern Illinois before transferring back home. She’s started the Tritons’ last 58 games and is among the squad’s leaders in assists and steals. And she’s averaging nearly 7½ points per game.
“Danielle’s our general on the floor,” the coach said. “Her play has improved throughout her career and she has a great understanding of the game and how we like to play it.”
The other starters are senior guard Faye Meissner (Breese Central), who’s averaging 6.9 points per game, and freshman guard Mallory Ronshausen (Cor Jesu Academy), who’s averaging 11.4 points.
“Faye’s strength is her defense; when we need a stop, we know we can count on her to make things tough on whoever she’s guarding,” Vaughn said. “You never know about freshmen, but Mallory has been impressive from the get-go. She works hard, she plays through mistakes and she has a great basketball sense.”
Contributors off the Triton bench include freshman guard Jalysa Stokes, junior center Taylor Thompson, junior guard Shania Liburd from Moberly Community College, senior McKenzie Lathrom, senior Adriana Plavsic and freshman Tori Standefer (Civic Memorial). The coaching staff also includes Emily Samuelson.
“Our bench helps push our starters every day in practice; everybody’s battling for minutes,” Vaughn said.
The Tritons set a tone early this season by winning five straight games away from home. That streak included wins over GLVC foes Quincy, Truman State and Lindenwood.
“From top to bottom, the GLVC is very strong,” Vaughn stressed. “So getting off to a 4-0 start there is something we’re pretty excited about. But the key now is to build off that and do everything we can to keep this season moving in a positive direction.”
The Tritons are scheduled to play Saturday at Illinois Springfield and Monday at Indianapolis before returning home to take on visiting Truman State on Jan. 20.