Early Impressions

(St. Louis, MO) – It’s early, but I like the look of the Missouri-St. Louis women’s basketball team. During the UMSL-Classic the Lady Tritons defeated two undefeated teams and it wasn’t even close.

UMSL knocked off Lincoln (72-57) and Minnesota State (83-68) and moved their record to 3-1.

Veterans Tierra Snow (East St. Louis), Alexis Lawrence and Kelly McGovern led the way, but several newcomers made big impressions during the first two home games. Snow and McGovern recorded double-doubles in the Lincoln win and Lawrence scored 39 points in the two games. The senior from Bowling Green made 7 shots from beyond the arc and McGovern picked up 14 assists.

Junior Kelly Kunkel struggled with foul trouble throughout the weekend fouling out against Minnesota State and sitting often against Lincoln, but managed 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds against the Blue Tigers.

Several newcomers made an impression. Junior transfer Amber Daly recorded a solid six point, five rebound and four assist performance against Lincoln and added 13 points and seven more rebounds against the Mavericks. Redshirt freshman Jordan Fletcher recorded her first collegiate double figure scoring game with 10 points against MSU. The 6’3 center is the tallest player on the Tritons’ roster will be an important part of their Great Lakes Valley Conference goals.

Head Coach Katie Vaughn tells me as Fletcher feels more comfortable with the college game she can do some special things. Vaughn who guided UMSL to the NCAA tournament last season is confident her young team can grow and be competitive in the GLVC.

G-MAC pre-season favorites Travecca University visits UMSL on November 29. The Trojans are two-time defending league champions.

Do Good