St. Louis, MO – The Kentucky Wesleyan women's basketball team (2-1) fell to GLVC opponent University of Missouri-St. Louis (3-1) on Friday evening 72-58. Transfer forward Riley Neal led the Panthers with ten points off the bench.
 
Wesleyan struggled early in their first road game, as multiple turnovers led to an 9-0 UMSL lead less than four minutes in. Although it didn't take long for the Panthers to make themselves at home, producing a huge 18-4 run. Myah Montgomery was the spark, getting Kentucky Wesleyan on the board by knocking down a three-pointer. Ilani Williams-Harris finished off the run with five points in the last 90 seconds of the quarter to put them up 18-13.
 
Freshman Emma Bruwer opened the quarter with a layup to extend the Panther lead to seven. The Tritons came storming back, orchestrating yet another 9-0 run. With 5:38 remaining in the half, Shiya Hoosier drilled a three-pointer to regain the lead, 23-22. Missouri-St. Louis continued to thrive throughout the rest of the second quarter, but a tough and-one converted by Sydnee Richetto cut the Triton lead to 33-29 entering halftime.
 
Richetto began right where she left off, hitting a mid-range jumper less than a minute into the second half to make it a two-point contest. UMSL had the hot hand again, going on 16-3 run on 75% shooting (6-8 FG, 4-4 3PT). Neal nailed a three to stop the bleeding at the four-minute mark. The Tritons' size continued to give Wesleyan trouble, as six more points in the paint resulted in a 58-42 Missouri-St. Louis advantage at the end of the third quarter.
 
The two squads played evenly throughout the final quarter, but the Panthers were never able to put a run together. The Tritons dominated the paint, outrebounding the Panthers by nearly 20 boards and outscoring them in the paint 40-16.
 
Neal and Bruwer each notched ten points. Williams-Harris had a very efficient outing, tallying nine points on 75% shooting and a team-leading five rebounds and three assists. Richetto finished with nine points and three steals.

The Panthers take a Thanksgiving break and will be back in action at the Owensboro Sportscenter on Tuesday, December 3^rd at 12 p.m. to begin conference play against Lake Erie.
 
Stay up to date on all your Panther news by following @KWCPanthers on X and Instagram and by liking the "Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics" Facebook page. Also, the Panthers Mobile App is available on iTunes and Android featuring real-time news alerts, schedules, exclusive multimedia content, gameday details and more.