ST.LOUIS – The Parkside Women's Basketball team returned to action on Saturday afternoon, closing out their season-opening road trip. Behind 22 points from
Peighton Nelson and a big fourth-quarter run, the Rangers improved to 2-0 defeating the University of Missouri – St.Louis (UMSL) 71-62.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Rangers start 2-0 for the first time since the 2021-22 season. It's the first time Parkside has won their first two road contest of the season since 2019.
- Peighton Nelson led the Ragners with 22 points on 10-17 shooting.
- Sheridan Flauger and Cassidy Arni scored in double figures, scoring 13 and 12 respectively.
- Kendal Zeiter scored nine points and pulled down seven boards in her season debut.
- Parkside had won their last three contests against UMSL, dating back to December 31, 2022.
HEAR FROM COACH CONELY
"Not the prettiest today but we got it done. UMSL is well coached - they are physical and rebound very well. I thought we needed to do a better job on the defensive glass. They were getting two and three shots in some possessions that started a run for them in the second half. Our first possession defense was solid, but we need to be more consistent in having all five Rangers box and pursue. Offensively, we made big plays down the stretch when we really needed them. Peighton did a fantastic job attacking and Kendal and Sheridan both had big threes in the fourth quarter. I'm proud of our resilience and am looking forward to being in De Simone next week to play number on Mankato."
HOW IT HAPPENED
The two sides started off slow offensively in the first quarter. Parkside shot just 6-21 over the first ten minutes but was able to ride nine points from Nelson to a 13-13 tie. The Rangers shot just 1-10 from deep in the first but kept UMSL to just 5-15 shooting.
Arni gave the Rangers to lead on the Rangers first possession of the second off of an offensive rebound. That three sparked a 7-0 run for the Rangers, building their lead to 20-13 early in the second quarter. Parkside pulled down five offensive rebounds in the second quarter which resulted in six points, including the final points of the quarter, a putback from
Jaelyn Derlein which gave Parkside a 32-22 lead at the half.
Nelson led all scorers with 11 points in the first half. Parkside had seven different players score in the half. The Rangers shot 37.1 percent in the first half despite shooting just 3-13 from deep. The Parkside defense was up to the challenge over the first 20 minutes, holding UMSL to just 9-33 shooting.
The Rangers extended their lead to 12 on the opening possession of the third quarter, but UMSL slowly chipped away to pull within 50-46 after three-quarters of play. Both teams shot over 50 percent from the floor in the third quarter.
UMSL continued their run into the fourth, pulling even with the Rangers with 8:46 to go. The Tritons didn't stop there, building a 55-50 lead with 7:05 to go in the fourth. The Rangers were able to answer in a big way, closing out the game on a 21-7 run over the final 6:06. The dagger three came off the fingertips of Flauger with 1:19 to go in the fourth which expanded the Ranger lead to eight. The Rangers then converted free throws down the stretch to secure the 71-62 win. Nelson scored nine of her 22 points in the fourth, going 4-6 from the floor.
UP NEXT
The Rangers will return to Kenosha for their home opener on Saturday, November 16th against defending NCAA Division II National Champion Minnesota State University, Mankato. Saturday will also be women in sports day. Opening tipoff is set for 1:00pm from De Simone Arena. Links to coverage can be found at ParksideRangers.com/coverage.
