ST. LOUIS — For the second time in three games this season, the Parkside women's basketball team has taken down a top-25 foe. The Rangers (2-1) defeated No. 25 Missouri-St. Louis (1-2) 74-66 on Saturday afternoon. It is the first time since the 2023-24 season the Rangers have taken down a top-25 team twice in the same year; that season, the Rangers took down two top-10 teams in the span of a month. It was also the Rangers' first ranked win on the road since Jan. 20, 2005, when Parkside defeated No. 17 Bellarmine 75-72 during the 2004-05 season.
Parkside turned a 61-59 lead into a 72-59 advantage with an 11-0 run, hitting four 3-pointers during that stretch and forcing four straight turnovers in the same late sequence. The Rangers also held advantages in takeaways and conversion off them, finishing with 12 steals to UMSL's four and a 23-12 edge in points off turnovers, while outscoring UMSL 42-22 in the paint.
Parkside stayed even early when
Katie Hamill answered Raya Shaw's opening free throws with a layup, but UMSL used second chances and perimeter shooting to move ahead 11-4.
Lexi Bugajski hit a 3-pointer, and after Shaw answered from deep for a 14-7 Tritons lead,
Alli Hampel's tip-in and
Lillie Petersen's layup brought Parkside back within 14-11. UMSL pushed the margin back to 20-13 before
Sara Abdul scored inside and Bugajski followed a steal with another 3-pointer to make it 20-18. Jaeda Wilson made two free throws and Mara Rieder added a jumper with 26 seconds left, sending the Tritons into the second quarter ahead 24-18.
Bugajski hit a 3-pointer and
Lillie Petersen added a layup as Parkside cut UMSL's lead to 24-23 early in the second quarter, but the Tritons answered with two free throws to move back ahead 26-23.
Izabel Durst made a free throw and Hampel scored inside to tie the game at 26-26, and after UMSL went back in front, Bugajski made two free throws to even it again at 28-28. Parkside then held the Tritons without a point until the final minute, with Durst converting a layup and free throw,
Cassidy Arni adding a layup and the Rangers forcing multiple turnovers during the stretch. UMSL ended the drought with a 3-pointer at :44, but Hampel scored in the paint at :12 and Parkside finished the quarter ahead 35-31.
After the break, Arni scored inside at 9:45, and
Lillie Petersen added a Hamill-assisted layup at 8:33 to give Parkside a 39-31 lead. UMSL cut into it with a Jayden Kuper 3-pointer, a Raya Shaw 3-pointer and Kuper's jumper, tying the game at 39 at 6:14. Hampel and Durst answered with layups to move Parkside back ahead, and Petersen's layup off an assist from Durst made it 45-41 after Emerson Weller had scored for the Tritons. Mara Rieder brought UMSL within 45-43, but Arni added a steal and a layup at :59 before Rieder's jumper at :41 left Parkside ahead 47-45 entering the fourth quarter.
Parkside built on its advantage early in the fourth quarter, with Arni scoring off an offensive rebound, Hamill adding a fast-break layup and Bugajski hitting a 3-pointer off Hamill's assist to make it 54-45 at 7:53. UMSL worked back within 58-55 on a layup at 5:16, but Durst answered with a 3-pointer at 4:45 before the Tritons pulled back to 61-59 with 3:59 to play. Arni's layup at 3:41 started an 11-0 Parkside run, and UMSL committed four turnovers during the stretch as Bugajski made 3-pointers at 2:51 and 2:07 and Hamill added another at 1:35 for a 72-59 lead. The Tritons scored three times in the final 1:17, but Arni's layup with 43 seconds left kept Parkside in front as it closed out a 74-66 win.
Bugajski scored 22 points, made six 3-pointers and added six rebounds. Her 22 points are a new career high and the first time in her collegiate career she has scored 20 or more points. Her six 3-pointers are also a new career high, and she is the first Ranger to hit six or more 3-pointers in a game since last season on Jan. 10, 2026, when
Jaelyn Derlein hit six against Saginaw Valley State. Arni finished with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting, six steals, five rebounds and three assists. Her six steals are a new career high. Hamill added nine points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Up next, Parkside women's basketball returns home to host the University of Illinois-Springfield Prairie Stars on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 2 p.m. CT inside De Simone Arena.
To keep up with the Rangers, be sure to visit
parksiderangers.com/coverage.
