ST. CHARLES, MO. – Claire Rake drained six 3-pointers to key the Maryville women's basketball team to a 62-59 win over Missouri-St. Louis in the quarterfinals of 2025 Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. She hit a 3-pointer with four minutes left to give the fifth-seeded Saints a 60-57 lead as they held on to take down the fourth-seeded Tritons. Gracie Stugart came close again to a triple-double as the contributed 13 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Annika Pluemer finished with 13 points and five rebounds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons jumped out to a 24-14 lead after the first quarter before the Saints responded in the second. Alicia Burgos scored in the lane before Pluemer added two free throws. A 3-pointer by Adylan Ayer pulled the Saints to within 24-21. The Saints finally tied the game on a triple by Rake to make it 26-all. Maryville grabbed its first lead of the game on a triple by Rake for a 34-33 lead. At the end of the half, Rake and Stugart both sank 3-pointers as the Saints took a 41-37 lead at the break.
 
The Tritons used a big third quarter and led by as many as six points on two occasions after intermission. UMSL was up 54-48 until Stugart hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds to pull the Saints back to within 54-41 heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
Midway in the fourth, Pluemer tied the game with a pair of free throws, and a layup pushed the Saints ahead 57-55. The Tritons tied it before Rake broke the tie with her crucial 3-pointer at the 3:53 mark. The Tritons scored on a layup to make it 60-59 but that would be the last point UMSL scored. Burgos sank a jumper with 1:10 left to play before the Saints kept the Tritons scoreless. The Maryville defense forced five misses and a turnover. UMSL had a final 3-point shot at the buzzer but Faith Hawthorne blocked the attempt as the Saints held on to advance to the semifinals.
 
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Points: Claire Rake - 18
Rebounds: Gracie Stugart - 9
Assists: Gracie Stugart - 9
3-Pointers: Claire Rake - 6
Steals: Alicia Burgos and Gracie Stugart - 2
Blocked Shots: three players - 1
 
RECORDS:
Maryville: 15-14
Missouri-St. Louis: 19-9
 
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Saints take on No. 1 seed Lewis in the 2025 GLVC Tournament semifinals in Hyland Arena on the campus of Lindenwood University. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 8. Read Full Article