KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Despite a 25-point effort from Jenny Wuest (Madison, Wis.), Southern Illinois University Edwardsville women's basketball dropped a 69-56 contest at Missouri-Kansas City Wednesday at Swinney Recreation Center. 

Both teams are now 1-1 for the season. 

"We played tentative in the first half," SIUE Coach Amanda Levens said. "We were tired as the game went on, but our team kept playing hard." 

Along with Wuest's (Madison, Wis.) 25 points and eight rebounds, senior Jessie Stapleton (Chillicothe) turned in her second double-double in as many games with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Melia Duncan (Folsom, Calif.) added 10 points. 

Chazny Morris led the Kangaroos with 15 points and four rebounds. Kalei Nance added 13 points. 

SIUE found itself down by 13 points at halftime, trailing 36-23. The Cougars shot 11-30 (36 percent) from the field in the first half. SIUE shot just two free throws in the first half, missing both. 

SIUE worked to turn it around in the second half. 

"We battled and fought hard in the second half," Levens said. "Our effort stayed up even though we struggled at times." 

UMKC used its bench to top the Cougars. The Cougar bench was outscored 24-2. 

Levens said SIUE's defense helped keep the Cougars in the game. "Jenny and Jessie were huge inside and really played well." 

The Cougars will be on the road again Saturday in Morehead, Ky. Game time is set for 4 p.m. against Morehead State, a future rival in the Ohio Valley Conference.