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The Student News Site of Saint Louis University

The University News

The Student News Site of Saint Louis University

The University News

Billikens Are Off To Best Start Since 1980-81

The Saint Louis University women’s basketball team has shown that they can hit their shots and put points on the board. In their first four games, the Billikens have shot 50% from the field and averaged over 80 points per game.

In Wednesday night’s game against the Southern Illinois University Carbondale Salukis at Carbondale, the Bills proved they can grit out a win as well.

The Billikens pulled out a hard-fought victory over the Salukis, 52-44. Both teams tried to upset the rhythm and flow of the game, turning it into a low-scoring, defensive affair.

The first half was close throughout. Both teams got off to slow starts. Mandy Lueking scored the first seven points, as the Bills opened up a 7-4 lead with 17 minutes left in the first half.

SIUC bounced back and built its lead to 15-9 midway through the first half, but the Bills continued to chip away at the lead. SLU used a 1-2-1-1 zone press to help them cut into the lead.

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Christan Shelton contributed four points off Saluki turnovers. April McKinney cut the lead to two points with a follow-up basket with five minutes left in the half. A three-pointer from Kara Wile tied the game at 19-19. The teams went into the half tied, 21-21.

The Bills went on an 8-0 run with 12 minutes left in the game. The run was spurred by Lueking and a strong team defense that shut down SIUC. The Bills led 39-31 with about 10 minutes left in the game.

The Salukis tried to cut into the Bills’ lead, but was never successful. The Bills made seven of 10 free throws in the final minute to preserve the victory.

The Bills were led by Lueking’s 16 points and McKinney’s 11 points in the post.

The Billikens improved their record to 5-0, their best start since the 1980-81 season.

Coach Jill Pizzotti in a postgame interview on 920 WGNU said, “It wasn’t very pretty, but we’re happy with the win. It was a tough game. Carbondale really gets after you defensively and make passes difficult. It was a hard-fought defensive game.”

The Bills won the Coca-Cola Billikens Classic last weekend. The Bills defeated Murray State in the first game, 75-51, and Western Illinois 68-51 in the championship.

The Bills pulled away from Murray State with just under four minutes left in the first half. Lueking completed a three-point play to push the Bills’ lead to 25-16. The Bills never trailed after that basket.

The Bills’ led swelled to 16 points with 12 minutes left in the game. Wile nailed a three-pointer to push the lead to 48-32. The Bills won 75-51.

The Bills were paced by Lueking with 13 points, Bridget Beckmann with 12 points and seven rebounds and Wile with five points and 17 assists. Wile’s 17 assists set a school and a Conference USA record.

The Bills struck first against Western Illinois and never looked back. The Billikens led reached 13 in the first half after a layup by Harmonie King made the score 31-18.

The Bills continued their strong play and led by as many as 19 points in the second half before winning 68-51.

The Bills were led by Beckmann with 19 points and 10 rebounds, Lueking with 18 points, King with 11 points and Wile with 11 assists.

Lueking and Wile were named to the All-Tournament team and Beckmann was named Tournament MVP.

Pizzotti was happy with the Bills’ play throughout the tournament.

“We played extremely hard. Western Illinois plays extremely hard. We knew we had to match their intensity and make them work to score.”

“We have more depth this year. We can make substitutions and not lose anything on the defensive end. That is a big plus this year,” Pizzotti said.

The Bills take on the University of Missouri on Saturday, Dec. 11, at the Bauman-Eberhart Athletic Center.

“Our goal is to sell out West Pine for the Mizzou game. It’s a big college game,” Pizzotti said. “It will be a great night. We need to get people in the gym.”

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