The Saint Louis University women’s basketball team lost a pair on the road last weekend. But that may be the least of their problems.
SLU lost April McKinney for part of the contest against Cincinnati. Unfortunately, Melissa Oliver’s injury was more serious.
McKinney injured her neck with nine minutes left in the game. She stepped up to take a charge, fell back and her neck hit the leg of a player standing behind her. Luckily, no damage was done. McKinney returned for the contest against Louisville on Sunday.
“We’re relieved and happy about the outcome,” said coach Jill Pizzotti. “Considering what you talk about with neck injuries, I’m happy she’s all right.”
On the ensuing possession after McKinney’s injury, Oliver was bringing the ball up court. Oliver was double-teamed. As she pivoted, her knee buckled. She completely tore her anterior cruciate ligament, partially tore her medial cruciate ligament and tore her meniscus.
The Billikens lost to Cincinnati last Friday 79-61 and to Louisville last Sunday 71-67.
Cincinnati jumped out to a 12-4 lead five minutes into the contest. The Billikens, paced by four quick points from Star Jackson, pulled to within one, midway through the half.
The Bearcats went on a 10-2 run to provide some breathing room and went into the half with a 36-21 lead.
Jackson led SLU with seven points. Bridget Beckmann and Lakia Jones pulled down four rebounds apiece.
The Billikens came back and cut the lead to 47-38 eight minutes into the half. SLU continued to cut into the lead and only trailed 52-48 with nine minutes left.
But the Bearcats scored 13 straight points and eventually built their lead to 65-48. Cincinnati maintained their lead and went on to the 79-61 win.
One of the bright spots in the loss was Kirsti Holloway, who paced the Billikens with 17 points. Oliver added 10 points.
“Both teams proved to be tough,” Pizzotti said. “Cincinnati was tough. It was hard losing a couple of players to injuries.”
Harmonie King made her first appearance of the season against Cincinnati, scoring two points in six minutes. She tore her ACL this summer.
The Billikens traveled to Louisville and, unfortunately, found a similar fate.
The game was close early on. SLU trailed 11-8 five minutes into the contest. SLU scored the final four points of the half and trailed 38-37 at the half.
Beckmann led the Billikens with 12 points in the first half. She also pulled down seven boards in the half.
The Cardinals pushed their lead to eight points seven minutes into the half. They maintained that lead until late in the game.
Louisville led 67-60 with two minutes left. Guard Christan Shelton hit four straight free throws to cut the lead to three. Louisville added three from the charity stripe and led 70-64. Holloway hit the last of her four three-pointers of the half to cut the lead to three with six seconds left. Louisville added a free throw for the 71-67 victory.
Four Billikens finished in double-figures in scoring. Shelton led SLU with 15 points. Beckmann and Holloway added 12 points apiece, and Jackson chipped in 11.
“It was a well-fought battle. I was proud of our execution,” Pizzotti said. “We just came up a little short. Star Jackson did a tremendous job on Sara Nord (one of Louisville’s best shooters) for 40 minutes.”
The Billikens fell to 11-6 overall and 2-4 in C-USA.
The road doesn’t get any easier for the Billikens. SLU faces DePaul and Marquette, the teams ahead of the Billikens in the American Division.
The DePaul Blue Demons come to Bauman-Eberhardt Athletic Center for a contest with the Billikens on Friday at 7 p.m. DePaul is 10-7 overall and 3-3 in C-USA.
“DePaul has the best shooter in the conference in Lenae Williams,” Pizzotti said. Williams is averaging 18 points a game. “She’ll be a challenge to guard. She has a quick shot. DePaul uses a really aggressive man-to-man defense.”
SLU then hosts Marquette on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Golden Eagles are 7-10 overall and 3-3 in C-USA. Heidi Bowman leads Marquette with 14 points per game.
“They’re a little different team than last year,” Pizzotti said. “They’ve graduated three of the better players in the league. In the past, we’ve struggled with Marquette. They’re solid fundamentally and use a 2-3 matchup zone.”
