The Saint Louis University women’s basketball team is probably wishing that every game were a home game. After dropping its first two games on the road, the Billikens made the most of their first home stand and won the Coca-Cola Billiken Classic with a 67-62 victory over Lipscomb in the championship game during Thanksgiving break and defeated Southeastern Louisiana State 69-55 last night.

Even though the first half was close, the Billikens dominated the boards. SLU out-rebounded the Lady Lions 24-19. The Billikens pulled down 13 offensive rebounds. SLU led 31-25 at the half. SLU also utilized its speed, forcing the Lady Lions to commit 12 turnovers in the half. Angie Lewis led SLU with 10 points and eight boards.

SLU went on a 12-3 run just after the intermission to put the game out of reach. SLU made a concerted effort to run its offense through the post and capitalized on its height and strength advantage inside.

The Billikens abused the Lady Lions on the boards, outrebounding them 47-32. The Billikens ripped down 21 offensive rebounds and put back 24 second-chance points.

SLU shot 43 percent from the field on the game and held Southeastern Louisiana to 36 percent from the field. Angie Lewis was the only Billiken in double figures in points, scoring 18. Lewis also hauled in 13 boards. Both were career-highs.

“We still need to do a better job on the offensive need of the floor,” said coach Jill Pizzotti. “We’ve been emphasizing rebounding. That’s always been a challenge for us. All in all any win is a good win. We had an advantage inside and we did a good job throwing the ball into the post.”

The Billikens and Lipscomb Lady Bison were close throughout the first half. But Lipscomb was able to capitalize on the offensive end in the final two minutes of the half. After ending the half on an 8-0 run, the Lady Bison led SLU 34-25.

The Billikens shot 35 percent from the floor and 38 percent from behind the arc. Sophomore guard Kirsti Holloway led SLU with nine points in the half on 3-5 shooting from three-point range.

Lipscomb built a nine-point lead early in the half before SLU began to chip away. The Billikens scored six straight points by forcing the ball inside and generating easy scoring opportunities. SLU continued to convert on the offensive end and forced the Lady Bison to take low-percentage shots. During SLU’s 16-2 offensive outburst, a layup by junior Star Jackson with 16 minutes left in the game gave the Billikens their first lead of the game. SLU finished the run and led 41-36 after a hoop from junior Melissa Oliver.

After Lipscomb grabbed a 54-51 lead with just over five minutes left, SLU made a decisive 8-0 run to take the lead for good. The Billikens capitalized on four straight free throws and held on for the 67-62 lead.

The Billikens shot 60 percent from the field in the second half, making 18 of 30 shots. SLU held the Lady Bison to 40 percent from the field in the second half.

Holloway led all Billikens with 17 points. Junior Christan Shelton poured in 13 and sophomore forward Angie Lewis added 12 and nine rebounds.

Shelton and Holloway were named to the All-Tournament team. Lewis was named tournament MVP.

“We knew that it would be a tough game,” Pizzotti said. “They’re a well-disciplined, hard-working team. We knew that it would be tooth and nail and would go down to the wire. We did a tremendous job of executing down the stretch.”

SLU crushed the Lamar Lady Cardinals in the first round of the tournament. Both teams were tied at 4-4 when SLU, sparked by Holloway’s entrance into the contest, went on a 20-0 run to put the game out of reach. Holloway scored half of the Billikens’ points during the run on a pair of threes and two field goals.

Lamar didn’t attempt a free throw in the opening half. SLU capitalized on 14 points in the paint and 13 second-chance points. Holloway led the Billikens with 10 points. Lewis and Shelton both netted nine points.

In the second half, SLU’s lead was never less than 20 points and led by as many as 37 before winning 71-41.

SLU shot 38 percent from the field and 76 percent from the free throw line. SLU held Lamar to 31 percent from the floor and only sent the Lady Cardinal to the charity stripe six times.

Holloway, Lewis and Shelton all scored 15 points. Lewis led the Billikens on the boards with seven, while Holloway pulled down six.

“It was great to get back home,” Pizzotti said. “We did a great job of executing the game plan. We were able to stop the transition game.”

In the second game of the season, the Billikens dropped a decision at SIU-Carbondale 57-53. The contest was a see-saw battle and neither team was able to build a sizeable advantage.

The most telling stat was the free-throw comparison. The Salukis shot 26 of 32 from the charity stripe, while SLU shot 8-14. Four Salukis posted double-digits in scoring, while Shelton was the only Billiken to reach 10 points.

Despite the free throw disparity, the Billikens still had three three-point shots at the end, but were unable to find the bottom of the net.

“SIU got 26 of their points at the free throw line. We need to do a better job of being disciplined and not fouling,” Pizzotti said. “Anytime you play on the road, it’s hard.”

SLU opened the season at Southwest Missouri State. SMS provided a momentous challenge for the Billikens after reaching the Final Four last season. The Billikens led 13-11 after the first media timeout. But the Bears went on an 8-0 run at the end of the first half and led 32-22 at half.

SMS then put the game out of reach with a 13-2 run after the intermission and never looked back. The Bears cruised to a 69-43 win.

“We handled the crowd early. With a couple minutes left in the first half, we were down by six,” Pizzotti said. “We missed two front ends of a one-and-one and were down by 10 at half. That was a critical point in the game.”

The Billikens head to Dayton on Tuesday and then return to take on intrastate rival Missouri on Fri., Dec 7 at 7 p.m. at Bauman-Eberhardt Athletic Center.

“Missouri is off to a tremendous start and has beaten Southwest Missouri State,” Pizzotti said. “Since we renewed the rivalry, we’re still looking for our first win. We’re looking to get a lot of people in the gym. We need people to help us.”