In first exhibition game of the season against the University of Missouri-St. Louis, the Saint Louis University women’s basketball team didn’t want to do anything flashy at Savvis Center. The focus was on the little things, the things that it can control.
“The stress was on fundamentals,” said coach Jill Pizzotti. “Defensively, we worked on ball pressure and directing people to the sidelines. Offensively, we stressed taking care of the ball, limiting turnovers and getting the ball inside. We wanted to prepare for our game. We didn’t worry about a scouting report on them. We were only concerned with us.”
SLU took the lead early on a basket from junior point guard Star Jackson. As both team got in the flow, SLU led 4-2 five minutes into the game.
The Billikens and the Riverwomen were close through the first part of the opening half. SLU took a tied the contest 10-10 on a layup by sophomore forward Angie Lewis.
SLU went on a 5-0 run on a hoop by Jackson and a three-point-play by sophomore Stephanie Solomon.
The Billikens were able to maintain the five-point spread throughout the half and pushed it to seven with just under two minutes left in the half. After a late run by UMSL, SLU led at halftime 33-28.
The Billikens shot 40.5 percent from the field in the first half, while holding UMSL to 36 percent from the floor. The only thing that kept UMSL in the game in the first half was free throw shooting. The Riverwomen converted 10-11 from the charity stripe.
UMSL refused to go away and cut SLU’s lead to 38-37 four minutes after the half on a three-pointer by Sophia Ruffin.
Lewis hit a turnaround jumper to give the Billikens a 40-37 lead on the next possession. The Billikens continued to roll offensively and scored on five of their next eight possessions to lead 50-45.
Junior Christan Shelton capped the run when she beat everyone back and scored an easy layup.
Then UMSL decided to make the game close. Larissa Cordiano hit her only three of the game to cut the Billikens’ lead to 58-55.
The Billikens were in a dogfight the rest of the way. After Jana Haywood’s layup gave SLU a 62-57 lead, UMSL hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to three with just over three minutes left in the game.
Shelton hit a jumper in the lane to give SLU a 66-61 lead. UMSL scored four quick points and trailed by one with less than two minutes left in the game.
UMSL forced SLU to hit its free throws in the waning moments of the game.
The Billikens came through as Jackson and junior Lakia Jones capitalizing on their chances from the line. The Billikens prevailed 73-69.
Four Billikens posted double-figures against the Riverwomen. Lewis was the Billikens leading scorer and rebounder, hitting for 15 points and ripping down eight boards in 20 minutes.
Jackson added 13 points and five assists. Shelton and Haywood picked up 12 points apiece.
“The UMSL game was a tremendous learning experience for us,” Pizzotti said. “It was a close game. We got to try everything that we learned.”
