Successful teams rebound quickly.
After a 66-48 loss to Charlotte last Friday night, the Saint Louis University women’s basketball team thumped East Carolina 88-68 last Sunday at Bauman-Eberhardt Athletic Center.
“We all knew that we had to come out and play harder after the Charlotte game. We had a good practice on Saturday. We have to learn from our mistakes,” said sophomore forward Angie Lewis.
“We were disappointed that we missed the opportunity to put ourselves in a good position,” said junior point guard Star Jackson. “We were upset with our play. But we came in with the understanding that we can talk about our goals and what we want to accomplish, but it doesn’t matter if we don’t do it on the court.”
East Carolina found success on the inside early, as forward Courtney Willis scored eight of the Pirates’ first 12 points.
ECU continued to milk Willis’ strong play and led 20-12 with 11 minutes left.
SLU countered with its full-court press and shut down ECU. The Billikens forced errant passes and converted the mistakes to easy layups. SLU notched 15 points off turnovers.
“Whenever you have a chance to press and make things happen, it makes for an exciting game,” Jackson said. “It’s always easier to create offense with your defense. They kept coughing up the ball and our shooting percentage showed that. We were able to take a lot of layups.”
The Billikens then took control of the game. SLU went on an impressive 22-8 run and established a 34-28 lead.
The Billikens maintained the lead and were up 40-34 at the half.
Junior forward Christan Shelton led SLU with 12 points. SLU shot 67 percent from the field, the highest mark since Nov. 21, 1997. SLU also hit 83 percent from the free throw line and held a slight advantage on the boards, outrebounding ECU 14-11.
The Pirates tried to get back in the game and were able to tie the contest at 57 midway through the half.
SLU got hot and used a 14-0 run to pull away from the Pirates. The Billikens hit their free throws at the end of the game and won 88-68.
Lewis was SLU’s leading scorer and rebounder with 24 points and seven boards. Shelton also reached double-figures with 14 points.
The Billikens shot 60 percent from the field on the game and scored 30 points off 20 Pirate turnovers
“We didn’t feel good about ourselves after Friday’s game (against Charlotte),” said coach Jill Pizzotti. “But we battled back today. I was happy with our enthusiasm. The press made a big difference. There were occasions where we didn’t get a steal, but we were able to run the clock. They came down with 15 seconds on the shot clock. Our kids did a good job defensively.
“We talked to our kids on the bench that when they get in they have to make a play and inspire their teammates. Stephanie Solomon did that for us. Across the board, all our kids made something positive happen,” Pizzotti said.
Walk-on Brooke Minniear, outside hitter on the volleyball team, scored her first points on four free throws for the Billiken basketball team this season.
“Brooke came in and has worked hard everyday,” Pizzotti said. “It was great to see her hit the free throws. You’re happy for players like that who come in and make things happen.”
Charlotte posed a viable challenge for SLU last Friday night. The Billikens found success early by pounding the ball inside.
Charlotte countered SLU’s success with a strong 1-3-1 zone that cut off the passing lanes into the post and was able to limit SLU’s offense.
The 49ers gradually pulled away from SLU in the first half and led by as many as 10 points. Charlotte led 35-28 at halftime.
The Billikens cut the 49ers lead to five early in the half on a Lewis layup. But Charlotte held SLU to one point over an eight minute span midway through the half.
The 49ers went on a 10-0 run during that period and led 55-37. Charlotte rolled the rest of the way and won 66-48.
“Charlotte came in and played extremely well,” Pizzotti said. “We got off to a good start. When Charlotte went to its 1-3-1 we had a difficult time getting the ball inside. They did a good job against us defensively.”
SLU (4-4 in Conference USA, 11-10 overall) faces Cincinnati and Louisville on the road. The Bearcats got off to their best start in school history with an 11-0 record and are currently 17-4, 6-3 in C-USA. The contest can be seen on Charter Communications at 7 p.m. Friday night.
“Cincinnati is fourth in the league. Valerie King is averaging 20 points a game from the perimeter and Debbie Merrill is scoring 16 points inside. They’ve proven to be a big challenge. If we execute our game plan, we’ll be in a position to win,” Pizzotti said.
Louisville is 13-9 overall and 5-4 in the conference. The Cardinals are averaging 72 points per game. Sophomore point guard Sara Nord leads the nation in assists with 8.4 per game. The contest tips off at 1 p.m.
“Louisville has tremendous three-point shooters. Nord has tremendous poise and plays like a 25-year-old. She can legitimately shoot the three from 25 or 27 feet,” Pizzotti said.
