Sometimes the loudest messages are sent with actions, not words.
The Saint Louis University women’s basketball team made a definitive statement to the rest of the league this past weekend as Conference USA teams are preparing for the conference tournament.
The Billikens showed their versatility defeating the South Florida Bulls in a shootout, 82-77 and grinding out a 51-47 victory against the UAB Lady Blazers on the road last weekend.
SLU jumped on UAB early on Sunday and built a seven point lead midway through the first half. UAB countered and cut away at SLU’s lead. The Blazers eventually regained the lead as the first half wound down. Sophomore Kirsti Holloway hit a three-pointer that gave SLU the lead, as the Billikens were ahead 29-27 at the intermission.
Sophomore forward Angie Lewis led SLU with 10 points. Junior guard Harmonie King chipped in six points. The Billikens shot 50 percent from the field, hitting 12 of 24 shots. SLU also took care of the ball in the half, committing only five turnovers. The Billikens’ defense clamped down on UAB’s strength, allowing the Blazers’ three forwards to combine for only 19 points in the first half.
The opening minutes of the second half were like a seesaw, with neither team gaining a sizeable lead. But SLU went on an 18-6 run and grabbed a ten-point lead with four minutes left in the game.
UAB chipped SLU’s lead to 49-47 with five seconds left. Junior guard Star Jackson hit a pair of free throws to push SLU’s lead to 51-47, the final margin of victory for the Billikens.
Lewis was SLU’s leading scorer with 14 points. King posted 12 points and six rebounds.
“UAB is dominated by their post players. They run a power triangle with their three forwards,” said coach Jill Pizzotti. “They pound the ball inside, but we played well and executed well. Our ladies got a `W’ for their efforts.”
The Billikens’ contest against South Florida couldn’t be more diametrically opposed to the grind-it-out battle they played against UAB. Both teams scored early and often, with the Billikens building a 29-20 lead with eight minutes left in the first half. South Florida answered with a 16-2 run and seized a 36-31 lead just three minutes later. The Bulls held on and led 45-38 at the intermission.
Jackson led SLU with 10 points in the half. Junior guard Christan Shelton chipped in with seven points. SLU shot 56 percent from the field and 67 percent from the line. The Billikens also outrebounded the Bulls 18-16 for the half.
South Florida came out hot in the second half and was able to build an 11-point lead seven minutes into the second half. SLU cut into the lead with a 22-10 run and tied the contest at 74 with three minutes left in the contest.
The Billikens ended the game by hitting eight straight free throws, to seal the 82-77 victory. Jackson hit the pair that gave SLU the lead for good. Jackson finished the game 12-12 from the charity stripe and set a school record for accuracy from the free-throw line.
Jackson led SLU with 20 points. King was just behind with 19 points and nine rebounds. Lewis added 15 points and Shelton chipped in 11 points.
“We performed well down the stretch,” Pizzotti said. “Star Jackson was 12 for 12 from the line. Harmonie King and Stephanie Solomon both played well. We have experience in close games and that helped us this weekend.”
With the victories, SLU improved to 13-14 on the season and 6-8 in league games. With the wins, the Billikens secured the ninth seed in the C-USA Tournament that begins this Friday. The Billikens will face the eighth-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles on Friday and could face the No. one-seed TCU Horned Frogs with a win Friday.
“I feel good going into conference,” Pizzotti said. “We’ve proven that we can compete with anyone in the conference. We were in a transition period when we played them on January 18. It was the third game back for our kids, who had suffered stress fractures. We’re quite a different ball club now.”
