There hasn’t been magic in basketball since Erwin “Magic”
Johnson retired in 1991, but Saint Louis University women’s
basketball coach Jill Pizzotti doesn’t seem to mind.

A hard 78-64 loss Monday at Tulane plummeted the Billikens to
7-14 overall (1-7 Conference USA record) Pizzotti says the Bills
aren’t looking for a magical fix to this season’s road woes.

“We have to make sure we play as hard as we did Monday night,”
Pizzotti said.

“We have to do little things, like limit turnovers, take care of
the basketball and get back to transition defense. There’s no magic
to it, we just have to do these things.”

The Billikens struggled against Tulane, despite a 7-0 run by Ava
Smith and Kirsti Holloway to open the game.

The Green Wave pushed back, draining bucket after bucket before
finally pulling ahead of the Billikens midway through the half.

By the end of the period, Tulane held a 14-point advantage going
into the break.

SLU tried to build on an early rally and narrowed the gap by
netting 10 unanswered points at the beginning of the second half,
but Tulane took advantage of SLU’s 17 turnovers throughout the game
and went on a 10-2 run, nullifying the outcome of SLU’s earlier
run.

“They made runs on us … After we turned the ball over, we
couldn’t get back to transition defense,” Pizzotti said, also
noting the impact of the team’s inability to box out after
shots.

Holloway tried to push the Bills past the Green Wave with her 18
points, but several late Billiken fouls squelched any hopes of a
SLU comeback.

The Billikens gave up 18 charity tosses in the last five minutes
of the game and Tulane took advantage of all but two, scoring 16 of
their final points to pick up their first C-USA win of the
season.

Pizzotti does not believe the loss was the result of lackluster
performances from any of the Billikens. In fact, Angie Lewis’ 11
points moved her into 10th place for career points with 1,179.

Fifteen of Holloway’s 18 points came from behind the arc, and
she and Lewis were joined by Smith and Jana Haywood in
double-figure land, who each kicked in 12 and 11 points,
respectively.

Stephanie Soloman reached double figures in rebounds with
10.

“Kirsti and Ava shot well, and Jana Haywood had a good floor
game,” Pizzotti said.

“We’ve got more people on the outside shooting instead of
everyone keying in on Kirsti.”

Monday night’s loss was the second of the weekend after SLU’s
81-51 downer in Hattiesburg, Miss., against Southern Miss.

Haywood was the only Billiken to finish in double figures with
13 points, but Lewis and Lakrisha Brown each contributed nine to
the Billiken effort.

At one point in the second half, Southern Miss held a commanding
18-point lead over the Billikens.

SLU tried to come back, but the Golden Eagles padded their lead
by adding another 10 quick points and SLU’s shooting tapered off to
its final 31 percent from the field.

This weekend, the Billikens are back in action on their home
court at the Bauman-Eberhardt Center beginning Friday at 7 p.m.
against East Carolina, followed by a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. for a
tangle with Charlotte.

Pizzotti hopes to capitalize on support from SLU students on
their home court, which has been the sight of all seven Billiken
wins.

ECU will come to town looking to end a two-game skid after
losses to Marquette and No. 15 DePaul this weekend. Monday night in
Chicago, the Pirates’ Courtney Willis went 11-for-16 from the floor
and ended the night with 23 points, notching her 20th straight game
in double figures.

Charlotte is coming off a 59-56 nail-biter against Marquette
Monday night at home. The 49ers sealed the win from the free-throw
line in the final ticks of the game when Monica League calmly
netted a pair of foul shots to give Charlotte the final edge of the
outing. The 49ers picked up the win after a huge victory over
DePaul to start the weekend. League racked up 22 points over the
weekend, scoring 11 points in both wins.

East Carolina settled into sixth in C-USA this weekend, while
Charlotte sits in third.

C-USA Homestand

Who: East Carolina Pirates

When: Tomorrow, 7 p.m.

Where: Bauman-Eberhardt Center