Last weekend, the Saint Louis University women’s basketball team traveled to Pittsburgh, to take on the Duquesne Dukes, then to Olean, N.Y. to take on St. Bonaventure. With an excruciatingly close game against Duquesne, the Bills fell to both Duquesne and St. Bonaventure. On Friday, Jan. 27, the Billikens faced the Duquesne Dukes for the second time this season. The Billikens, having previously beaten the Dukes in a neck-and-neck game (59-54), fell to the Dukes, with a final score of 67-66.In the opening minutes of the game, the Dukes led the game with a five-point run, until SLU ended the streak with a shot from sophomore Heather King in the lane. Five minutes into the game, the Billikens found themselves trailing 9-2. After a free throw from senior Marquita McFarland, the Dukes had their first double digit lead with a score of 13-3. The Billikens continued to trail in the following minutes, with the Dukes extending their lead to 21-7. SLU, however, responded with an 11-2 streak beginning with a 3-pointer from Junior Rachel Diener and a three-point play from McFarland. After the Dukes scored again, McFarland scored again and Diener hit another three, bringing the score to 23-18 with just under 10 minutes left in the first half.In the final minutes of the half, the Billikens only notched four more points. The Dukes outscored the Billikens 13-4 and ended the half with a score of 36-22. The Dukes had a 59.3 (16-27) shooting effort from the floor, with the Billikens following closely behind, hitting eight of nine free throws. The Billikens came out strong in the second half, hitting their first three shots, followed by a three from Junior Tyler McIlwraith, bringing the scoring gap to 41-29. The Billikens then went on an astounding 18-5 run, edging themselves back into the game. Diener made her third 3-pointer of the game, bringing the scoring gap to a mere 43-34. Duquesne came up with a 3-pointer in their next possession, but Diener responded with yet another 3-pointer, bringing the score to 46-37 with 14:51 left in the second half. The Billikens continued to close the gap with two free throws from McFarland and Diener’s fifth 3-pointer of the game, giving the Bills a score of 48-44 with 12:35 left to play. Duquesne felt the need to respond and came up with an eight-point lead, but McIlwraith notched a 3-pointer for the Bills, resulting in a 52-47 score.The Dukes rallied in the remaining nine minutes with a 9-2 streak, giving the Dukes a double digit lead. The Billikens responded with a run of 16-straight points, taking them into the lead. The Dukes hit two free throws, bringing the score to a tie, but Cara Young sank one in the lane, bringing the Bills to a 65-63 lead. Diener hit a free throw bringing the score to 66-63 with 2:08 to play. Nicole Sinclair sank one for the Dukes with 1:37 to play, bringing it to a one point game. Duquesne’s Loui Hall scored a jumper with 10 seconds to go, bringing the final score to 67-66.Rachel Diener had seven 3-pointers and a career-high 24 points for the Billikens. McFarland had her second consecutive double-double, with 21 points and 10 rebounds. For the Duquesne Dukes, Loui Hall had a career-high 27 points and Nicole Sinclair had 16 points.In the second game of the weekend, the Billikens took on St. Bonaventure in Olean. Cara Young made her first career start against the Bonnies, and put the Billikens on the board with a basket in the first minute of the game. After a 4-4 tie, the Bonnies took a five point lead.Nine minutes into the half, a surge of energy brought the Billikens to a six-point lead. St. Bonaventure responded, closing the gap to one, but consecutive layups from McIlwraith gave the Billikens the 22-18 lead with 7:08 to play in the half. With under five minutes to play in the half, the Bonnies led the Billikens by four until Rachel Diener nailed a 3-pointer bringing the score to 32-31. St. Bonaventure ended the half with a basket, resulting in a 34-31 score leading into the second half.In the second half, the Bonnies came out with a six-point scoring streak, resulting in their biggest lead of the game at 40-31. Diener responded with two 3-pointers, bringing the score to 42-37. After a 14-2 run from St. Bonaventure, the Billikens trailed 59-41. However, the Billikens did not end the game without a fight. McIlwraith notched two 3-pointers, followed by a jumper from Hayley Leake, and another basket from McFarland, bringing the Bills to within 12. The Bonnies held on for a victory, with a final score of 71-59.Although the Billikens walked away with two losses added to their record, they still had some positive feelings about the games. “We had two tough losses this last weekend, but we still feel like we have taken a step forward,” said Diener. The Bills look forward to working hard this week in practice and gearing up for the weekend ahead.The Billikens now have a record of 4-15, 1-7 Atlantic 10. This weekend the Billikens will host La Salle on Friday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. The game will be televised in St. Louis on CCIN. The Billikens will then travel to Washington, D.C., on Monday, Feb. 6, at 6 p.m. to take on George Washington University.