The Billikens lost a one-sided affair to the Saint Joseph Hawks last Sunday in Philadelphia 69-50 but rebounded last night in a hard-fought 63-59 victory over University of Massachusetts here at Chaifetz Arena.
Against Saint Joseph’s, Desirae Ball and Lorreal Jones carried the team with 14 and 12 points, respectively, providing nearly half of the Billikens’ total offense. Jones just missed a double-double and also hauled in eight rebounds. She did, however, commit six turnovers in just 25 minutes on the court.
Saint Joseph’s started off strong with a 9-2 run and finished the half just as strongly on a 13-1 run. After trailing 38-16 at the half, the Bills couldn’t cut into the lead as Saint Joseph’s extended their lead to 51-23.
The closest the Bills would make it after that point was after a 3-point play and then a 3-point field goal by Courtney Webb to shorten the lead to 60-44. The Hawks regained control for the rest of the game, finishing with a 19-point lead.
Against UMass, three Billikens recorded career highs to help lead the team to victory. Morgan Johnson scored 15 points and seven rebounds, both career highs, and scored 10-straight points during the Bills’ 10-0 run in the first half. Janisha Gearlds pitched in a game- and career-high 10 assists, giving her 350 in her career – the third most in Saint Louis University history.
Kim Bee grabbed a personal- and game-best 14 total rebounds, eight of them offensive. Courtney Webb also performed well, scoring a team-high 21 points and draining two 3-point shots.The Bills shot 41.1 percent overall from the field, contributing to their offensive explosion.
UMass exploded to an early 15-8 lead until SLU tied the game at 23 with 4:57 left in the first half. Morgan Johnson put SLU back on track with 2:07 left by scoring 10-straight points. The Bills didn’t trail the rest of the game, but never pulled away until UMass committed three-straight turnovers late in the second half. SLU currently has a 9-17 overall record, with a 3-8 record in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
The Bills travel to Dayton to take on the 16-6 Flyers on Saturday who are currently third in the A-10.
