With a 2-0 start to the season, SLU women’s basketball made it clear that it doesn’t matter where they compete; they will dominate anyone in their path, home or away.
The women had their first wins of the regular season against UC Irvine and Loyola Marymount on Nov. 11 and 13. Despite the added challenges of a long plane ride and dealing with other teams’ crowds, the Billikens had no issues taking down the costal competition.
SLU faced UC Irvine in the first game of the weekend, winning 79-69. Similar to last year’s squad, the win came from their deep bench. SLU outscored UC Irvine from the bench, 26-8. Three Billikens had over 15 points in the game.
In the first quarter, the women took the lead for the first portion of the stanza, 10-7. However, the squad struggled through a 10-2 run to give UC Irvine a 17-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The women could not find a way to get their groove back in the second quarter and UC Irvine pressed on to keep the upper hand for almost the entire ten minutes. Junior forward Maddison Gits provided a spark for the Billiken offense with a late three-pointer and junior guard Jackie Kemph followed with a three-pointer of her own to tie the game up, 30-30. SLU stayed in it, ending the first half at a 34-34 draw.
The third quarter saw a much livelier Billiken squad. Sophomore guard Jordyn Frantz found her rhythm, scoring 12 points in the third quarter alone. She hit a crucial jumper to keep the game tied at 36, allowing the team to take the lead for good soon after. Gits racked up nine points to help widen the gap, and SLU pulled ahead going into the fourth quarter, 60-49.
UC Irvine made their best effort to come back in the last ten minutes, but Kemph’s three-pointer at the opening of the stanza silenced the opponent and introduced a 20-point gap with five minutes to go in the game. SLU had no problem finishing out the victory to go 1-0 on the season.
Frantz, Kemph and Gits had 58 points combined. Frantz and Kemph had 20 points apiece and Gits came in with 18 points. Kemph had a game high of eight assists.
The Billiken defense was a large contributor to the win. Senior forward Olivia Jakubicek had a game-high 10 rebounds while senior center Sadie Stipanovich collected 9. They helped give SLU a 46-25 advantage in rebounds. The team as a whole shot 56 percent in the second half. They snatched a grand total of 46 rebounds, 16 of them being offensive rebounds.
The women were just getting started as they shut down Loyola Marymount in a scoring spree, 90-76. Kemph and Stipanovich had double-doubles, and two other Billikens scored double digits in the game.
Much like the UC Irvine match, the Billikens got off to slow start. Early on, they found themselves at a seven-point deficit. However, junior guard Jenny Vlliet got the offense going with two three-pointers and two free throws to squeak out the lead, 21-20. SLU went on a 16-8 spurt to provide the lead at the end of the first quarter.
Loyola Marymount didn’t concede easily in the second quarter. They took a 12-point lead over the Billikens, 44-32. SLU wasn’t fazed, answering with a 12-0 run in the last part of the quarter. They scored on six of their final tries and had a four-point possession to steal the momentum at halftime.
In the third quarter, Kemph struck gold, putting up 13 of her 25 points in the game. Loyola Marymount stayed tight on SLU’s heels, only allowing a 67-66 advantage for the Billikens.
The two teams fought for the lead early in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 71. Then, Stipanovich grabbed an offensive rebound and finished the ball easily to give SLU the upper hand for good, a major turning point in the game. Vliet finished the game for the Billikens, giving them an 80-73 advantage. The team converted on 10 of their last 12 free throws to contribute to the margin and take the win, 90-76.
Kemph contributed 25 points and 10 assists, making this her seventh double-double in her career. Stipanovich earned her eleventh double-double of her career with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Vliet was consistent from the three-point line, sinking four of her five attempts. Frantz earned 16 points.
Kemph also grabbed her first Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honor, due to her important contributions in both wins on the road.
The women return to Chaifetz for their debut at home in the regular season on Nov. 17. They will take on SIUE at 4:30 p.m.
