The Billikens continued their road trip with a Feb. 10 game against Rhode Island. The second consecutive road game brought the Bills a win before their return home. The game saw three Billikens finish in double digits with senior forward Maddy Gits scoring in the double digits for her seventh consecutive game.

The first quarter had SLU chasing Rhode Island early on until the Bills were able to break through and take the lead after a three from junior guard Jordyn Frantz. Up 8-9, Rhode Island struck back with a three, retaking the lead. The first quarter ended with the Bills trailing 19-15.

Rhode Island took their biggest lead of the game in the second quarter at 22-15, but the Bills were able to strike back and take the lead at the end of the half, bringing the halftime score to 31-29. The Bills put in a big third quarter performance and ended the third with a nine-point lead at 49-40. SLU found their groove in the fourth quarter to come out with the win and a final score of 69-66.

The Billikens returned home to Chaifetz Arena for a Valentine’s Day game against Duquesne. Junior center Tara Dusharm saw her career high points scored with 16 contributing to the 38 points off the bench. The Bills ultimately fell to their A-10 foe 76-66. Unable to regain the early lead set in the first quarter, the Bills trailed behind Duquesne for the rest of the game.

The Bills took to Chaifetz again Saturday, Feb. 17. The mid-Saturday game pit the Billikens up against George Washington. The first quarter saw the Bills down early on, but a 13-2 run put them in the lead at 15-8 with just 39 seconds in the quarter. The first quarter ended with the Bills holding off George Washington 15-10.

George Washington saw a big bounce back in the second quarter, kicking it off with a 13-point run, overtaking the Billiken lead at 23-15. George Washington continued to push on, resulting in a halftime score of 32-23 with the Bills trailing. SLU continued to fall in the third quarter as George Washington went up 40-27, but the Bills struck back and reduced the lead to just six points at 46-40 for the end of the third quarter. George Washington managed to sink 11 of 12 free throws in the final quarter, cementing them the win over SLU with a final score of 71-58.

The defeat was a hard pill to swallow for the Bills,

“it’s tough,” said Head Coach Lisa Stone. “We’re playing for home court in the A-10 tournament, and it’s disappointing to lose at home to protect home court.”

The Bills stepped back into action after their flight to Richmond, taking on VCU in their penultimate game before the start of the A-10 tournament. The first quarter got off to a slow start with VCU taking an early lead, but the Bills kept the fight going and ended the quarter trailing at 20-19. VCU was able to push a lead and entered the halftime break with a six-point lead at 35-29.

The second half broke out and after some technical difficulties with the shot clock were fixed, the game was back underway. The third quarter saw VCU take an 11-point lead with 5 minutes in the quarter at 34-43. But the Bills kept at it, staying within 10 points to finish out the quarter, trailing 45-51.

Down 60-70 with three minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Bills struck at VCU. A 10-point run, spearheaded by senior guard Jackie Kemph, who scored nine of the points, brought the game into overtime.

The Bills fell in overtime in a close cat-and-mouse chase where VCU picked up the early lead and the Bills were left trailing. The game finished with a VCU win 84-88.

The Billikens are back in action Saturday, Feb. 24, at Chaifetz Arena with a 2 p.m. start on Senior Day, as they take on Dayton.