December 11, 1999

ST. LOUIS - Missouri never trailed as it handed Saint Louis University its first defeat of the season tonight with 78-65 decision in a non-conference women's basketball game before a crowd of 1,152 at the historic Bauman-Eberhardt Athletic Center on the University campus. The Tigers got a pair of double-doubles from forwards Amanda Lassiter and Amy Monsees to improve Mizzou's record to 7-1.

"We didn't shoot it very well, and Missouri got a lot of second chance opportunities with good hustle on the offensive boards," said Billiken head coach Jill Pizzotti. "Any time that we struggle from the perimeter like we did tonight, we're going to have a difficult time. Missouri did a good job of making us work hard for everything we got."

Bridget Beckmann led Saint Louis with her sixth career double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds. Billikens senior guard and leading scorer Mandy Lueking was limited to eight points, all of which were from the free throw line. She was 0-for-14 from the field and 0-for-6 from three-point distance. The Billikens shot only 31.3 percent from the floor as Luecking, April McKinney and Kara Wile were a combined 1-for-26.

With center Marlena Williams saddled with foul trouble, Lassiter and Monsees stepped forward with strong games. Lassiter collected a game-high 20 points and added 11 rebounds. Monsees contributed 10 points and 10 boards. Williams and Lassiter also were dominant on the defensive end as they combined to block nine shots.

Missouri scored the first four points of the game and jumped to an early 10-4 lead. Saint Louis climbed back within one at 12-11, but never did get closer. Missouri led by seven at halftime and maintained a comfortable of eight to 12 points throughout most of the second half. The Billikens had one late surge and closed to 72-65 with 59 seconds remaining, but the Tigers knocked down six of eight free throws to close the game.

Saint Louis travels to Minnesota on Wed., Dec. 15.