December 19, 1999

WILMINGTON, N.C. - Bridget Beckmann (Breese Mater Dei) tallied 16 points and hauled down a career-high 18 rebounds but it was not enough as Saint Louis fell 74-68 to host UNC Wilmington in the championship game of the Holiday Inn Beach Blast Tournament.

The Billikens grabbed a 13-3 lead seven minutes into the game, but UNC Wilmington answered with a 17-6 run to grab their first lead at 21-20 with just under four minutes remaining in the first half. The Seahawks eventually lead 31-27 at the break. In the second half, UNCW opened with a 12-4 run to claim a 43-33 lead four minutes into the final half. The Billikens rallied late, but could get no closer than six points the rest of the way.

"We got off to a good start, but then we just got out of sync and couldn't hit any shots," said Billiken head coach Jill Pizzotti. "But the bottom line is we can't give up 74 points and expect to win."

Mandy Lueking scored a game-high 23 points, including three 3-pointers, to lead Saint Louis. Christan Shelton (Gateway Tech) had another strong tournament game with 13 points and Kara Wile, the all-time SLU assists leader, handed out a game-high eight assists. Christy Gambill led UNC Wilmington with 20 points and Ioulia Boxley notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Four Seahawks reached double figures in scoring.

UNC Wilmington improves to 5-4 on the season, while Saint Louis falls to 6-3. The Billikens are next in action on Wed., Dec. 22 when they host Hampton University at 7 p.m. at Bauman-Eberhardt Athletic Center.