Billikens Use 20-6 Run to Post 71-57 Victory Over Austin Peay

Dec. 19, 2000

The Saint Louis University women's basketball team used a 20-6 run early in the second half and slowly pulled away for a 71-57 victory over Austin Peay on Tuesday. The Lady Govs became the sixth SLU opponent held below 60 points this season. The Billikens put four scorers in double figures and forced Austin Peay into 22 turnovers.

"Our fullcourt pressure created turnovers and did not give Austin Peay time to run its halfcourt offense," said Billiken head coach Jill Pizzotti. "We felt like we need to use our depth to our advantage and we wanted their guards to work for everything."

The Billikens led 31-26 at halftime, but Austin Peay scored the first basket of the second half to close to 31-28. Bridget Beckmann scored two baskets to start an 8-0 run and the Bills grabbed a 39-28 lead three minutes into the second half. A trey by APSU stemmed the tide, but the Bills answered with six straight points for a 45-31 lead. Austin Peay hit two free throws, but Christan Shelton scored two consecutive baskets and Melissa Oliver nailed two short jumpers to start another 10-2 run. The Billikens stretched the advantage to as many as 22 points and led 67-45 with four minutes left to play. After shooting just 38.2 percent in the first half, the Billikens hit 16-of-28 in the second half for a 57.1 percent clip. SLU scored the first four points of the game and never trailed in the contest.

Bridget Beckmann paced four Billikens in double figures with a season-high 16 points and hit 7-of-11 from the field. Christan Shelton added 14. Point guard Star Jackson handed out a career-high seven assists. April McKinney chipped in 10 points, blocked three shots and tied a career-high with four steals. Paige Smith led the Lady Govs with 15 points while Brooke Armistead added 14. Armistead, Austin Peay's leading scorer, took 17 shots making just five. Gerlonda Hardin had a double-double for APSU with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Billikens win their second straight game and improve to 7-2 on the season. Austin Peay falls to 4-6.

Print Friendly Version