Nov. 29, 2002

Final Stats

San Juan, Puerto Rico - The Saint Louis University opened the San Juan Shootout with a 61-56 win over Army on Friday. With the score tied 54-54 with just over two minutes left to play, the Billikens outscored the Black Knights 7-0 to surge to the victory.

Melissa Oliver hit a running jumper as the shot clock was winding down to put the Billikens up 56-54 with 1:32 left in the game. On Army's next possession, Angie Lewis stepped into the passing lane for a steal. The Billikens worked the ball inside for a Jana Haywood layup and a 58-54 lead at the 1:01 mark. On the next Army possession, Haywood tipped the ball away and Star Jackson hit one free throw for a 59-54 advantage with 33 seconds to play. The Black Knights came up the floor again, but Haywood stole the ball for a layup and a 61-54 lead with just 15 seconds left in the game. Army had a layup with six seconds in the game for the final margin.

The game was close throughout and neither team led by more than four points in the second half until the Billikens took a six-point lead with under one minute to play. In the first half, the Billikens grabbed a 7-2 lead but Army came back to take a 9-7 lead. Army went on to take a 15-10 lead, the biggest by either team in the first half. Both teams struggled with turnovers as the Billikens had 13 and Army had 14 in the first 20 minutes. The Bills frontline got into foul trouble as every SLU frontline player had a least two fouls in the first half.

Haywood led the Billikens with 14 points on seven-of-10 shooting with four key steals, while Melissa Oliver added seven points and a team-high seven rebounds. Shavonne Holden paced three Army players in double figures with 16 points. The Billikens held Army's leading scorer Katie Macfarlane to just eight points, 10 under her average, but she did haul down a game-high 12 boards. The Billikens had 12 steals and forced Army into 30 turnovers.

The Billikens remain perfect at 3-0 on the season, while Army dips to 1-2. Saint Louis takes on Puerto Rico-Mayaguez on Saturday at 3 p.m (CT).