Jan. 4, 2004

Final Stats

St. Louis - Missouri senior forward Stretch James converted a layup with 34 seconds left in the game, and guard LaToya Bond made one free throw with five seconds to play to push the Tigers past the Saint Louis Billikens 65-62 in women's basketball action on Sunday at Bauman-Eberhardt Center. The Billikens had a halfcourt desperation shot at the buzzer fall short as the Tigers prevailed.

In a game that saw 19 lead changes and 11 ties, Billiken guard Kirsti Holloway sank a layup to put SLU on top 62-60 with 2:13 remaining in the game. After an MU turnover, the Billikens had a chance to extend the lead but missed an easy layup. The Tigers pushed the ball up the court and Melanie Fisher tied the game for the 11th time, 62-62 at the 1:23 mark.

With just under 50 seconds left to play, the Billikens were looking for the go-ahead points but were unable to get a shot off and committed a shot clock violation. James put the Tigers ahead with her basket setting the stage for a dramatic finish. SLU senior forward Angie Lewis had a short jumper from the left but James blocked the attempt. Lewis gathered in the offensive carom and again powered up for the game-tying basket, but James blocked the shot again, and Melanie Fisher grabbed the rebound for the Tigers. Fisher went to the line for a one-and-one, but misfired. The Billikens pushed the ball up the right side, but missed a short shot with seven ticks to play. Bond then hit one free throw to seal the win for the Tigers.

During the second half, neither team led by more than three points. In the game, Missouri's biggest lead was five points, while the Billiken's largest advantage was only four points. Kirsti Holloway added 13, while Shea Kenny tallied a career-high 10 points. Stephanie Solomon grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. For the Tigers, Tracy Lozier scored 14 points and Evan Unrau added 12 points and eight rebounds. Missouri committed just four turnovers in the second half.

The Billikens dropped their fifth straight game and fall to 6-7. The Tigers win their fourth straight game and improve to 9-2 on the season.