Jan. 16, 2008

Box Score

ST. LOUIS - Theresa Lisch scored 11 of her game-high 19 points in the final 7:09 to lead Saint Louis to a 70-67 Atlantic 10 Conference victory over Duquesne Wednesday night at the Bauman-Eberhardt Center.

With the win, Saint Louis (7-10, 2-0 A-10) achieved a 2-0 start in conference play for the first time in 20 seasons. The Billikens defeated Xavier and Butler to go 2-0 in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference during the 1987-88 season.

"There is no such thing as a pretty win once conference play starts," head coach Shimmy Gray-Miller said. "Every conference game is a knock-down, drag-out fight. Tonight, the Billikens were standing strong at the end because we had the toughness and heart we needed."

Lisch, who was 9-of-15 from the field and also the team leader with five assists, nailed a 3-pointer at the 7:09 mark to give SLU a 55-51 lead. She hit a jumper to give the Bills their largest lead, 66-59, with 3:16 to play.

However, Lisch's biggest shot of the game was yet to come. After Duquesne (9-8, 0-2 A-10) used a 6-0 run to whittle the SLU lead to a single point, she scored with 1:31 remaining to put the Billikens up 68-65. On the ensuing Duquesne possession, Katie Paganelli rebounded a missed 3-point attempt and drove the length of the floor for a layup and a five-point Saint Louis advantage.

The Dukes sank two free throws with 46 seconds remaining and got the ball back with 19 seconds left and a chance to tie. But Kristi Little's long 3-point try was off the mark, and the Billikens held on for victory in their 10th game this season decided by six or fewer points.

"Theresa Lisch stepped up big time tonight," Gray-Miller said. "She did what great players do - make great plays when her team needs them the most."

The first half featured seven ties. A late 9-3 spurt gave SLU a 29-23 advantage, and the Bills took a 33-27 lead into the locker room.

Duquesne became just the fifth Saint Louis opponent this season to win the rebounding battle, edging the Bills 38-34. But SLU offset that deficit by committing a season-low 11 turnovers, including just three in the second half.

Amy Klotz scored 15 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. Hayley Leake scored a season-high 12 points, shooting 4-of-6 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the foul line.

Keri Pryor led Duquesne with 17 points, Little scored 14 and Jade Singleton added 11. Singleton led all players with 10 rebounds, and Little tallied five assists. The Dukes were hampered by poor foul shooting, connecting on just 14-of-25 from the stripe.

The Billikens will try for the first 3-0 conference start in program history Saturday at Charlotte. Game time is 6 p.m. (CT).