Jan. 23, 2008

Box Score

ST. LOUIS - Theresa Lisch, Hayley Leake and Amanda Kemezys combined to score 60 of Saint Louis' 73 points, but Rhode Island shot 54 percent from the floor and 90 percent from the foul line to defeat the Billikens 82-73 in overtime Thursday night at the Bauman-Eberhardt Center.

Lisch was 10-of-17 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range, and finished with a game-high 26 points. Leake netted a career-high 18 points on an 8-of-14 shooting effort and added a team-high five assists, while Kemezys posted a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

"We have to get better defensively," head coach Shimmy Gray-Miller said. "We have to be more committed to, and invested in, our defense. It's unfortunate that our defensive performance took away from the offensive performances of Theresa, Hayley and Amanda.

"Rhode Island executed a terrific game plan and stepped up to make big shots," Gray-Miller said. "That's hard to take on your home court, but give them credit.

"We're not that far away from where we want to be," Gray-Miller added. "But until we become more committed to our defense, we'll continue to fall short. We'll get back at it tomorrow and try to get better. I'll be excited to see how we respond against Richmond on Saturday."

Safi Mojidi, who led Rhode Island with 24 points, buried a 3-pointer with four seconds left in the first half to give the Rams (9-10, 2-2 Atlantic 10) a 32-29 lead at the break. After Lisch tied it at 32 with a conventional 3-point play, Rhode Island embarked on a 16-4 run that gave the Rams a 48-36 cushion with 12:41 left.

Saint Louis (7-12, 2-2 A-10) turned the tables and assembled a 16-5 spurt of its own that pulled the Bills to within a point, 53-52, at the 5:48 mark. That was the first of six times SLU would trail by that margin, and it wasn't until Kemezys hit two free throws with 34 seconds left that the Billikens finally knotted the count at 62.

Amanda McGrew gave URI a 64-62 lead on the Rams' next possession, but Lisch drove for a layup that sent the game into overtime.

In the extra session, McGrew nailed a quick trey to put the Rams on top. Rhode Island's lead remained between one and three points until Lisch stepped back and found the mark with a 3-pointer that tied the score at 71 with 2:17 to play. McGrew beat the shot clock with another triple on the Rams' next possession, however, beginning an 11-2 spurt that closed the game.

Rhode Island led by seven points on four occasions in the first half, the last time a 29-22 advantage with 1:56 remaining. Lisch hit a 3-pointer and Leake followed with a pair of buckets that tied it at 29 before Mojidi gave URI its halftime lead.

The Billikens shot 51 percent from the floor but were held to just nine free-throw attempts (8-of-9), 15 below their league-leading average of 24. Meanwhile, Rhode Island shot a season-best 54 percent from the field, well above its season average of 38 percent, and connected on 17-of-19 from the foul line for 90 percent, much higher than its season mark of 64 percent. Saint Louis earned a 35-24 rebounding advantage that included 17 offensive boards. Heather King and Katie Paganelli collected seven rebounds apiece.

McGrew finished with a season-high 19 points, Crystal Bellinger added a career-high 15 and Whitney Hollis scored a season-high 14 for Rhode Island.

The Billikens host Richmond on Saturday. Game time at the Bauman-Eberhardt Center is 2 p.m.