Jan. 12, 2009

Box Score

ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis turned up the defensive pressure in the second half of Monday night's Atlantic 10 Conference clash with Fordham, outscoring the Rams 17-4 over the final 11:43 en route to a 64-48 victory at Chaifetz Arena.

Kyara Weekes hit a jumper at the 11:43 mark to pull Fordham (7-10, 0-2 A-10) to within three points at 47-44. But on SLU's next possession, Alisha Goodwin's jumper ignited a 15-0 run that resulted in a 62-44 Billiken cushion at the 2:32 mark. Five players scored during the outburst, led by four points apiece from Goodwin, Theresa Lisch and Amanda Kemezys.

Lisch tallied game highs of 19 points and four assists and added five rebounds and two steals for the Bills (7-10, 1-1 A-10). Her 8-of-14 shooting performance included a 3-of-6 mark from 3-point range. Kemezys (6-of-12 field goals, 5-of-5 free throws) scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Heather King enjoyed another strong outing, connecting on 6-of-8 from the floor and collecting a game-high eight rebounds that included six offensive boards. King is 15-of-19 in her last two outings. The Billikens' 45-39 advantage on the glass included 18 offensive caroms.

Saint Louis used a 10-0 run to build a 16-6 cushion midway through the first half. Kemezys began the flurry with a layup, Lisch followed with a trey and a jumper, and Kemezys punctuated the run with a conventional 3-point play.

Fordham cut the lead in half and trailed 20-15 with 8:00 remaining, but King scored six points in an 8-3 spurt that restored the double-digit margin, 28-18, with 5:04 to play. Weekes scored seven points and Becky Peters added six in a 13-5 run that narrowed the gap to two, 33-31 with 27 seconds left. Kemezys sank two free throws to give the Billikens a 35-31 halftime lead.

Saint Louis never relinquished the lead in the second half, although Fordham made it a two-point contest on four occasions before the Bills began their game-clinching run.

After shooting 46.4 percent in the first half, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, Fordham was limited to 21.9 percent overall and 1-of-8 from 3-point distance following the break. Saint Louis shot 41.5 percent on the evening.

Weekes led Fordham with 12 points and seven rebounds, and Peters tallied 11 points and six rebounds.

The Billikens travel to Philadelphia Saturday to take on La Salle. Game time is noon (CT).