Feb. 11, 2009

Box Score

PITTSBURGH - Alisha Goodwin tied her career high with 14 points, but Duquesne placed five players in double figures and defeated the Billikens 84-66 in an Atlantic 10 Conference battle Wednesday night at the Palumbo Center.

Theresa Lisch scored 14 points and tied for game-high honors with seven assists. Amanda Kemezys added 11 points and six rebounds for the Billikens, who slipped to 10-14 overall and 4-5 in the A-10. Katie Paganelli netted 10 points, and Heather King collected a game-high eight rebounds.

Duquesne (14-10, 4-5 A-10) jumped to a 5-0 lead and maintained the advantage throughout the contest. The Dukes gained their first double-digit cushion, 22-12, at the 9:00 mark of the first half. An 18-9 run gave Duquesne its largest lead, 42-22, with 17 seconds left before King nailed a jumper from the foul line to make it a 42-24 game at the break.

The Dukes kept applying the pressure in the second half and built the margin to 29 points on two occasions. The Billikens used a late 12-5 flurry to trim the final deficit under 20 points.

Kristi Little scored a game-high 17 points and was joined in double figures by Keri Pryor (16), Alex Gensler (13), Rachel Frederick (11) and Samantha Pollino (10). Kelly Britcher grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, while Little had seven assists and a game-high four steals.

The Billikens shot 52 percent in the second half to finish at a solid 46 percent for the game. However, SLU was just 2-of-8 from 3-point range and 12-of-22 (55 percent) from the free-throw line. Duquesne shot 52 percent overall, 47 percent (9-of-19) from beyond the arc and 75 percent (15-of-20) from the stripe.

Saint Louis returns to Chaifetz Arena Saturday, Feb. 14, to host George Washington at 2 p.m. The Billikens will wear pink uniforms as part of their participation in the Pink Zone, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's nationwide initiative to raise awareness and money in the fight against breast cancer. Fans are encouraged to wear pink, and the first 500 fans will receive a free pink T-shirt.