Feb. 18, 2010

Box Score

ST. LOUIS - Lauren Woods scored 21 points, Amanda Kemezys recorded her seventh double-double of the season Thursday night as Saint Louis upended Charlotte 65-63 in an Atlantic 10 Conference battle at Chaifetz Arena.

The victory, the Billikens' first this season after trailing at halftime, is the second straight and third in four games for SLU (10-17, 4-8 A-10). Charlotte (15-11, 8-4 A-10) dropped its second consecutive decision and third in five outings.

"This was a great win for our team and our program and an absolute reflection of how much our players have grown the latter part of the season," head coach Shimmy Gray-Miller said. "What a wonderful way for our seniors (Kemezys and Katie Paganelli) to start to bring closure to their careers in front of our hometown fans. We deserved to win this game because we worked hard and were tough when we needed to be.

"I can't say enough about the play of Lauren and Pooh (Gearlds) lately," Gray-Miller said. "Lauren is emerging as an offensive threat, and Pooh has taken ownership of the team on the floor. Their higher level of play has everything to do with how well we've been playing down the stretch."

Woods was 6-of-14 from the field and 9-of-12 from the foul line, and she added three assists. Gearlds scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds, one shy of tying her career best, and chipped in three assists and two steals while committing just one turnover in 38 minutes. Kemezys contributed 10 points, a game-high 15 rebounds, three blocks and three steals.

Paganelli scored nine points, giving her 1,211 points for her career and tying her with Missy Meinberg for 10th on the Billikens' all-time scoring chart. She made three 3-pointers, tying her with Mandy Lueking for second in program history with 164 treys.

Kemezys' 15 rebounds lifted her career total to 796 and propelled her past Jamie Cavaness into third place on SLU's all-time list. Now with 250 rebounds this season, she broke Arlene Lampe's school record (240) for seniors Thursday night and put herself within striking distance of Cavaness' overall school record of 267 set in the 1995-96 campaign.

Charlotte's Shannon McCallum led all players with 22 points and also tallied 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals. Ashley Spriggs had 10 points, six rebounds and a game-high five assists for the 49ers, while Kendria Holmes collected four assists and four steals.

Saint Louis earned a 46-42 advantage on the boards, including 25-19 in the second half.

The game featured nine ties and 14 lead changes, and neither team led by more than eight points. Charlotte expanded a 31-27 halftime lead to eight, 39-31, with 15:54 left in the second half, only to see Saint Louis reel off 15 straight points over the next 3:38 to grab its largest lead, 46-39, at the 12:16 mark. Six Billikens scored a bucket apiece during the flurry, including 3-pointers by Ayriell Robinson, Paganelli and Jacy Bradley.

Charlotte used a quick 8-0 run to earn a 47-46 edge with 10:18 left. Three ties and three lead changes ensued before the Billikens went on top for good, 56-55, on two Woods free throws with 4:33 to play. The 49ers failed to regain the lead on their next two possessions, and a Woods jumper gave SLU a 58-55 lead at 3:31.

Spriggs responded with a jumper at the 3:09 mark to make it a one-point game again, but Charlotte didn't score on its next three possessions. Meanwhile, Kemezys made a layup, and Woods and Gearlds each sank a pair of free throws for a 64-57 Saint Louis lead with 1:43 to play. McCallum's 3-pointer with 1:24 left kept Charlotte in the game, but those were the last points the 49ers would score until Holmes made a meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Charlotte's early 8-2 lead was erased by a 13-3 Saint Louis run that put the Bills on top 15-11. Paganelli tied the score at 11 with a 3-pointer, then punctuated the run with another trey. Saint Louis later led by six, 21-15, but the 49ers outscored the Billikens 16-6 over the final 7:38 of the half to take a 31-27 lead to the locker room.

The Billikens travel to Washington, D.C., to face George Washington next Tuesday, Feb. 23. Game time is 6 p.m. (CT).