Feb. 23, 2010

Box Score

WASHINGTON - Amanda Kemezys paced four Saint Louis double-figure scorers with 20 points and added a team-high 10 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season, and the Billikens held off a late George Washington challenge to beat the Colonials 65-60 in an Atlantic 10 Conference contest Tuesday night at the Charles E. Smith Center.

The victory was the first for the Billikens (11-17, 5-8 A-10) in five tries against George Washington (6-19, 3-9 A-10). Saint Louis has won three straight - its first three-game winning streak since the 2006-07 season - and four of its last five. In addition, SLU has captured consecutive conference road wins for the first time since the 2001-02 campaign, adding Tuesday's triumph to a victory at Fordham a week ago.

Katie Paganelli scored 14 points, Lauren Woods tallied 13 and Kathryn Hester added 10 for the Billikens. Janisha Gearlds handed out a game-high six assists, and Paganelli had a game-high four steals. Tiana Myers led George Washington with 19 points, Kay-Kay Allums and Shi-Heria Shipp scored 12 apiece and Sara Mostafa tallied 10. Brooke Wilson grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.

The Billikens took a quick 8-0 lead on the strength of their pressure defense, forcing GW into five consecutive turnovers to start the game. Paganelli made a steal and a layup, then made another theft that led to a Gearlds fast-break layup. Woods made one of two free throws, and Paganelli punctuated the run with a 3-pointer that gave her sole possession of second place on SLU's career list.

The Colonials responded with a 10-0 spurt of their own to surge ahead. Gearlds' free throw and Jacy Bradley's steal and layup put the Bills on top 11-10. After George Washington momentarily regained the lead on Allums' 15-foot jumper, Kemezys hit a short turnaround jumper and followed with an offensive rebound and layup for a 15-12 SLU advantage.

Three GW free throws evened the count at 15, but consecutive baskets by Hester handed command back to the Bills. Later, Kemezys netted back-to-back buckets for a 24-17 lead, only to see GW narrow the gap to 26-23 at the 1:21 mark. But Woods banked in a desperation shot that just beat the shot clock, and Bradley's trey from the top of the key gave the Billikens a 31-23 cushion at the break.

Saint Louis wasted no time padding its lead in the second half, scoring on its first three and five of its first seven possessions. The Bills' low-post presence dominated in a 10-2 run that resulted in a 41-25 advantage, with Hester scoring six points and Kemezys adding four.

Myers sank a long 2-pointer and a trey, and Shipp's field goal capped a 7-0 flurry that sliced the SLU lead to 41-32. However, SLU began to gradually pull away again. Woods sank a jumper from the right wing and followed with two free throws, and Kemezys added a pair of freebies for a 47-34 lead.

The Colonials fought back to within nine on three occasions, but a Paganelli 3-pointer restored a double-digit Billiken lead, 54-42. Woods followed with a strong driving layup and completed a conventional 3-point play, and Kemezys took a feed from Bradley and scored to expand the margin to 59-44.

However, SLU came up empty on six straight possessions and saw George Washington cut the Billiken lead to 59-53 with a 9-0 run. Bradley found Kemezys all alone under the basket for an easy layup to momentarily slow the GW spurt, but Allums' layup made it a six-point game again, 61-55.

The Bills missed two front ends of 1-and-1 opportunities, and Allums took advantage by dropping in a 3-pointer that made it a 61-58 game. After SLU missed another 1-and-1, Paganelli grabbed the rebound and was fouled. After she made the first free throw, the Bills were called for a technical foul, and Myers netted both free throws to cut the SLU lead to 62-60. Paganelli then hit her second free throw to give the Bills a 63-60 edge with 25.2 seconds left.

Allums launched a 3-point try in an attempt to tie the game, but Ayriell Robinson got a hand on it and Kemezys collected the rebound. Two Paganelli free throws with 9.7 seconds left sealed the victory.

Saint Louis shot 45.5 percent from the field, including 50 percent the second half. The Bills committed just 12 turnovers, tying their season low in a conference game.

The Billikens conclude the regular season at Chaifetz Arena Sunday, Feb. 28, against Richmond. Game time is noon for the nationally televised contest (CBS College Sports). Saint Louis will participate in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's "Pink Zone" initiative for breast cancer awareness, and fans are encouraged to wear pink. The first 1,000 fans will receive a free pink Billiken T-shirt. In addition, SLU seniors Amanda Kemezys and Katie Paganelli will be honored following the game.