BOCA RATON, Fla. - Mallory Eggert registered her first double-double of the season,
and Saint Louis shot a season-high 47.3 percent from the floor in a 70-63
victory over Florida Atlantic Saturday afternoon at FAU Arena.
The win was the
first road triumph of the year for the Billikens (3-6), who scored 70 points
for the first time this season and halted a two-game losing skid. Florida
Atlantic of the Sun Belt Conference slipped to 3-5.
Eggert scored a
career-high 14 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds (five offensive) to
notch her third career double-double and second against Florida Atlantic. She
had 11 points and a career-high 16 boards in a 60-52 win over FAU at Chaifetz
Arena last season.
Desirae Ball scored a career-high 14 points to go with a
career-high three steals, while Janisha Gearlds collected 12 points and a
game-high five assists. Jamesia Price also dished out five assists, her
career high, as the Billikens posted more assists (16) than turnovers (14) for
a second time this season.
FAU, which
suffered its fourth straight defeat, got a game-high 17 points from Teri
Stamps, 13 points from Kimberly Smith and 10 points from April Goins. Goins and
Chenise Miller recorded eight rebounds apiece as the Owls handed the Billikens
their first deficit of the season (44-36) on the glass.
"After we lost
at Murray State last Saturday, I promised a refocused Billiken team," head
coach Shimmy Gray-Miller said. "That's exactly what we've had in the two
games since then. FAU is a tough environment to play in, and we knew their
athleticism would make it difficult for us. This win is a testament to the
maturity and growth we've experienced the past week.
"Our post
players came up big for us," Gray-Miller said. "They got us going in the first
half and played a huge part in us getting a halftime lead. I'm disappointed
that we were outrebounded for the first time this year, but I definitely am not
disappointed in the effort."
After leading
30-23 at intermission, Saint Louis opened the second half with a 14-7 surge to
forge its largest lead of the game, 44-30, with 13:51 remaining. The Bills
scored on seven of nine possessions during the run, which saw five different
players score. Ball and Courtney Webb had four points apiece.
Smith hit
3-pointers on two straight possessions to narrow the gap to eight, but the
Billikens responded with Gearlds' offensive rebound and layup, Ball's short
baseline jumper and a Lorreal Jones layup to make it 50-38 with 11:00
left.
Florida Atlantic
outscored SLU 11-3 over the next six minutes and change, and suddenly the Billiken
margin had shrunk to four, 53-49, at the 4:43 mark. But Webb nailed a 16-footer
from the left wing seconds later to restore order, followed by two Eggert free
throws and Ball's backdoor layup from Price that made it 59-51 with 2:42 left.
Neither team
scored until a free-throw exchange almost two minutes later. Two free throws by
Ball gave SLU a 62-52 cushion with 47 seconds left, but FAU made it a
two-possession game, 64-58, on Goins' three-point play with 20 seconds to play.
However, the
Billikens held on by going 6-of-6 from the stripe - four by Price and two by
Gearlds - in the final 17 ticks.
After a Stamps
3-pointer gave Florida Atlantic a 9-4 lead, SLU scored on six of its next seven
possessions in a 14-5 run that put the Billikens on top 18-14.
Webb sparked the
run with a 15-foot jumper from the left wing, and Eggert grabbed an offensive
rebound and scored. Eggert gathered an errant pass and turned it into an easy
bucket, and Jacy Bradley buried a trey from the right wing. Jones' layup
and another Bradley 3-pointer concluded the flurry.
Stamps'
3-pointer pulled FAU to within a point, 22-21, at the 6:17 mark, but the Saint
Louis defense did not allow another basket the rest of the half. Meanwhile, the
Billikens finished the period with an 8-2 spurt. Ball's 18-foot baseline jumper
started the run, Eggert scored close to the bucket on two consecutive
possessions and Ball connected on a short bank shot. Two late FAU free throws
made it 30-23 SLU at the break.
Saint Louis begins a three-game homestand Tuesday, Dec. 13, against
Missouri-St. Louis. Tip time at Chaifetz Arena is 7 p.m.