SEATTLE - Eastern Michigan closed the game with an 11-4 run and defeated Saint Louis 66-55 Thursday afternoon in the opening round of Seattle University's Washington Dental Service Holiday Hoops Tournament at KeyArena.

The Billikens (4-9) will face either Seattle University or Saint Francis (Pa.) in the tournament consolation game Friday at 3 p.m. (CT). Eastern Michigan improved to 7-4.

Jacy Bradley led Saint Louis with 13 points, while Desirae Ball and Courtney Webb scored 12 points apiece and Lorreal Jones tallied eight. Mallory Eggert grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass to tie her career high, as the Bills earned a 34-29 edge on the boards. SLU has out-rebounded all but one opponent this season.

Janisha Gearlds and Bradley collected five and four assists, respectively, and Jones tied her career best with three assists. Kim Bee notched a game-high three blocks.

Gearlds moved past Shatoya Likely into fifth place on SLU's career assists chart. The senior guard has 298 helpers in her career.

SLU sank a season-high seven 3-pointers (7-of-13). Webb tied her career high and the Bills' season high with four treys (4-of-8), while Bradley was 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Eastern Michigan's Tavelyn James scored a game-high 19 points. Olivia Fouty had 11 points and eight rebounds, while India Hairston netted 11 points. Desyree Thomas contributed 10 points, four rebounds, six assists and seven steals.

"Overall, our halfcourt defense was solid," head coach Shimmy Gray-Miller said. "Our turnovers led to several uncontested leak-out layups for Eastern Michigan.

"We played hard and shot the ball well," Gray-Miller said. "We obviously didn't handle EMU's pressure very well, which isn't indicative of what we've done this season. Today was an anomaly in that sense, so I'm not concerned about it.

"We'll build on our continued strong shooting efforts and our rebounding, which has been our anchor the entire season. Our team has great character, which instills in me confidence in how we'll respond tomorrow."

The Billikens took a 5-2 lead on a Ball jumper and a Webb 3-pointer. A 9-0 run gave Eastern Michigan an 11-5 advantage, the largest first-half lead for either team.

Saint Louis answered with a 9-2 spurt that gave the Billikens a 14-13 edge. Bradley ignited the run with a 3-pointer from the right wing, and Jones followed with a 15-foot jumper and two free throws. Bee closed the run with a fast-break layup.

Eastern Michigan regained the upper hand on its next possession, and the Eagles held a lead between one and four points until Bradley's baseline jumper and Jones' layup evened the count at 25. Moments later, Bradley's trey from the right corner put SLU on top 28-27, and her third 3-pointer of the half gave Saint Louis a 31-29 edge. EMU netted a late basket to make it 31-all at intermission.

Eggert scored five early second-half points, including a three-point play that put the Billikens on top 38-36. Eastern Michigan responded by scoring the next eight and 13 of the next 17 points to grab a 49-42 lead.