ST. LOUIS - Behind a career-high 18 points from Desirae Ball, Saint Louis knocked off Rhode Island 70-55 Sunday in Atlantic 10 Conference women's basketball action at Chaifetz Arena.

With the win, the Billikens move to 7-12 overall and 1-3 in the A-10. Rhody dips to 1-19, 0-5 in the league.

Ball's career-best 18 came on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor. She also collected four rebounds. Lorreal Jones recorded 12 points, thanks in part to a career-high tying eight free throws. Morgan Johnson established a career high with 12 points, nailing four of her seven attempts from long range.

Mallory Eggert led the team with 10 rebounds, while Jenna Mueller collected a season-high seven boards. Janisha Gearlds tied her career high with eight assists and recorded a season-high four steals.

Saint Louis shot 45.3 percent from the field, including a 52.2 percent (12-of-23) mark in the second half. The Bills also shot 50 percent (6-of-12) from beyond the arc.

"We talked about not wanting to have a pity party because Jacy Bradley is out for the season with an injury," head coach Shimmy Gray-Miller said. "It was important to put that behind us, and our players did that today.

"What our fans saw today was a team that was hungry for a win, a team willing to do everything necessary to get our first A-10 win of the season," Gray-Miller said. "It's a good sign when six players have either career or season highs in various statistical categories. That makes a great win even better."

The Billikens scored six in a row early on a jumper from Jones, a pair of free throws by Ball and an Eggert layin as the Billikens led 6-2 out the gate.

Rhody briefly took the lead at 7-6 before a seven-point rally by the Billikens, capped by the first of three first-half treys by Johnson, brought the Billiken lead to 13-7.

SLU would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way. A Courtney Webb basket and consecutive jumpers by Ball kept the Billikens on top 23-14.

The Billikens closed the first half on an 11-2 run and took a 35-18 advantage into halftime.

The start of the second half was bolstered by a pair of treys from Webb, giving the Billikens a 46-29 advantage with 13:46 remaining.

Eggert and Ball helped the Billikens on a 7-2 spurt that gave SLU a 21-point lead at 59-38 with 8:23 left. Rhode Island never challenged the rest of the way, and the Billikens coasted to the 15-point victory.

Saint Louis returns to action Wednesday, Jan. 25, when it heads to George Washington for an A-10 tilt. Tip time is scheduled for 6 p.m. (CT).