ST. LOUIS - Desirae Ball scored 17 points, just one shy of tying her career best, in Saint Louis' 66-50 Atlantic 10 Conference loss to Temple Wednesday night at Chaifetz Arena.

Ball tied her career high for field goals (8-of-12). She was joined in double figures by Courtney Webb, who tallied 10 points.

Saint Louis (8-16, 2-7 A-10) nipped Temple (15-8, 8-1 A-10) 36-35 on the boards. Lorreal Jones and Mallory Eggert grabbed eight and seven rebounds, respectively, to lead the way, and Kim Bee added five. Janisha Gearlds registered a game-high four assists.

The Owls got a season-high 21 points from BJ Williams, a career-high 12 points from Rateska Brown, and 10 points and a career-high-tying 13 rebounds from Victoria Macaulay.

The Billikens pulled out to a 14-5 lead before the first media timeout. Ball scored seven points during the run, including a three-point play. Webb buried a 3-pointer and a jumper, and Eggert turned an offensive rebound into a layup.

Temple answered with an 11-1 spurt to take a 16-15 lead, with Williams providing eight of the 11 points on a pair of 3-pointers and two free throws. After a bucket by Jenna Mueller put SLU back on top momentarily, baskets by Brown and Williams made it 20-17 Temple.

Eggert, Mueller and Halee Castleman connected for a field goal apiece in a 6-0 mini-run that gave the Billikens a 23-20 advantage at the 6:45 mark. However, Temple closed the half with a 12-4 flurry to take a 32-27 lead to the locker room.

The Bills kept the Temple lead in single digits for the first 5:15 of the second half. But treys by Shey Peddy and Brittany Lewis on consecutive possessions sparked a 12-0 outburst that put Temple in front 52-32, and the Owls maintained at least a 16-point cushion the rest of the way.