PHILADELPHIA – Jackie Kemph scored a career-high 20 points, Desirae Ball tallied her 1,000th career point, and Saint Louis cruised past La Salle 76-47 in an Atlantic 10 Conference game Wednesday night at Tom Gola Arena.
The Billikens, who halted their losing streak at three, improved to 9-10 overall and 2-4 in the A-10. The 76 points are a season high in conference play, and the 29-point margin of victory is SLU's largest of the season. La Salle fell to 10-9, 1-5 with its fifth straight loss.
Kemph, who was 7-of-10 from the field including a 3-of-4 effort from 3-point range, also recorded seven assists to set a Saint Louis freshman record. She has 109 helpers, passing Kara Wile (105 in 1996-97).
Ball, who finished with nine points, became the 17th player in Billiken women's basketball history to score 1,000 career points. She reached the milestone with a fast-break layup at the 10:10 mark of the second half.
Sadie Stipanovich scored 13 points and collected seven rebounds, and Jamesia Price registered 11 points, six boards and five assists. Jenny Vliet tied her career high with a game-high nine rebounds as Saint Louis earned a 47-28 edge on the glass, its largest advantage of the season. Olivia Jakubicek tossed in eight points.
Micahya Owens scored 18 points to lead La Salle, which was held to 31 percent from the field by the Billiken defense. Meanwhile, Saint Louis shot 48 percent overall and a season-high 54 percent (7-of-13) from beyond the arc.
Saint Louis exploded out of the gate, scoring on eight of its first 11 possessions to take a 16-2 lead. Kemph and Stipanovich tallied seven points apiece during the flurry.
The Billikens then went scoreless on their next eight possessions, and La Salle closed the gap to 16-11. It was 19-14 after Kemph and Owens traded 3-pointers.
Saint Louis turned on the jets again, however, outscoring La Salle 16-4 the rest of the half. Five different Billikens, led by Jakubicek's six points, scored during the run that lifted SLU to a 35-18 cushion at intermission.
La Salle managed to pull to within 12 points, 37-25, with a 7-2 spurt to begin the second half. But Saint Louis answered with perhaps their best offensive outburst of the season, scoring on 14 of 16 possessions to establish a 30-point bulge, 68-38. Six different Billikens scored during the 31-13 run, with Price ringing up all 11 of her points during that stretch.
The Billikens host A-10 co-leader Fordham Saturday, Jan. 24, in a game that will be nationally televised by CBS Sports Network. Tip time is 3:05 p.m.
