GAME DETAILS
Saint Louis 79, La Salle 70
Saturday, January 23, 2016 | 7 p.m.
Chaifetz Arena | St. Louis, Missouri
THE BASICS
--Saint Louis used a balanced scoring attack to register a 79-70 Atlantic 10 Conference victory over La Salle Saturday night at Chaifetz Arena.
--The Billikens improved to 16-4 for just the second time in program history – matching the 1979-80 team – and 6-1 in the A-10, good for a second-place tie with St. Bonaventure. The 6-1 conference start is the best in team history.
--The win gave the Bills one more victory than they registered all of last season, and it assured SLU of its first winning record since the 2002-03 team finished 17-14.
--The Billikens extended their school-record winning streak in conference games to six.
--La Salle fell to 3-16, 0-6.
HOW IT HAPPENED
--Following a 4-4 tie, La Salle used a 15-6 burst to grab a 19-10 advantage with 3:00 left in the first quarter.
--Saint Louis scored the last eight points of the period, all by Maddison Gits, to make it a 19-18 La Salle lead.
--The Billikens took command in the second quarter, stretching their 8-0 first-quarter run to 30-7 for a 40-26 cushion at the 3:19 mark. Aaliyah Covington scored eight points during the run, including a pair of 3-pointers, and was aided by six points from Jamesia Price, four from Jackie Kemph and four more from Gits.
--SLU led 43-30 at halftime.
--La Salle's 10-2 spurt midway through the third quarter brought the Explorers to within six, 51-45. But five different Billikens scored during the final 4:10 of the period, including treys from Jenny Vliet, Covington and Jordyn Frantz at the buzzer, and it was 64-52 Saint Louis.
--The Bills began the fourth quarter with a 9-2 run to take their largest lead, 73-54, and the margin remained in double digits until the closing seconds.
BILLIKEN NOTABLES
--Jackie Kemph led the Billikens in scoring (17 points) and assists (nine).
--Maddison Gits tied her career high with 14 points and added six rebounds. Gits was 6-of-6 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line.
--Aaliyah Covington tallied 14 points, scoring in double figures for a third consecutive game (16 ppg). Covington shot 5-of-9 overall and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
--Sadie Stipanovich tossed in 12 points (6-of-9 FG) and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds (four offensive).
--Jamesia Price scored nine points and had two steals, giving her sole possession of second place on SLU's career steals list (174).
--Jordyn Frantz chipped in eight points and career highs of six rebounds and three offensive rebounds.
--SLU had 19 assists and 14 turnovers, the 10th consecutive game the Billikens have recorded more assists than turnovers.
LA SALLE LEADERS
--Amy Griffin, 26 points, eight rebounds; Adreana Miller, 17 points; Jasmine Alston, 15 assists, 12 rebounds, four steals; Micahya Owens, eight points, five steals.
UP NEXT
--The Billikens begin a two-game road trip Thursday, Jan. 28, with a rematch vs. George Mason in Fairfax, Va. Game time is 6 p.m. (CT). In the A-10 opener in St. Louis Jan. 2, George Mason defeated SLU 73-63 in overtime.
