GAME DETAILS

Saint Louis 59, Ball State 55

WNIT Second Round

Monday, March 21, 2016 | 7 p.m.

Chaifetz Arena | St. Louis, Missouri

THE BASICS

--Jackie Kemph and Sadie Stipanovich registered game highs of 26 points and 13 rebounds, respectively, and Saint Louis outscored Ball State 7-2 over the final 1:08 to claim a 59-55 victory Monday night in a second-round WNIT game at Chaifetz Arena.

--The Billikens (26-7) advance to the round of 16 and will host Western Kentucky (26-6), a 64-57 second-round winner over UT Martin, Friday at 7 p.m.

--Saint Louis improved its record to 6-1 in games decided by five or fewer points. Five of those victories have come in the last eight games.

--Ball State of the Mid-American Conference finished its season 22-10.

HOW IT HAPPENED

--Saint Louis trailed 53-52 after Ball State's Moriah Monaco hit one of her five 3-pointers with 1:37 remaining.

--Jackie Kemph answered with a layup at the 1:08 mark that put the Billikens back in front for good. It was the 17th lead change of the game.

--After SLU forced a turnover, Kemph made two free throws for a 56-53 lead. Another defensive stop by the Bills led to a Jamesia Price free throw and a four-point margin with 16 seconds left.

--Two Nathalie Fontaine free throws cut the Saint Louis lead in half with 10 seconds to play.

--The Billikens turned the ball over on their next possession, but Ball State failed to convert. Kemph was fouled and sank two free throws with five seconds left to seal the victory.

--Both teams suffered cold shooting during the first half, with Ball State connecting on 31.8 percent and Saint Louis hitting just 25.7 percent.

--The game was tied 9-9 after one quarter.

--Ball State scored the first six points of the second quarter, but Saint Louis outscored the Cardinals 14-7 over the final 6:08 and took a 23-22 lead to intermission.

--The Billikens scored the first basket of the third quarter, then saw Ball State use a 13-4 run to take a 35-29 lead with 3:01 left.

--However, SLU responded with an 8-1 spurt to end the quarter with a 37-36 advantage.

--Ball State regained the upper hand early in the fourth quarter on a Monaco trey and led by as many as four points in the final stanza.

--Saint Louis tied it at 44 on Kemph's fast-break layup following a Stipanovich steal, and at 47 on Price's 3-pointer. Olivia Jakubicek's steal led to another Kemph fast-break bucket and a 49-47 SLU lead.

--The Cardinals answered immediately with Shelby Merder's 3-pointer to regain the lead. Kemph tied it with a free throw and Stipanovich turned an offensive rebound into a bucket that put the Billikens ahead 52-50 at the 1:56 mark.

BILLIKEN NOTABLES

--Saint Louis held Ball State to 29.6 percent field goal shooting.

--The Billikens earned a 48-38 advantage on the boards, including a season-high-tying 19 offensive rebounds.

--Saint Louis outscored Ball State 28-8 in the paint.

--The Billikens committed just 10 turnovers to 15 for the Cardinals and outscored Ball State 16-10 in points off turnovers.

--Jackie Kemph's 26 points, including a 9-of-10 effort from the free throw line, were two shy of her career high. She also had a game-high seven assists and just one turnover.

--Sadie Stipanovich's 13 rebounds were just one off her career best. Her six offensive boards tied the Saint Louis season high. Stipanovich also tallied eight points (4-of-7 FG).

--Olivia Jakubicek and Maddison Gits grabbed eight and six rebounds, respectively.

--Jordyn Frantz had a career-high three steals.

BALL STATE LEADERS

--Moriah Monaco, 21 points (5-of-6 3-pointers), seven rebounds, three steals; Nathalie Fontaine, 14 points, nine rebounds; Carmen Grande, six rebounds, six assists.