GAME DETAILS
Saint Louis 70, Rhode Island 59
Friday, March 4, 2016 | 4:30 p.m. (ET)
Richmond Coliseum | Richmond, Virginia
THE BASICS
--A 12-0 fourth-quarter run propelled No. 2 seed Saint Louis to a 70-59 victory over No. 10 Rhode Island Friday afternoon in an Atlantic 10 Conference Championship quarterfinal game at the Richmond Coliseum.
--The win, Saint Louis' sixth in a row, sends the regular-season co-champion Billikens (24-6) to the tournament semifinals for the first time in program history. SLU will take on No. 3 Duquesne, a 70-65 winner over No. 6 Fordham, on Saturday.
--Saturday's semifinal matchup will tip at 12:30 p.m. (CT) and will be televised on CBS Sports Network; there will be no online video stream. However, the game will be audio streamed free of charge on www.SLUBillikens.com, with Jeff Vernetti on the call.
--Rhode Island finished the season with a 12-18 record.
HOW IT HAPPENED
--Eight different Billikens scored in the first quarter, which ended with Saint Louis in front 27-13. The 27 points are SLU's first-quarter season high.
--SLU expanded the lead to 35-14 with 6:28 left in the second quarter. The Billikens went cold, however, and Rhode Island trimmed the lead to 41-29 at halftime.
--The Billikens' shooting woes continued in the third quarter, and five Rhode Island points in the final minute made it a 48-45 Saint Louis lead.
--The Rams tied it at 48 and again at 50 before the Billiken offense regained its touch. Saint Louis scored on six consecutive possessions in its 12-0 spurt, then sank eight straight free throws in the final 40 seconds to seal the victory.
BILLIKEN NOTABLES
--Saint Louis committed a season-low six turnovers while forcing 19 Rhode Island miscues. The Billikens took advantage of the discrepancy, outscoring the Rams 27-5 in points off turnovers.
--SLU tied its season high of 23 free throws made and converted 92 percent (23-of-25) from the stripe.
--Jackie Kemph tied for game-high honors with 18 points and also dished out a game-high eight assists. Kemph tied the Saint Louis record for best perfect free throw performance, going 12-of-12 from the stripe (career-high 12 free throws made).
--Kemph moved into third place on the Billikens' all-time single-season scoring list with 493 points. She needs just four points to take over second place.
--Jamesia Price (7-of-8 FT, 2-of-5 3-pointers) scored 15 points, tied her career high with five steals and registered three assists.
--Sadie Stipanovich (5-of-5 FG) tossed in 10 points.
--Jenny Vliet tallied nine points and a team-high six rebounds, including a game-high-tying three offensive boards.
--Jordyn Frantz (2-of-4 3-pointers) scored eight points.
--Denisha Womack and Maddison Gits hauled in five and four rebounds, respectively.
RHODE ISLAND LEADERS
--Charise Wilson, 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists; Samantha Tabakman, 13 points, nine rebounds; Tayra Melendez, 13 points, three blocks.
