GAME DETAILS

Massachusetts 70, Saint Louis 66

Sunday, January 6, 2019 | 1 p.m. (CT)

Mullins Center | Amherst, Massachusetts

THE BASICS

• Brooke Flowers registered a third straight double-double and three teammates also scored in double figures, but Massachusetts came away with a 70-66 victory over Saint Louis Sunday afternoon in the Atlantic 10 Conference opener for both teams.

• Flowers scored a team-high 17 points and led all players with a career-high-tying 12 rebounds, including a game- and career-high seven offensive boards. She added a game- and career-high four blocks as well as a career-high three assists.

• Jordyn Frantz's 15-point effort included three 3-pointers, giving her 171 treys for her career and sole possession of third place on SLU's all-time list.

• Ciaja Harbison (5-of-10 FG, 2-of-2 3-pointers) tallied 13 points and Tasia Jeffries (4-of-7 FG, 2-of-4 3-pointers) tossed in a career-high 11 for SLU (5-9).

• Kerri McMahan led all players with a career-high-tying nine assists against only two turnovers in a career-high-tying 36 minutes.

FIRST QUARTER

• After trailing 6-4, UMass finished the quarter with an 8-0 run for a 12-6 lead.

SECOND QUARTER

• The Minutewomen built the margin to 12 points, 26-14, with 3:06 left.

• The Billikens closed the period with a 7-0 spurt. Kendra Wilken made a layup, followed by a jumper and a triple by Jordyn Frantz, and it was 26-21 UMass at the break.

THIRD QUARTER

• Trailing 35-27, Saint Louis took the lead with an 11-0 run that featured scoring from five different players. Treys by Chloe Rice and Tasia Jeffries on consecutive possessions tied the score and put the Bills on top.

• UMass netted the next four points to regain the upper hand, but Jeffries scored seven points over the final 2:19 to send the Billikens into the final period with a 47-44 lead.

FOURTH QUARTER

• A Brooke Flowers bucket on SLU's first possession increased the margin to five.

• After UMass tied it at 49, Flowers scored again for a 51-49 Billiken edge.

• Five lead changes followed. UMass went in front for good, 59-58, with 3:50 to play, and the Minutewomen expanded the lead to 66-58 with 51 seconds left.

• The Billikens took advantage of missed free throws by UMass to make it a one-possession game, 69-66, with five seconds remaining. But the Minutewomen were able to inbound the ball and make one free throw to seal the victory.

BILLIKEN NOTABLES

• Saint Louis out-rebounded UMass 37-29. In addition to Flowers' 12 rebounds, Myia Clark grabbed seven and Jordyn Frantz collected six.

• The Billikens shot a solid 46.4 percent (26-of-56) from the field. They are 62-of-123 (50.4 percent) over the last two games, the best back-to-back performances of the season.

• SLU was 8-of-18 (44.4 percent) from 3-point range for a second consecutive game, giving the Bills their best back-to-back efforts from the arc this season.

UMASS LEADERS

Jessica George, 18 points, five assists; Asia McCoy, 14 points; Hailey Leidel, 12 points, six rebounds; Bre Hampton-Bey, nine points; Jessica Nelson, seven rebounds

UP NEXT

The Billikens take on Saint Joseph's Wednesday, Jan. 9, in Philadelphia. Game time is 10:30 a.m. (CT).