GAME DETAILS
Saint Louis 74, DePaul 72
WNIT First Round
Friday, March 19, 2021 | 5 p.m. (CDT)
UW Health Sports Factory | Rockford, Ill.
 
THE BASICS
• Myia Clark scored a season-high 20 points, Julia Martinez sank a career-high three 3-pointers, and Saint Louis advanced to the second round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament with a 74-72 victory over DePaul Friday evening.
• The Billikens (13-4) play Saturday at 8 p.m. vs. the winner of the Milwaukee-Drake first-round game.
• SLU led by 14 points early in the fourth quarter and had to hold off a furious DePaul rally. The Blue Demons finally pulled even at 72 with 27 seconds left, but Ciaja Harbison calmly sank two free throws with less than six seconds to play to give the Billikens the win.
• DePaul fell to 14-9.
 
FIRST QUARTER
• Except for a 4-3 deficit, Saint Louis led the entire quarter.
• The second of Clark's four 3-pointers gave the Billikens their largest first-half lead, 18-11, with 2:28 left.
• SLU was in front 25-20 at the buzzer.
 
SECOND QUARTER
• The Saint Louis lead swayed between two and five points until DePaul's 7-0 run put the Blue Demons on top 35-33 with 5:14 remaining.
• The teams combined for only one more point – a Brooke Flowers free throw – the rest of the quarter, and DePaul took a 35-34 edge to intermission.
 
THIRD QUARTER
• A Clark triple at the 7:38 mark put SLU ahead 39-37, the first of five lead changes in less than a two-minute span.
• A layup by Myriama Smith Traore with 5:59 left put the Billikens in front and ignited a 22-7 flurry that extended into the fourth quarter.
• After leading 54-44, SLU saw the margin cut in half before Martinez connected from distance for a 57-49 advantage heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
FOURTH QUARTER
• Two Smith Traore baskets and a Marisa Warren jumper in the opening moments concluded the run and increased the Saint Louis lead to 63-49 with 8:32 remaining.
• DePaul assembled an 18-5 run that narrowed the margin to a point, 68-67, at the 2:19 mark.
• Harbison responded with a jumper to restore a three-point lead. Following a DePaul 3-pointer that tied it at 70, she connected again for a 72-70 edge.
• The Blue Demons knotted the score at 72 with 27 ticks left, setting the stage for Harbison's game-winning free throws. DePaul's last-second shot was off the mark.
 
BILLIKEN NOTABLES
• Saint Louis connected on 40 percent (10-of-25) from beyond the arc.
• The Billikens committed just 13 turnovers against a DePaul team that forces almost 22 per game.
• Clark has hit four 3-pointers in each of SLU's last two games, combining for 36 points in those contests.
• Harbison finished with 14 points and a game-high five assists.
• Martinez was 3-of-3 from the arc and tallied 11 points to go with five rebounds and four assists.
• Smith Traore just missed a double-double with nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds (six offensive).
• Flowers tossed in nine points (3-of-3 FG, 3-of-4 FT).