ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis University women's basketball won its final in-state battle of the year, Wednesday night, defeating the Missouri State Lady Bears, 79-67, at Chaifetz Arena.
 
The Billikens got off to a hot start with their first points coming off an open three from Julia Martinez. While the visiting Lady Bears went 1-4 to open, the home team took advantage, racing out to a 9-2 lead off a 9-0 run. But the Billikens' second-straight in-state opponent capitalized off a nearly four-minute scoring drought by SLU, going on a 10-0 run of their own to take the 12-9 lead. At the first media timeout which came at the 1:45 mark of the first period, SLU was shooting 30 percent from the field.
 
In the second quarter, Peyton Kennedy helped stop the damage, hitting back-to-back shots to bring the score within four. The teams traded turnovers midway through the period, before SLU's 6-0 run, kick-started by a Kennedy steal, boosted the Billikens to a 25-24 lead. After a quick response from the Lady Bears, Martinez found Kyla McMakin for a jumper to go back up by one. As seconds expired in the first half, MoState's Paige Rocca sank her second three pointer of the night to take the lead into the locker room.
 
Coming out of the half, the Lady Bears drained another from behind the arc before drawing a foul and going to the line. MoState held onto its lead through the third quarter, extending it to 12 points at the five-minute mark. Back-to-back layups from Tierra Simon brought the Billikens within eight.  
 
For the third-straight game, the Billikens were tasked with digging themselves out of a fourth-quarter deficit trailing the visiting team by five at the start of the final period. Kennedy got the first points of the final quarter of the night before Kennedy Calhoun's jumper brought SLU within three. After an untimely turnover by the home team, Julia Martinez drove to the rim on back-to-back possessions to give SLU the narrow advantage. From there, the teams traded leads before Kennedy grabbed a momentum-shifting steal before drawing a foul to send her to the line. 
 
Once again, the Billikens sealed the game from the free-throw line making 18 from the charity stripe in the final 3:20 of action. 
 
The Billikens held the 41-40 advantage in boards in the win, with Marcavia Shavers recording a team-high 10. Kennedy led all scorers with 24 points and a career-high five steals while Martinez (21 points, 6 assists) and McMakin (11) also scored in double-digits. 
 
Next up for SLU is a three-game road trip to Laie, Hawaii, where the Billikens will face off against Chaminade University on Nov. 18 before taking on Wake Forest and BYU Nov. 20-21 as part of the North Shore Showcase.