LAIE, Hawai'i – Saint Louis University women's basketball fell to Wake Forest here Monday, dropping a 94-66 contest with the Demon Deacons in game one of the North Shore Showcase.
Coming off the Billikens' highest-scoring game in program history, the team struggled to find a rhythm on offense, as the Demon Deacons took a quick, 5-0 advantage to start the game.
Kyla McMakin ended the run with a jumper and a three-pointer to tie things up but Wake Forest extended its lead to 24-15 off a 7-2 run to end the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter,
Julia Martinez grabbed her second steal of the day and 302nd of her career to eclipse the SLU record in the category. Despite her two early steals, the Billikens struggled in the turnover column, giving away 15 in the first 20 minutes of regulation. Going into the locker rooms, Wake Forest led, 44-31, with four made threes to the Billikens' one from behind the arc.
Coming out of the break, the Billikens earned a defensive stop, but their 16th turnover of the day plagued them, giving Wake Forest a second opportunity. But SLU's defense held strong, and a layup from
Brooklyn Gray brought the score within 11. Minutes later, made buckets from McMakin and Martinez extended the Bililkens' run to nine points, bringing SLU within 10 (56-46). From there, the teams traded scores, with Gray's 13th point of the day keeping SLU within striking distance until a clutch three from the Demon Deacons extended their lead to 67-52.
Tasked with digging themselves out of their largest fourth quarter deficit so far, this season, the Billikens struggled to connect from behind the arc, going 0-5 from the three in the final period. Wake Forest finalized the win with its 54 percent shooting from the floor leading the way while holding SLU to 44 percent from the field and scoring 20 points off Billiken turnovers.
McMakin led the team with a season-high 26 points while Gray added 15 and Martinez pulled down nine rebounds.
SLU will be back in action to finish off the showcase against BYU, who after its win over Wake Forest, Saturday, sits at 5-0 on the year. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
