ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis University women's basketball dropped its first game of Atlantic 10 Conference play Saturday night, falling 63-58 to Rhode Island at Chaifetz Arena.

The game extends the Billikens losing skid to four games as they fall to 5-9 on the season. 

SLU jumped out to an early 6-1 lead four minutes into the team's first home contest since Dec. 9, courtesy of buckets from Peyton Kennedy and Kyla McMakin, both leading the team's scoring efforts with 14 and 13 points, respectively, on the night. At the end of the first media timeout, the home team held an 8-4 advantage, furthered off the second Kennedy layup fed by Julia Martinez. The Rams found a spark of their own late in the first quarter, while the Billikens' offense faltered, to bring the score within two (12-10). A deep three-pointer from Camree Clegg ended the drought and sent the Billikens into the second period up, 16-10, shooting 43 percent from the floor.

Martinez scored her first points of the night to open the second quarter, drawing the foul and completing the three-point play for the Billikens to extend their lead to 19-10. The teams traded possessions, before three-straight makes in the paint by Kennedy gave SLU its largest lead of the night, 27-14. Five free throws by the Rams helped offset their seven second-quarter turnovers and the Billikens took a 30-22 lead into the locker rooms.

Out of the break, the Billikens first-half offensive firepower faltered, as the Rams took advantage of a scoring drought while going on a 6-0 run to pull within two points. Rhode Island fed off its offensive spark, taking their first and largest lead of the day (39-33) four minutes into the second half. The Billikens fought back, with a three-pointer from Kennedy and second-chance layup from Martinez pulling them within two with 10 minutes left to play.

The second half was a battle, as the Billikens saw their deficit increase to 10 points (54-44) with six minutes left to play. Seven fourth-quarter points from Brooklyn Gray pulled SLU back within two points, but the Rams muscled out the 63-58 win for their ninth win of the season. 

Up next for the Billikens is a two-game road stand at Loyola Chicago and Massachusetts, Jan. 3 and Jan. 6. Tip-off for the former is set for 7 p.m. while the latter will be played at 12 p.m.