ST. LOUIS – Four Saint Louis players scored in double figures, and the Billikens recorded a third consecutive victory with a 75-61 triumph over St. Bonaventure Sunday afternoon at the Reilly Center.
 
With the win, SLU evened its Atlantic 10 Conference record at 5-5 and improved to 9-16 overall.
 
Kyla McMakin tallied a game-high-tying 17 points and matched her season high of four assists, while Peyton Kennedy (5-of-8 FG, 5-of-5 FT) poured in 16 points and just missed a double-double with a career-high-tying nine rebounds.
 
Brooke Flowers registered her team-leading ninth double-double of the year, and the 36th of her career, with 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds (five offensive). Flowers, who added three blocks, has rebounded in double figures in six of the last seven games. Mia Nicastro scored 11 points, and Kiley Bess (3-of-4 3-pointers) contributed a season-high nine points.
 
"I think we're looking at ways for each other to be successful, knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses, and having the mentality that we're going to give each other the ball where we want it," Kennedy said.
 
"I have great teammates finding me and getting me the ball," said Bess, who has worked her way back from a knee injury suffered late last season. "Coach Tillett has been telling me to stay ready, stay the course. I've been trying to put in a couple of practices back to back to show I deserve to be playing, and I'm just blessed to be able to finally show what I can do."
 
Julia Martinez grabbed 10 rebounds – her eighth double-digit total in the last 13 games -- including a career-high-tying eight offensive boards. SLU collected 23 offensive rebounds, its second-highest total of the season, and outscored St. Bonaventure 17-4 in second-chance points. The Bills out-rebounded the Bonnies 49-31 overall.
 
Martinez also had four steals to give her 86 on the season, just one shy of the school record.
 
The Billikens also earned a large advantage at the foul line, outscoring the Bonnies 18-3 from the stripe (18-of-20).
 
Saint Louis began to take command in the third quarter. After St. Bonaventure turned a 36-34 halftime deficit into a 42-41 lead, the Billikens rattled off a 17-4 run, featuring points from six different players, for a 58-46 advantage.
 
St. Bonaventure refused to fold, scoring the last six points in the third quarter and a bucket on its first possession of the fourth quarter to narrow SLU's lead to 58-54.
 
Four straight free throws by Flowers and a Kennedy basket restored a double-digit lead, but St. Bonaventure cut the margin in half and trailed 64-59 with 4:51 to play. However, the Billikens yielded just two more points the rest of the way, while Bess' third 3-pointer of the day ignited a game-ending 11-2 spurt.
 
"Not the prettiest (win), and we thought that might happen because road wins are tough," head coach Rebecca Tillett said. "I thought our women did a good job of staying the course. We'd like our defense to be better, but it held in the fourth quarter when we needed it the most."
 
After SLU jumped out to a 6-0 lead, St. Bonaventure used a 9-2 spurt to go in front 9-8. The Billikens scored the next five points, including Bess' first trey, and led 18-17 after one quarter.
 
St. Bonaventure netted the first five points of the second stanza, extending its run to 8-0 and establishing its largest lead at 22-18.
 
The teams then traded runs – 9-0 for SLU, 9-2 for St. Bonaventure – and it was 31-29 Bonnies with 3:04 remaining in the half. McMakin drilled a triple to put the Bills back on top and sank two free throws in the closing seconds to give SLU a 36-34 edge at intermission.
 
"The whole conversation at halftime was that our offense was fine, but it was our defense that needed to improve," Tillett said. "We really need to get stops coming out of timeouts and quarter breaks, and that was the emphasis in the second half."
 
The Billikens play at Dayton Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 10 a.m. Central.