ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis University women's basketball dropped a 69-57 battle to Saint Joseph's Tuesday night, moving to 6-11 on the season and 1-3 in Atlantic 10 Conference play.

The Billikens out-rebounded the Hawks 37-30 and won the turnover battle only giving away 15 to the visitors' 18, but eight made first-half threes and a 17-point deficit were to much for them to overcome.

Saint Joe's first made basket of the night was a three, but Kyla McMakin answered with a jumper from the floor. A strong defensive possession from the Billikens and points in the paint from Marcavia Shavers boosted the Billikens to a 4-3 advantage, the team's lone lead of the night. A second-straight three pointer from the Hawks and an untimely two minute scoring drought for the Billikens extended the visitors' lead to four at the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, McMakin forced a turnover, but the Billikens were unable to keep the momentum, giving up an 8-0 run to the Hawks. Shavers scored again to end the quarter, but the Billikens trailed, 16-8, shooting 4-19 from the floor.

The second quarter followed suit, as the Hawks hit their fifth three of the night to extend their lead to 11 points. The Hawks' show from the three-point line continued as they hit their seventh three of the night before with two minutes left in the first half, Ashleigh Connor scored on back-to-back possessions for SLU off the bench. Saint Joseph's hit a dagger, the team's eighth three of the first half, as the time expired sending the Hawks into the locker rooms with a 17-point lead. 

Out of the break, McMakin drained the Billikens first three of the night to reduce the Hawks' lead to 14 points. SLU kept its foot on the gas, swinging the momentum in its favor as Shavers scored in the paint and Martinez drew a charge before both she and Kennedy combined for 3-4 at the charity stripe in back-to-back sequences. Kennedy kept the momentum in SLU's favor with her first made three of the night, pulling the Billikens within 11. Back-to-back scores by Shavers, who scored a career-high 14 points on the night, made it a 10-point game with 10 minutes left to play.

The Billikens came out strong to start the fourth quarter, as McMakin came up with her 14th steal of the season before Kennedy scored off an assist from Martinez in transition. The Billikens pulled within six off a feed from Martinez to McMakin, but Saint Joseph's answered, going back up by nine. The Billikens pulled within six once again off of free throws from Kennedy and Martinez, but that's the closest the home team would come to knocking off the two-loss Hawks, as free throws by the visitors pushed the final deficit to 12 points. 

McMakin once again led the Billikens with 16 points while Shavers' 14 was accompanied by a team-high eight rebounds.

The Billikens will be back in action Friday night hosting Dayton at Chaifetz Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.