ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis University women's basketball fell to VCU here Wednesday, dropping its seventh Atlantic 10 Conference game of the season, 76-67, to the Rams on Education Day which saw 9,500 students pack Chaifetz Arena.
 
The Billikens, who fall to 9-15 on the year, were plagued by 17 turnovers, as the Rams turned them into 18 points while the home team recorded an uncharacteristic season-low two steals.
 
After giving up the first points of the contest, Marcavia Shavers got the Billikens on the board first, before immediately drawing a charge on the other end on the next possession. The Rams responded before Brooklyn Gray, entering the starting lineup for the seventh time this season, hit a basket from beyond the arc to give the Billikens a 5-2 lead. The teams traded scores and stops before Gray drew the foul on a made layup and completed the three-point play to tie the game at 10 apiece. The Billikens flexed on the defensive side of the ball earning a stop, before Tierra Simon knocked down a three of her own to give SLU the advantage. The Billikens continued their strong defensive play, holding the Rams scoreless the final 2:50 of the opening quarter while extending their lead to five points.
 
The second quarter was a back-and-forth affair with Simon converting on a tough bucket in the paint to give the Billikens a seven-point advantage (20-13). The Rams stopped the Billikens momentum short, going on a 13-0 run to regain the lead and go up by four, 30-26. Peyton Kennedy ended SLU's scoring drought and the Billikens went into the break trailing, 35-30.
 
Gray pulled SLU within three in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Rams responded with a three to pull further away. The Rams went on another detrimental run, scoring six unanswered points from the floor to go up by 11 points. Broken up by Kyla McMakin who pulled the Billikens back within nine, the Rams used yet another run to extend their lead further at the end of the third quarter.
 
Facing foul trouble heading into the final period, SLU earned several important defensive stops while on the other end of the floor, Kennedy's three-point play and Simon's score in the paint pulled the Billikens within five, with seven minutes left to play. The Rams kept their foot on the gas through the final period, though, and despite four of the Billikens' seven made three pointers coming with under six minutes left to play, the visitors earned their ninth conference win of the season.
 
McMakin's 15-points boosted her to 1,000 in a Billiken jersey, as she became only the third-ever player in NCAA women's basketball history to score 1,000 points at two separate institutions.
 
The Billikens head to Kingston, R.I., next, to take on Rhode Island for a rematch with the Rams on Sunday. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. (CST), and the game will broadcast on ESPNU.