HENRICO, Va. – No. 7-seeded Saint Louis University women's basketball defeated George Washington in come-from-behind fashion here Thursday evening, advancing to the third round of the Atlantic 10 Championship with a 75-68 win over George Washington.
Trailing by 11 heading into the final 10 minutes at the Henrico Sports & Events Center, the Billikens outscored GW 30-12 in the fourth quarter to win by seven.
The Revolutionaries came out firing in the second-round championship game, as the 10th-seeded team shot 56 percent in the first quarter to take an early seven-point advantage.
The teams traded shots early in the second quarter, as the Billikens struggled to gain offensive momentum while 21 turnovers plagued their night. Midway through the second period, the tide changed, as SLU pieced together an 11-0 run capped by Peyton Kennedy's second made three-pointer of the night to take the lead. The Revolutionaries ended the run and took back a two-point lead into the break, leading the Billikens 36-34.
Out of the break, a quick steal and score by GW got the Revolutionaries on the board first and minutes later saw them take their largest lead of the day of 11 points. The Billikens kept fighting, though, as Tierra Simon kicked off the fourth quarter scoring four unanswered points to give SLU life and pull within seven before Brooklyn Gray narrowed their deficit to four points off a basket from beyond the arc.
With just under four minutes to play, the Billikens took back the momentum for good, as Kyla McMakin grabbed a steal and completed a three-point play to give her team a four-point advantage. With the Virginia Beach, Va., 22 points leading the way, the Billikens came out on top of the Revolutionaries to advance in the championship.
Along with McMakin, Kennedy (15), Gray (13) and Simon (11) reached double figures on the night as the latter pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds registering her third double-double of the season.
The Billikens will be back in action against No. 2-seeded VCU. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. (CST).
