HENRICO, Va. – Saint Louis University upset No. 2-seeded VCU here Friday evening as the Billikens muscled out a 65-63 victory in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship a 40-minute thriller.

Behind a 22-point performance by Peyton Kennedy in which she eclipsed 1,000-career points, the Billikens shocked the Rams, outlasting them to advance to the semifinals of the championship on Saturday on a six-game win streak.

SLU and VCU were evenly matched from the opening minutes as Brooklyn Gray got the Billikens off on the right foot with a make from beyond the arc. On the defensive side of the ball, SLU disrupted the Rams, holding them to 37 percent from the floor through the opening period. 

The Billikens continued to pile on the scoring through the second period. With Kennedy's 10 leading the way, SLU put up 21 points before halftime and took a five-point lead into the break courtesy off a tough bucket in the paint from Tierra Simon. 

The Rams didn't go down easy, though, putting together a 4-0 run out of the locker room to swing the momentum in favor of the home-town team. The Billikens continued to fight off offensive attempts from the Rams through the remainder of the third quarter, as Sarah Te-Biasu, the A-10 Player of Year pulled them within one, 43-42. 

Heading into the final 10 minutes, the Billikens clung to a three-point lead. The game between the seventh and second seeds came down to the final seconds, as Kennedy sank a three-pointer off a perfectly placed pass from Julia Martinez to give the Billikens the 61-60 lead with 44 seconds remaining. Martinez followed up her assist with a clutch steal, before Kyla McMakin iced the game from the charity stripe.

Along with Kennedy, McMakin (16) and Gray (12) posted double-figures for the second-straight night. Martinez and Simon led the Billikens on the glass pulling down seven rebounds apiece while the former assisted six buckets. As a defense, the Billikens forced 17 turnovers and converted them into 17 points while grabbing 10 steals as a team.

The Billikens await their Saturday opponent and will either take on No. 6 Rhode Island or No. 3 Saint Joseph's. Tip-off for the semifinal matchup is set for 12:30 p.m. (CST).