MURRAY, KY. – The Billikens dropped a hard-fought contest 96-88 at Murray State on Saturday night at CFSB Center.
 
Saint Louis falls to 1-4 on the season and 0-2 on the road.
 
Both teams battled in the early going and Saint Louis led 11-10 at the first media timeout, Murray State went on a 6-0 run out of the timeout to lead 16-11 and never trailed again in the quarter, leading 22-18 after 10.
 
Murray State went on a 5-2 run to start the quarter to extend their lead to 27-20. The rest of the quarter was as a game of runs and the Racers were up 41-31 before Alexia Nelson had two layups to end the half and cut it to 41-35.
 
After trailing 45-37 to start the quarter, the Billikens put together a 10-0 run to take a 47-45 lead. MSU took the lead again at 51-47 before another SLU run put the Billikens up 56-53. Two free throws at the end of quarter for the Racers tied the game at 58.
 
Kt was a back-and-forth affair in the fourth with neither team leading by more than two, until Murray State went on an 11-0 run to lead 78-67. The Billikens were held scoreless for nearly three and a half minutes during that run. Zhykera Brown hit an and-1 from three to cut lead down to 87-81 with under a minute to play. The teams traded free throws the rest of the way to bring the game to a final score of 96-88 Murray State.
 
 
NOTABLES
Alexia Nelson with 21 points and five assists (season high)
Zya Nugent had 23 points with six rebounds
Zhykera Brown with a new career-high 14 points
Jahda Denis added nine points for a career-high
The Racers shot 50 free throws to the Billiken's 16
SLU's 88 points were its most since December 15, 2024 (96)
 
UP NEXT
The Billikens continue they road stand on Friday, Nov. 21 at Illinois State, tip is set for 6:30 p.m.