WHEN: Friday, Dec. 1, 2017 • 7 p.m. CST
WHERE: Chaifetz Arena • St. Louis, Missouri
RECORDS: SLU 3-5; Little Rock 2-3
SLU-LITTLE ROCK SERIES: SLU leads 2-1
SLU-LITTLE ROCK LAST MEETING: at Little Rock 56, SLU 43 (11/26/16) RECAP
BILLIKENS’ LAST GAME: Vanderbilt 74, at SLU 69 (Nov. 29) RECAP
TROJANS’ LAST GAME: at Little Rock 68, Oklahoma 56 (Nov. 28) RECAP
UP NEXT FOR THE BILLIKENS: at Washington State • Monday, Dec. 4 • 9 p.m. CST • Pullman, Wash.
GAME NOTES: Saint Louis
GAME NOTES: Little Rock
LIVE VIDEO: A-10 Digital Network (Email [email protected] if you encounter difficulty.)
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
A LOOK AT THE BILLIKENS
• Saint Louis tries to snap a two-game skid as the Billikens host Little Rock of the Sun Belt Conference Friday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m.
• SLU is coming off a 74-69 loss to Vanderbilt Wednesday night at Chaifetz Arena. Little Rock avoided a fourth consecutive defeat by topping Oklahoma 68-56 Tuesday night at home.
• Jackie Kemph leads Saint Louis in scoring (16.1 ppg), assists (7.8 apg), assist-turnover ratio (2.38), free throws made (37), free throw attempts (46) and minutes (38.4 mpg). Kemph is averaging 9.3 assists and shooting 43 percent (9-of-21) from 3-point distance over her last four games.
• Kemph is on the Nancy Lieberman Award (top Division I point guard) Watch List for a second consecutive season. The two-time A-10 Player of the Year owns Saint Louis’ career assists record (723) and is No. 2 in free throws made (369, needs 38 for the record) and No. 3 in points (1,509, needs 77 for the record) on the Billikens’ career lists.
• Maddison Gits averages 10.3 points and is SLU’s rebounding leader (9.5 rpg). Gits is shooting 52 percent (35-of-67) from the field and also leads the team with 10 blocks.
• Aaliyah Covington is approaching a double-digit scoring average with 9.8 points per game. Covington is averaging 11.8 points while shooting 48 percent (22-of-46) from the field over her last five games. She is 9-of-20 (45 percent) from beyond the arc in her last four outings.
• Jenny Vliet averaged 14.0 points and 9.7 rebounds over the last three games to boost her season marks to 8.9 ppg and 7.1 rpg (second on the team). It’s the best three-game rebounding stretch of her career. Vliet has grabbed three offensive boards in each of the last three games and now leads Saint Louis in that category (2.4 orpg).
• Jordyn Frantz carries an 8.1 scoring average and leads the Billikens in 3-pointers (14) and 3-point field goal percentage (.400).
• After a slow start, Saint Louis has begun to find the range from beyond the arc. The Billikens have made at least six 3-pointers in each of their last six outings, including a season-high 11 vs. Cleveland State, and are averaging 8.7 treys during that span.
• Sixth-year head coach Lisa Stone takes a 93-75 record at Saint Louis into the Little Rock game. Now in her 32nd season overall as a collegiate head coach, Stone owns a 596-312 career mark.
A LOOK AT THE TROJANS
• Little Rock welcomed back three starters and six additional letter winners from its 2016-17 team that was 25-9 overall and won the Sun Belt Conference regular-season championship with a 17-1 mark. The Trojans advanced to the WNIT second round in the program’s ninth postseason appearance (four NCAA tournaments, five WNITs).
• Little Rock shoots 79 percent from the foul line, good for 11th in the nation. The Trojans collect 8.2 steals per game and are +5.4 in turnover margin.
• Junior forward Ronjanae DeGray leads a balanced scoring attack with 12.2 points per game. Sophomore guard Kyra Collier carries an 11.4 scoring average, while freshman guard Tori Lasker is approaching double figures at 9.8 ppg.
• Forward Keanna Keys, a graduate student, hauls in a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game; senior guard Monique Townson leads Little Rock in assists (4.4 apg) and steals (2.6 spg); and Lasker has a team-high nine 3-pointers.
• Head coach Joe Foley is in his 15th season at Little Rock and his 30th campaign as a collegiate head coach. Foley is 291-156 at the Trojans’ helm, 747-237 overall.
