GAME DETAILS
Saint Louis 64, Massachusetts 63
Thursday, January 18, 2018 | 7 p.m.
Chaifetz Arena | St. Louis, Missouri
THE BASICS
• Kerri McMahan sank a free throw with one second remaining to lift Saint Louis to a come-from-behind, 64-63 Atlantic 10 Conference victory over Massachusetts Thursday night at Chaifetz Arena.
• The Billikens, who snapped a two-game skid, evened their overall record at 9-9 and improved to 3-2 in conference play. UMass, which dropped its sixth straight decision, fell to 8-10, 0-5.
• Jackie Kemph (6-of-11 FG) scored a team-high 20 points that included an 8-of-10 effort from the foul line. The eight free throws gave Kemph a Saint Louis career-record 407, one more than previous record holder Theresa Lisch.
• Jenny Vliet posted her third double-double of the season and sixth of her career, scoring 10 points and grabbing a team-high and season-high-tying 12 rebounds. Vliet’s season-high six offensive rebounds led all players.
• Paige Rakers also scored in double figures, contributing 14 points to go with seven rebounds.
• SLU trailed 63-56 following a three-point play by Massachusetts’ Bre Hampton-Bey with 3:20 remaining. The Billikens tied it on a Rakers jumper, three Vliet free throws and Kemph’s driving layup with 25 seconds to play.
• Hampton-Bey missed a potential game-winning shot with eight seconds left. McMahan secured the rebound, dribbled the length of the floor and was fouled. She missed the first attempt but made the second, and the SLU comeback was complete.
FIRST QUARTER
• UMass scored the first five points and led by as many as seven before settling for a 15-12 edge after the first 10 minutes.
SECOND QUARTER
• Saint Louis narrowed the gap to a point at the 6:13 mark when Rakers scored two buckets from close range.
• UMass answered by outscoring the Billikens 12-6 the rest of the period to take a 29-22 halftime lead.
THIRD QUARTER
• The Minutewomen built their largest advantage, 35-26, with 7:17 remaining in the third quarter.
• The Billikens responded with a 15-5 spurt to take their first lead of the game, 41-40, with 1:48 left. Kemph tallied eight of the 15 points.
• Hailey Leidel’s 3-pointer put UMass back in front, and the Minutewomen carried a 43-42 lead into the fourth quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER
• UMass led 57-52 before layups by McMahan and Vliet made it a one-point game with 4:05 left.
• The Minutewomen scored the next six points on three-point plays by Leidel and Hampton-Bey, increasing their lead to seven and setting the stage for the Billiken comeback.
BILLIKEN NOTABLES
• Saint Louis committed a season-low 12 fouls, allowing UMass only 14 free throw attempts (8-of-14). The Billikens outscored the Minutewomen 16-8 from the stripe (16-of-22).
• The Billikens had a season-high 10 blocked shots, only one shy of the school record. Jordyn Frantz led the way with a career-high four, while Vliet had a season-high three.
• Kemph, who played all 40 minutes, added a team-high five assists to her 20 points.
• Maddison Gits chipped in eight points and eight rebounds.
• McMahan notched a season-high four assists.
• Tara Dusharm had five rebounds in seven minutes off the bench.
MASSACH– USETTS LEADERS
Hailey Leidel, 23 points; Maggie Mulligan, 10 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks; Bre Hampton-Bey, 13 rebounds, five steals; Leah McDerment, five assists.
UP NEXT
The Billikens host Saint Joseph’s Sunday, Jan. 21, at 1 p.m. It’s the annual Billikens Pink Out Game to raise awareness of breast cancer, and fans are encouraged to wear pink to show their support.
