GAME DETAILS
Saint Louis 71, Duquesne 65
A-10 Championship Quarterfinals
Friday, March 2, 2018 | 3:30 p.m. (CST)
Richmond Coliseum | Richmond, Va.
THE BASICS
• Jackie Kemph tied her career high of 28 points to lead No. 7 seed Saint Louis to a 71-65 victory over No. 2 Duquesne in an Atlantic 10 Conference Championship quarterfinal game Friday at Richmond Coliseum.
• The Billikens (17-14), who avenged a 76-66 regular-season loss to the Dukes, advance to Saturday’s semifinals to face No. 6 Saint Joseph’s, a 52-49 winner over No. 3 Fordham, at 12:30 p.m. (CST). The game will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.
• Saint Louis is making its third consecutive A-10 Championship semifinals appearance Saturday afternoon.
• Duquesne fell to 23-7.
• Kemph was 7-of-13 from the floor and 13-of-16 from the foul line, setting season highs for free throws made and attempted. She added five rebounds and a game-high five assists.
• Paige Rakers scored 15 points on a career-high five 3-pointers (5-of-7). Rakers grabbed six rebounds.
• Maddison Gits posted her 11th double-double of the season, and eighth in the last 13 games, with 10 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Gits set a Saint Louis single-season record for rebounds; she has 297 boards, breaking the previous mark of 284 set last year by Sadie Stipanovich.
FIRST QUARTER
• There were four ties in the opening quarter, the last a 12-12 deadlock with 4:16 left.
• Duquesne built a five-point lead on two occasions and settled for a 20-17 lead at the buzzer.
SECOND QUARTER
• After the Dukes scored the first basket, the Billikens tied it at 22 on a Rakers 3-pointer and a Kemph layup.
• SLU took a 25-24 edge on Kemph’s three-point play.
• A 9-2 run gave Duquesne a 33-27 lead, and the Dukes were on top 35-29 with 3:34 left.
• The Billikens responded with their own 9-2 spurt, including seven points from Kemph, to lead 38-37.
• Duquesne scored in the closing seconds and took a 39-38 lead to the locker room.
THIRD QUARTER
• A 3-pointer on its first possession gave Duquesne a 42-38 advantage.
• Saint Louis answered with a 9-0 run featuring points from four different players and led 47-42 at the 4:24 mark.
• The Dukes narrowed the margin to a single point three times, but the Billikens led 52-51 heading to the final 10 minutes.
FOURTH QUARTER
• There were six lead changes in the first 4:42 of the period. The final swap came when Kerri McMahan hit a jumper that put the Billikens ahead for good, 61-60.
• SLU tallied the next five points and led 66-60 with 33 seconds left.
• McMahan and Kemph combined for five free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
BILLIKEN NOTABLES
• Saint Louis committed just eight turnovers, its eighth single-digit total of the season, third in a row and fifth in the last eight games.
• The Billikens outscored the Dukes 22-6 from the foul line. SLU shot 81.5 percent (22-of-27) from the stripe, the seventh time in the last nine games the Bills have connected on 80 percent or better.
• Jenny Vliet collected seven rebounds, including a game-high-tying four offensive boards.
• Kerri McMahan was 5-of-6 from the foul line, tying her career high for attempts and matching her season high for free throws made.
DUQUESNE LEADERS
Kadri-Ann Lass, 18 points, 10 rebounds; Julijana Vojinovic, 17 points, nine rebounds; Chassidy Omogrosso, 11 points, four assists; Conor Richardson, 11 points; Paige Cannon, eight rebounds.
