ON THE DOCKET – Saint Louis women’s basketball (3-6) opens a three-game homestand Tuesday, Dec. 13, against Missouri-St. Louis (4-3). Tip time at Chaifetz Arena is 7 p.m.
TICKET INFORMATION – Tickets for all Billiken women’s basketball home games can be purchased at the Chaifetz Arena ticket office, by phone at (314) 977-4SLU or online at www.slubillikens.com.
FOLLOWING THE ACTION – All Billiken home games this season will be video streamed live on the Internet at www.SLUBillikens.com. Subscriptions are available for $79.95 annually or $9.95 a month. Live statistics also will be offered free of charge for all home games. Go to the home page of www.SLUBillikens.com and find the Upcoming Events entries, located just below Top Stories, to access these features.
EGGERT EARNS WEEKLY AWARD – Mallory Eggert was named Performer of the Week by Pickin Splinters, a website that covers Atlantic 10 Conference and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference basketball, for the period of Dec. 5-11. Eggert averaged a double-double in scoring and rebounding (12.0 ppg, 10.5 rpg) in games at Wisconsin and Florida Atlantic, leading the Billikens in both categories. She scored what was then a season-high 10 points and added seven rebounds at Wisconsin, then scored a career-high 14 points and collected a game-high 14 rebounds at FAU. Nine of Eggert’s 21 rebounds for the week were on the offensive boards.
ABOUT THE BILLIKENS – Courtney Webb leads the Billikens with an 11.6 scoring average. Desirae Ball averages 8.6 points, Lorreal Jones and Janisha Gearlds carry 8.1 averages, and Jacy Bradley checks in with a 7.2 ppg mark. Jones leads the club in rebounding (10.2 rpg), followed by Mallory Eggert (7.3 rpg) and Kim Bee (5.6 rpg). Jones, Eggert and Bee average 3.8, 3.6 and 2.1 offensive rebounds, respectively. Bradley (3.8 apg) and Gearlds (3.7 apg) lead the squad in assists, Bradley (11) and Jones (10) are the leaders in steals, and Bee has a team-high 14 blocks. The Billikens are +6.5 in rebounding margin.
LAST TIME OUT – Mallory Eggert registered her first double-double of the season, and Saint Louis shot a season-high 47.3 percent from the floor in a 70-63 victory over Florida Atlantic Dec. 10. The win was the first road triumph of the year for the Billikens, who scored 70 points for the first time this season and halted a two-game losing skid. Eggert scored a career-high 14 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds (five offensive) to notch her third career double-double. Desirae Ball scored a career-high 14 points to go with a career-high three steals, while Janisha Gearlds collected 12 points and a game-high five assists. Jamesia Price also dished out five assists, her career high, as the Billikens posted more assists (16) than turnovers (14) for a second time this season.
A LOOK AT MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS – The Tritons have three starters and five additional letterwinners back from last year’s team that finished 10-17 overall and 5-13 (fourth, West Division) in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference. Caitlyn Moody (15.3 ppg), Devonna Smith (13.9 ppg) and Alexis Lawrence (10.3 ppg) lead an UMSL offense that averages 70.6 points and shoots 44.5 percent from the floor overall and 35.2 percent from beyond the arc. The Tritons are +4.1 in rebounding margin and are led on the glass by Smith (9.0 rpg) and Kiki Robinson (6.7 rpg). Deaven Omohundro averages 4.7 assists.
THE MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS SERIES – The SLU-UMSL series is tied 7-7. The teams last met during the 1985-86 season, with UMSL claiming a 70-52 victory on its home floor.
BILLIKENS IN THE NATIONAL STATISTICS – Through games of Dec. 11, Saint Louis ranks 46th in the nation in rebounding margin (+6.5). Lorreal Jones is 22nd in rebounding (10.2 rpg).
BILLIKENS IN THE A-10 STATISTICS – Through games of Dec. 12, Saint Louis leads the Atlantic 10 Conference in offensive rebounding (18.6 orpg) and ranks second in rebounding margin (+6.5). The Billikens are third in free-throw attempts (20.3 pg), fourth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.265), fifth in fewest turnovers (15.9 pg), sixth in scoring defense (61.3 ppg) and sixth in field goal percentage defense (.371). Lorreal Jones tops the conference in rebounding (10.2 rpg) and is tied for second in offensive rebounding (3.8 orpg), while Mallory Eggert is 10th in rebounding (7.3 rpg) and fifth in offensive rebounding (3.6 orpg). Janisha Gearlds is eighth in assists (3.7 apg) and ninth in assist-turnover ratio (1.6-to-1), Kim Bee is fifth in blocks (1.6 bpg) and Jacy Bradley is sixth in assists (3.8 apg).
GEARLDS HANDING OUT DIMES, BOOSTING POINT PRODUCTION – With five assists at Florida Atlantic, Janisha Gearlds raised her career total to 281. Now in sixth place on the Saint Louis career list, Gearlds needs 14 to pass fifth-place Shatoya Likely and 19 to pass fourth-place Lynette Pestel. In addition, the senior guard has enjoyed a recent scoring surge. Gearlds has three double-figure point totals in her last four games and is averaging 10.5 points with a solid .457 shooting mark during that stretch.
PRICE PERFECT AT THE STRIPE – Jamesia Price was 6-of-6 from the foul line at Florida Atlantic, including four free throws in the final 17 seconds to help the Bills preserve a 70-63 victory. Price is 8-of-8 from the line this season.
DOUBLE VISION – Lorreal Jones recorded consecutive double-doubles at Murray State and at Wisconsin, boosting her totals to three this season and eight in her career. Jones tallied 11 points and 11 rebounds at Murray State Dec. 3, then followed with 13 points and a career-high 16 rebounds at Wisconsin Dec. 5. Her first double-double this season consisted of a career-high 19 points and 14 rebounds (tying her then-career high) vs. Missouri. Jones was just two points shy of three more double-doubles, scoring eight points while posting double-figure board totals at Memphis, vs. UT Martin and vs. Murray State.
HALF A GRAND – With her 11-point performance against Murray State Nov. 26, Jacy Bradley surpassed the 500-point mark for her career. Bradley now has 511 points as a Billiken.
GET THAT OUTTA HERE – When Kim Bee blocked five shots against Murray State Nov. 26, it marked the first time a Billiken had tallied at least five blocks since April McKinney rejected six shots against Dayton Dec. 2, 2000. Bee had four blocks in the season opener at Memphis.
BACKCOURT SHOWING LEADERSHIP – Jacy Bradley and Janisha Gearlds have been consistent playmakers for the Billikens in the early going. Bradley recorded at least four assists in six of the first nine games, including a career-high-tying six against Memphis and five against UT Martin and Illinois-Chicago. Meanwhile, Gearlds has had more assists than turnovers in six of her last seven outings, totaling 31 helpers and 18 miscues during that stretch.
WEBB SEEING 20-20 – Courtney Webb’s 20-point performance at Murray State was her third output of 20 or more points this season, all on the road. Webb tallied 21 points at Memphis and 20 at Illinois-Chicago.
CRASHING THE GLASS – Lorreal Jones and Mallory Eggert were two of the Atlantic 10 Conference’s best offensive rebounders last year, ranking third (3.6 orpg) and 11th (2.6 orpg) in the league, respectively. They have picked up where they left off, with Jones gathering 3.8 offensive boards so far this season and Eggert checking in with 3.6. Add junior college transfer Kim Bee (2.1 orpg), and the Billikens have the potential to be one of the nation’s best teams on the offensive glass. SLU is averaging 18.6 offensive rebounds through nine games, including a season-high 31 vs. Missouri.
MORE FROM THE BOARDS – Saint Louis is +6.5 in rebounding margin and has earned an advantage in eight of its first nine games – +9 at Memphis, +7 vs. Southeast Missouri State, +19 vs. Missouri, +1 at Illinois-Chicago, +4 vs. UT Martin, +12 vs. Murray State, +2 at Murray State and +12 at Wisconsin.
HANDS OFF – Jacy Bradley has played the third-most minutes of any Billiken, yet the junior guard has committed the fewest fouls. Bradley has been whistled just seven times in 250 minutes.
SCHEDULE PRESENTS CHALLENGES – The Billikens’ 29-game schedule includes 13 teams that advanced to postseason play a year ago, 11 teams that won 20 or more games and 12 squads that finished among the top 100 in the final NCAA Ratings Percentage Index. Saint Louis will play four, and possibly five, games against 2010-11 NCAA Tournament participants – UT Martin, Temple, Xavier and Dayton, with Saint Francis (Pa.) a potential opponent in Seattle University’s Delta Dental Holiday Classic. Also on the schedule are eight games against 2010-11 WNIT teams – Memphis, Wisconsin, Eastern Michigan, Charlotte, St. Bonaventure, Richmond, Duquesne and Saint Joseph’s.
COMING UP – The Billikens welcome Drake and UMKC to Chaifetz Arena Dec. 18 and 20, respectively. Game time for the Drake contest is 2 p.m., while the UMKC game tips at 7 p.m.
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