ON THE DOCKET – Saint Louis women’s basketball (4-8) will play two games at Seattle University’s Delta Dental Holiday Hoops Classic Thursday and Friday, Dec. 29 and 30. The Billikens open the tournament against Eastern Michigan (6-4) Thursday at 3 p.m. (CT) and will face either Seattle (6-6) or Saint Francis (Pa.) (5-5) Friday at either 3 p.m. or 5:15 p.m. (CT).
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. There will be free live stats and subscription video for all games at the Delta Dental Holiday Classic. Should SLU face Seattle on Friday, free live audio will be available. Go to the home page of www.SLUBillikens.com and find the Upcoming Events entries, located just below Top Stories, to access these features.
ABOUT THE BILLIKENS – Courtney Webb leads the Billikens with a 12.1 scoring average. Lorreal Jones averages 8.7 points, followed by Desirae Ball (8.3 ppg), Janisha Gearlds (7.2 ppg), Mallory Eggert (7.1 ppg) and Jacy Bradley (6.9 ppg). Jones leads the club in rebounding (9.5 rpg), followed by Eggert (7.6 rpg) and Kim Bee (5.3 rpg). Jones, Eggert and Bee average 3.5, 3.2 and 2.3 offensive rebounds, respectively. Gearlds (3.8 apg) and Bradley (3.2 apg) lead the squad in assists, Jamesia Price (14) is the leader in steals, and Bee has a team-high 17 blocks. The Billikens are +7.2 in rebounding margin and average 18.3 offensive rebounds.
LAST TIME OUT – Courtney Webb scored a career- and game-high 23 points on 10-of-15 field goal shooting in the Billikens’ 70-67 loss to UMKC Dec. 20. Lorreal Jones had 17 points and six rebounds, Desirae Ball scored 10 points, Janisha Gearlds tied her season high with six assists, and Jamesia Price made a career-high three steals.
A LOOK AT EASTERN MICHIGAN – The Eagles placed second in the Mid-American Conference tournament, reached the third round of the WNIT and finished with a 24-13 record last season. Eastern Michigan, which averages 70.1 points while allowing 59.2 per game, has lost three of its last four games, with each loss coming in overtime. Tavelyn James, a first-team All-Conference selection last season, leads EMU in scoring (23.5 ppg), 3-point field goals (2.9 pg) and free-throw percentage (44-of-54, .815). Natachia Watkins averages 11.0 points, followed by Olivia Fouty (9.9 ppg) and Paige Redditt (9.3 ppg). Redditt (8.9 rpg) and Fouty (7.9 rpg) are the Eagles’ leading rebounders, while Desyree Thomas tops the team in assists (4.1 apg) and steals (3.9 spg). Eastern Michigan averages 19.3 offensive rebounds, led by Redditt (5.0 orpg) and Fouty (4.1 orpg). The Eagles are +8.0 in rebounding margin and force an average of 22.9 turnovers.
THE EASTERN MICHIGAN SERIES – Eastern Michigan leads the series 1-0 following a 67-59 victory on Dec. 13, 2005, in Ypsilanti, Mich.
A LOOK AT SEATTLE – The Redhawks, who are re-classifying to NCAA Division I, will join the Western Athletic Conference next year. Seattle’s balanced scoring attack, which averages 69.8 points, is led by Kacie Sowell’s 13.3 average and Talisa Rhea’s 13.1 mark. Ashley Ward (10.8 ppg) and Elle Kerfoot (9.0 ppg) follow. Rhea leads the team in assists (5.6 apg) and owns an assist-turnover ratio of close to 2-to-1. Sowell (6.8 rpg) and Brenda Adhiambo (5.6 rpg) are Seattle’s leading rebounders. Sowell shoots a blistering 62.1 percent (64-of-103) from the field, while Ward connects on 87.8 percent (43-of-49) from the foul line. Rhea and Kerfoot have 24 and 23 3-point field goals, respectively. After winning four straight and five of six, the Redhawks have lost their last two games.
THE SEATTLE SERIES – Saint Louis and Seattle have never met in women’s basketball.
A LOOK AT SAINT FRANCIS – Last year, the Red Flash finished 22-12, captured the Northeast Conference regular-season and tournament crowns and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Alli Williams (17.8 ppg) and Nickia Gibbs (13.4 ppg) lead the offense, and Alexa Hayward averages 8.8 points. Williams also leads Saint Francis in rebounding (10.0 rpg), offensive rebounding (3.6 orpg) and steals (2.9 spg). Sarah Thorn carries a 3.7 assists average. Two of the Red Flash’s losses were to Atlantic 10 Conference teams – 74-70 to Duquesne at home and 83-53 at Saint Joseph’s. Saint Francis has won five of seven since beginning the season 0-3.
THE SAINT FRANCIS SERIES – Saint Louis and Saint Francis would be meeting for the first time should they square off in Seattle.
BILLIKENS IN THE NATIONAL STATISTICS – Through games of Dec. 18, Saint Louis ranks 32nd in the nation in rebounding margin. Lorreal Jones is 36th in rebounding.
BILLIKENS IN THE A-10 STATISTICS – Through games of Dec. 27, Saint Louis leads the Atlantic 10 Conference in offensive rebounding (18.3 orpg) and ranks second in rebounding margin (+7.2). The Billikens are third in free-throw attempts (20.6 pg), fourth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.274), sixth in fewest turnovers (15.4 pg) and seventh in scoring defense (61.2 ppg). Lorreal Jones tops the conference in rebounding (9.5 rpg) and is fourth in offensive rebounding (3.5 orpg), while Mallory Eggert is 10th in rebounding (7.6 rpg) and fifth on the offensive glass (3.2 orpg). Kim Bee is tied for fifth in blocks (1.4 bpg), Janisha Gearlds is sixth in assists (3.8 apg), Jacy Bradley is ninth in assists (3.2 apg) and Courtney Webb is tied for 12th in scoring (12.1 ppg).
PROTECTING THE ROCK – Saint Louis has averaged just 13.4 turnovers in its last five games, including a season-low 11 at Wisconsin. The Billikens have committed 14 or fewer miscues in seven of 12 games this season and average 15.4 turnovers, a significant improvement over last season’s 18.3 average.
FINDING THE MARK – The Billikens have produced much better shooting performances lately. After connecting on just 31.8 percent from the field in its first eight games, Saint Louis has shot 43.3 percent over its last four outings.
SHARPSHOOTERS – Lorreal Jones is 19-of-34 (.559) from the field in her last five games, raising her season shooting mark from .319 to a team-high .420. Courtney Webb is 15-of-25 (.600) in her last two outings.
GEARLDS HANDING OUT DIMES – Janisha Gearlds has 293 career assists, good for sixth place on the Saint Louis list. Gearlds needs two to pass fifth-place Shatoya Likely and seven to pass fourth-place Lynette Pestel.
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. Mallory Eggert turned in consecutive double-doubles at Florida Atlantic (14 points, 14 rebounds), vs. Missouri-St. Louis (11 points, 11 rebounds) and vs. Drake (11 points, 10 rebounds), giving SLU a double-double in five consecutive games.
EXCELLENCE FOR EGGERT – Mallory Eggert has been the Billikens’ most consistent player in recent games. Eggert has averaged 10.2 points and 9.2 rebounds in her last five outings, raising her scoring average from 4.9 to 7.1 and her rebounding mark from 6.4 to 7.6.
20-20 VISION – Courtney Webb’s career-high and team-season-high 23-point performance vs. UMKC was her fourth scoring output of 20 or more points this season. Webb scored 21 points at Memphis, 20 at Illinois-Chicago and 20 at Murray State.
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 3.5 offensive boards so far this season and Eggert checking in with 3.2. Add junior college transfer Kim Bee (2.3 orpg), and the Billikens have the potential to be one of the nation’s best teams on the offensive glass. SLU is averaging 18.3 offensive rebounds through 12 games, including a season-high 31 vs. Missouri.
MORE FROM THE BOARDS – Saint Louis is +7.2 in rebounding margin and has earned an advantage in 11 of its first 12 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, +12 at Wisconsin, +23 vs. Missouri-St. Louis, +4 vs. Drake and +1 vs. UMKC.
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.
HANDS OFF – Jacy Bradley has played 282 minutes – an average of 23.5 – yet the junior guard has committed only eight fouls.
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.
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 – During the first week of 2012, the Billikens conclude their non-conference slate and begin Atlantic 10 Conference play at Chaifetz Arena. Saint Louis hosts Nebraska-Omaha Tuesday, Jan. 3, at 7 p.m., then welcomes La Salle for the A-10 opener Saturday, Jan. 7, at 4 p.m.
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