ON THE DOCKET – Saint Louis women’s basketball (5-9) plays twice at Chaifetz Arena this week. The Billikens conclude the non-conference portion of their schedule Tuesday, Jan. 3, against Nebraska-Omaha (9-5). Tip time is 7 p.m. SLU opens Atlantic 10 Conference play Saturday, Jan. 7, against La Salle (5-9) at 4 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.
ABOUT THE BILLIKENS – Courtney Webb leads the Billikens with a 12.2 scoring average. Desirae Ball averages 8.7 points, followed by Jacy Bradley (8.6 ppg), Lorreal Jones (8.3 ppg), Mallory Eggert (6.8 ppg) and Janisha Gearlds (6.6 ppg). Jones leads the club in rebounding (9.0 rpg), followed by Eggert (7.5 rpg) and Kim Bee (5.4 rpg). Eggert, Jones and Bee average 3.2, 3.1 and 2.1 offensive rebounds, respectively. Gearlds (4.1 apg) and Bradley (3.1 apg) lead the squad in assists, Bradley (15) is the leader in steals, and Bee has a team-high 23 blocks. The Billikens are +6.6 in rebounding margin and average 17.6 offensive rebounds.
LAST TIME OUT – Jacy Bradley scored a season-high and game-high 24 points to lead Saint Louis to a 66-63 victory over Saint Francis (Pa.) Dec. 30 in the consolation game of Seattle University’s Washington Dental Service Holiday Hoops Tournament. Bradley’s 9-of-12 shooting performance included a 3-of-5 effort from 3-point range. Courtney Webb and Desirae Ball netted 14 and 10 points, respectively, while Janisha Gearlds tied her career best with a game-high eight assists. Kim Bee grabbed a season-high and game-high 10 rebounds and tallied a game-high three blocks, and Lorreal Jones collected seven boards as SLU edged Saint Francis 40-38 on the glass. The Billikens shot 44.4 percent from the field, their second-best mark of the season.
BRADLEY NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT – Jacy Bradley was named to the Washington Dental Service Holiday Hoops All-Tournament team. In two games, Bradley shot 66.7 percent overall (14-of-21) and from 3-point range (6-of-9) and averaged 18.5 points. She added six assists, four rebounds and three steals.
A LOOK AT NEBRASKA-OMAHA – The Mavericks are reclassifying from NCAA Division II to Division I and are competing as an independent. UNO will join the Summit League next season. Junior guard Paige Frauendorfer leads the team in scoring (14.7 ppg), field goal percentage (.485) and rebounding (9.4 rpg) and also averages 3.1 steals. Junior guard Jamie Nash averages 12.0 points and leads UNO in assists (6.8 apg) and steals (4.9 spg), while senior forward Heather Pohl averages 9.9 points and 6.4 rebounds and leads the squad in 3-pointers (27). Head coach Chance Lindley is in his first season with the Mavericks.
THE NEBRASKA-OMAHA SERIES – This will be the first meeting between the Billikens and Mavericks.
A LOOK AT LA SALLE – The Explorers, who play at Northeastern Jan. 2 before coming to St. Louis, have three starters and five additional letterwinners back from last year’s 10-20 team that placed ninth (6-8) in the A-10. La Salle is coming off victories over Dartmouth and Vermont that gave the Explorers the championship of Dartmouth’s Blue Sky Classic. Junior guards Alexis Scott (13.7 ppg) and Brittany Wilson (12.2 ppg) lead the La Salle offensive attack, while freshman forward Ruvanna Campbell tops the team charts in rebounding (8.5 rpg) and blocks (28). In the A-10 rankings, Scott is seventh in scoring and field goal percentage (.494); Campbell is second in blocks (2.2 bpg), third in rebounding and eighth in offensive rebounding (3.0 orpg); and Wilson is seventh in steals (1.9 spg). Jeff Williams is in his second season at the La Salle helm.
THE LA SALLE SERIES – Saint Louis and La Salle are tied 3-3 in their all-time series. The Explorers captured an 82-77 victory in Philadelphia last season. In that game, Jacy Bradley (18) and Janisha Gearlds (16) combined for 34 points, and Lorreal Jones had 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Billikens hold a 2-1 edge in games played in St. Louis, including a 62-51 triumph two years ago.
BILLIKENS IN THE NATIONAL STATISTICS – Through games of Jan. 1, Saint Louis ranks 46th in rebounding margin (+6.6) and 47th in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.264). Lorreal Jones is 62nd in rebounding (9.0 rpg), while Kim Bee is 90th in blocks (1.6 bpg).
BILLIKENS IN THE A-10 STATISTICS – Through games of Jan. 1, Saint Louis leads the Atlantic 10 Conference in offensive rebounding (17.6 orpg), is second in rebounding margin (+6.6) and ranks third in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.264). Lorreal Jones is second in rebounding (9.0 rpg) and seventh in offensive rebounding (3.1 orpg), while Mallory Eggert is 10th in rebounding (7.5 rpg) and fourth on the offensive glass (3.2 orpg). Kim Bee is fourth in blocks (1.6 bpg), Janisha Gearlds is fifth in assists (4.1 apg), Jacy Bradley is tied for 10th in assists (3.1 apg) and Courtney Webb is tied for 12th in scoring (12.2 ppg).
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 six outings. The Bills have shot at least 41 percent in each of those six contests.
SHARPSHOOTER – Lorreal Jones is 24-of-41 (.585) from the field in her last seven games, raising her season shooting mark from .319 to a team-high .443.
GEARLDS HANDING OUT DIMES – Janisha Gearlds has 306 career assists, good for fourth place on the Saint Louis list. Gearlds needs 40 assists to pass third-place Star Jackson. She has 19 helpers in her last three games.
GEARLDS, BRADLEY IN CAREER TOP 10 – Janisha Gearlds is 10th on SLU’s career list with 130 steals. Gearlds needs five steals to pass ninth-place Sandy Guymon, six to pass eighth-place Tyler McIlwraith and seven to pass seventh-place Katie Paganelli. Jacy Bradley ranks 10th on the Billikens’ career 3-point field goals chart with 85 treys. Bradley needs six 3-pointers to move past McIlwraith into ninth place.
DEALING WITH REJECTION – Led by Kim Bee’s 23 blocks, the Billikens have 40 rejections this season. SLU needs just four blocks to surpass last year’s total of 43.
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.
EGGERT PASSING THE BOARD EXAM – Mallory Eggert has four double-figure rebound totals in her last six games.
20-20 VISION – Courtney Webb’s career-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 Eggert gathering 3.2 offensive boards so far this season and Jones checking in with 3.1. 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 17.6 offensive rebounds through 14 games, including a season-high 31 vs. Missouri.
MORE FROM THE BOARDS – Saint Louis is +6.6 in rebounding margin and has earned an advantage in 13 of its first 14 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, +1 vs. UMKC, +5 vs. Eastern Michigan and +2 vs. Saint Francis.
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. With 23 blocks, she ranks third on SLU’s season list for juniors and needs just two more to pass second-place Missy Meinberg.
HANDS OFF – Jacy Bradley has played 340 minutes – an average of 24.3 per game – 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 – The Billikens play two A-10 road games next week, traveling to Charlotte Wednesday, Jan. 11, and St. Bonaventure Saturday, Jan. 14.
Leave a Reply