 Billikens Edged by Akron
Nov. 14, 2007 AKRON, Ohio - There were plenty of positives for Saint Louis Wednesday night, but unfortunately, the final score wasn't one of them. Despite placing four players in double-digit scoring, earning a 39-28 rebounding advantage and connecting on 31-of-37 free-throw attempts, the Billikens were nudged 81-77 by Akron at Rhodes Arena. With the game tied at 66 at the 4:38 mark, the Zips (1-1) scored the next eight and 11 of the next 13 points to grab what seemed to be a commanding 77-68 lead with 2:37 remaining. However, the Billikens (0-2) weren't finished. Amanda Kemezys converted her own offensive rebound into a basket, and Hayley Leake scored in transition to trim the Akron lead to 77-72 with 1:53 left. After the Zips scored on their next possession to stretch the margin to seven again, back came Saint Louis. Lauren Woods sank three of four free throws and Jackie Gilbert hit a jumper to make it a 79-77 game with 11 seconds to play. But Akron's Riana Miller squelched the Billiken comeback hopes by calmly netting two from the foul line. Saint Louis jumped to a quick 6-0 lead and was on top for much of the first half until Akron assembled a 16-7 run to take a 37-32 edge into intermission. Keyla Snowden scored 17 of her 20 points, including four treys, to spark the Zips. Woods, Leake and Maggie Hennegan carried the Bills' offense in a nip-and-tuck second half, scoring 11, 10 and nine points, respectively. Hennegan finished with a team-high 16 points, including a 12-of-14 performance from the free-throw line, and added nine rebounds. Woods registered eight of her 14 points (8-of-10) at the stripe. Kemezys scored 14 points and led all players with a career high-tying 12 rebounds, including four on the offensive glass.
Akron's Kara Murphy tallied 19 points in the second half and finished with a game-high 26. The Zips also shot well at the line, converting 24-of-29, and drilled 9-of-22 from 3-point distance while shutting out the Billikens (0-of-4) from beyond the arc. Saint Louis saw its streak of 95 consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer snapped. "I'm extremely proud of the effort we gave tonight," head coach Shimmy Gray-Miller said. "It's difficult to win on the road, but to have as many players step up at crucial times as we had tonight says a lot about the character of this team. It's a long season, but if we play with the intensity, heart and effort we played with tonight, it will be a successful season. "I'm particularly proud of Amanda Kemezys and Maggie Hennegan," Gray-Miller added. "They kept us in the game all night with their toughness in the low post and their dominance on the boards." The Billikens return home to host defending WNIT champion Wyoming on Sunday. Game time at the Bauman-Eberhardt Center is 2 p.m. |
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