WILMINGTON, Del. – When Brooke Flowers walked into Saint Louis’s first team meeting, her first communication with the rest of her Billikens teammates stood out in the memory of first-year head coach Rebecca Tillett.
"'This is my final year, I came back and I want to win a championship,'" recalled Tillett. "(It) is a bold statement considering all of the challenges we had ahead of us and now she has led our team one game away from that opportunity.”
Both Flowers and the third-seeded Billikens are now one step closer to accomplishing just that following a 59-44 triumph over No. 6 Saint Joseph’s in the Atlantic 10 Championship quarterfinals close out Friday evening at CHASE Fieldhouse.
“I’m very glad that I (returned),” Flowers said. “I love this team, I love the direction this program has been going in over the course of the season, so very thankful that I decided to stay another year in Saint Louis.”
The Billikens last reached the Atlantic 10 Championship semifinals in 2020.
All-Conference second team second Kyla McMakin led all scorers with 19 points, while Flowers, the A-10 Co-Defensive Player of the Year, garnered three blocks while also earning her 14th double-double with a 12-point, 15-board performance. Kennedy Calhoun swiped a career-high six steals as well.
The Billikens recorded 26 points off 20 Hawks miscues, displayed active hands with 14 steals and kept Saint Joseph’s without a three-pointer in 13 attempts. SLU’s four turnovers represented a season low, as did the 44 points surrendered.
“Just really proud of our women, especially in the second half. A lot of the things that we’ve been focusing on improving happened in the second half,” said Tillett. “We were worried because they were outrebounding us for the whole game, but we finally turned that corner.”
The Hawks were paced by a pair of double-figure point scorers in All-Conference third teamer Mackenzie Smith’s 15 points in addition to A-10 first-team choice Talya Brugler 14. Laura Ziegler, the league's Rookie of the Year, contributed 10 rebounds.
“It’s certainly not the outcome that we came into this tournament looking for,” Saint Joseph’s head coach Cindy Griffin said. “Nonetheless, I’m really proud of our team and the body of work we’ve put together this season. Having 20 wins is something to be really proud of and getting our program back to where we want it to be, which is winning and doing it the right way with the people that you really care about.”
When Julia Martinez picked up her third foul early in the second quarter, the Billikens were without one of its two All-Defensive Team aces, as SLU went 5:43 without a basket, a streak Mia Nicastro broke with her jump shot.
Saint Joseph’s battled foul trouble as well, an issue which forced Brugler to the bench for the latter portion of the frame, but Katie Jekot’s layup proved the difference as the Hawks entered the halftime break up a basket.
The Billikens displayed resiliency behind a 10-0 run during the third to get back in front, as this time it was the Hawks who called for a stoppage of play down the stretch.
Coming out of that break, Martinez hit on an open three-point shot and Kennedy Calhoun found a layup in the closing seconds, vaulting Saint Louis in front by seven points after three periods of action.
“It meant a lot, really because the previous possession I turned it over,” Calhoun said of the layup. “I wanted to get it back for my team. That was just a big momentum play and it felt like we were not going to lose this game. Throughout this game it felt like everyone had a big play.”
Saint Louis’ Camre Clegg recorded a steal to open the fourth quarter, setting the stage for the Billikens to extend the lead into double digits, something the Hawks were unable to overcome.
With the win, SLU picks up the final spot in the Atlantic 10 semifinals on Saturday, and will take on second-seeded Rhode Island at 1:30 p.m.