GLEN ALLEN, Va. -- The 10-seeded Saint Louis Billikens captured an early lead over the 15-seeded St. Bonaventure Bonnies and never looked back in route to their 60-50 win in Game 2 of the Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Championship on Wednesday.
The Billikens advance to the second round where they will face No.7 seed Massachusetts on Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Henrico Sports and Events Center.
Saint Louis (14-18, 8-11) grabbed its first lead at 9:04 into the first quarter. The Billikens’ Tierra Simon sunk the first bucket to kick off a 6-0 Billikens run. St. Bonaventure closed in on Saint Louis’ advantage at 2:34 thanks to a 3-pointer by Mackenzie Petteinelli. The Bonnies (6-24, 2-17) later tied it on a 3-pointer from Zoe Shaw.
Saint Louis would quickly break away from the tie from a bucket by Mya Glanton in the first quarter.
Kennedy Calhoun added a pair of layups and Peyton Kennedy followed with back-to-back 3-pointers to open the second quarter. Shaw drove throw the paint to make a jumper, but SLU’s Brooklyn Gray added a layup to go up, 29-14. The Billikens’ 10-run, capped by Kennedy’s second 3-pointer, helped Saint Louis separate from the Bonnies.
“I thought we were making great decisions on which shots to take,” Saint Louis coach Rebecca Tillett said. “There was certainly the one quarter, the third, where we weren't shooting it as well. I think it's, which shots are we taking? We missed more layups than we would've liked, but we were getting the right shot, taking the right shot.”
Calhoun, who surpassed the 1,000-scoring mark in the game, led the team with 20 points. Kennedy added 13 points and Shun’teria Anumele scored 10.
The Billikens shot 41.1 (23 of 56) from the field and 35.3 (6 of 17) from beyond the arc. Saint Louis carried a double-digit lead into the half after the Billikens shot 62.5 percent from the field in the second quarter.
“We're at our best when the ball is moving, when our offense is flowing, body's moving, so I just was really excited to see us connect plays,” Calhoun said. “That's something that we talked a lot about, going into this game, just being able to make layups and move and cut on the 45. So it was exciting to see that turn into fruition.”
Saint Louis saw its 12-point margin dwindle as St. Bonaventure responded in the third quarter. Kaitlyn Cross made a bucket, which helped the Bonnies close in 45-37. Saint Louis was quick to respond and sank two free throws to regain a double-digit lead.
Shaw converted on SLU’s turnover and Hannah Richardson scored on a layup to cut the Bonnies deficit to six points.
The Bonnies began the fourth quarter down 49-41. Saint Louis regained a double-digit advantage on two free throws. Kennedy shortly responded with back-to-back layups to secure a 14-point margin over St. Bonaventure.
“I was really proud of our group,” St. Bonaventure coach Jim Crowley said. “We kept fighting. We kept fighting. We were probably one shot away. There was a possession in the third quarter, where we got four really good looks, really good looks, and kind of had momentum on our side, and we didn't get any of 'em. And I give a lot of credit to our kids. They kept fighting even after that.”
The Bonnies’ Dani Haskell landed a 3-pointer with 1:33 remaining, but Anumele answered with a 3-pointer of her own to eventually secure the victory.
Caitlin Frost finished with a team-best 14 points with Shaw scoring 13 and Petteinelli scored nine. Haskell recorded nine rebounds and Frost grabbed seven.