GLEN ALLEN, Va. -- The 10-seeded Saint Louis Billikens upset the seventh-seeded Massachusetts Minutewomen 67-57 on Thursday in the second round of the Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Championship.
The Billikens (15-18, 8-11) will move on to the quarterfinals on Friday at 5 p.m. against the second-seeded George Mason Patriots.
Saint Louis amassed as large as a 20-point advantage over Massachusetts. Once Saint Louis took control in the third, the Billikens didn’t waver. Peyton Kennedy picked up right where the Billikens left off and nailed a 3-pointer to begin the third. Saint Louis built on the momentum it created to end the first half by outpacing Massachusetts, 18-7 in the third quarter.
“I think our message at half time was extend, keep doing what we were doing, just like we did in our last game,” Kennedy said. “Relying on each other, boosting confidence in one another and making those big plays, coming out with those dagger plays. It’s super exciting and it just keeps us rolling, making sure we’re in the right defensive position.”
The Minutewomen shot 2 of 13 from the field (15.4 percent) in the third. Yahmani McKayle provided three of UMass’ seven third-quarter points from the line.
UMass’ third quarter shooting made for a difficult come back for the Minutewomen. UMass came within single digits in the fourth quarter. The Minutewomen scored 25 points to dig into Saint Louis’ double-digit margin.
Megan Olbrys converted a layup on her steal to make it an eight-point game at 54 seconds. UMass’ came within eight-points on a jumper by Lilly Ferguson with 14 seconds left. That was as close as the Minutewomen would get as Saint Louis was able to fend UMass off.
McKayle, the A-10 Rookie of the Year, and Olbrys each added six points in the fourth. Allie Palmieri added seven points in that span, but the deficit was too much to overcome for UMass.
“I thought we would have an answer coming out of half time and didn’t. [The Billikens] started the third quarter on a run and again we were just playing catch up,” UMass coach Mike Leflar said. “Again, happy with the urgency we played with there down the stretch. But unfortunately it was just too little too late for us.”
The first half saw Saint Louis and UMass have three ties and four lead changes. The Billikens began to command the score in the second quarter. Saint Louis Brooklyn Gray converted on a Minutewomen turnover and laid in a jumper. She banked a 3-pointer and then Hannah Wallace converted on another UMass turnover.
Gray finished with 30-points and six rebounds.
“[I] thought they were really locked into the game plan,” Saint Louis coach Rebecca Tillett said, “and competing for and with each other.”
Three Minutewomen paced the way with double-digits, McKayle (15), Palmieri (14) and Stefanie Kulesza (12).