Marquette University Athletics
Marquette University
Saint Louis
Women's Basketball Edged By Saint Louis, 43-40
3/1/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 1, 2002
CHICAGO - No. 9 seed Saint Louis claimed a 43-40 win over No. 8 seed Marquette in the first round of the C-USA Women's Basketball Tournament on Friday, March 1 at the DePaul Athletic Center. The Billikens (15-14) advance to the quarterfinal matchup with No. 1 seed TCU on Saturday at 8 p.m. CST. Tonight's win also marked the first win ever for the Billikens over a Marquette team in 27 meetings.
"We knew coming into this game that it would be a tough defensive game," said Saint Louis head coach Jill Pizzotti. "We have been playing better each week this month and tonight they played extremely well. It's great to see us endure the tough times and come out with a victory."
Both teams went back and forth before tying at 21 points each at halftime. With four minutes left in the game and both teams tied at 36 points, Jones notched a layup, followed by Star Jackson, who notched two free throws to post a 39-36 lead. Star Jackson sealed the win for the Billikens after making one of her free throws in the final seconds.
Saint Louis was led by Kirsti Holloway who captured 11 points and Christan Shelton scored 10 points. Lakia Jones posted a career-high 15 rebounds, while swatting down four blocks.
Both teams had off nights in their shooting. Saint Louis finished with a 29.1 shooting percentage, while the Golden Eagles went 14-of-57 from the field.
"We have played great defensively, but played poor offense lately," said Marquette head coach Terri Mitchell. "We knew we were in for a battle tonight and Saint Louis played well."
Marquette's Sarah Zawodny nabbed a team-high 11 rebounds and scored 10 points in the loss. Rachel Klug also finished with 10 points.
The Billikens will now face No. 1 seed TCU on Saturday at 8 p.m. CST, at the DePaul Athletic Center.
C-USA Women's Basketball Tournament(9) Saint Louis 21 22 43(8) Marquette 21 19 40
