Dec. 21, 2002

Final Stats

St. Louis - The Saint Louis University women's basketball team rallied from a 16-point first half deficit to claim the championship of the Billiken Classic. SLU defeated Indiana State 67-53 in the title game.Star Jackson was named tournament MVP, while Harmonie King and Jana Haywood also were All-Tournament selections.

The Sycamores nailed their first shot of the game and sprinted out to an early lead. Indiana State pushed the lead up to 34-18 with 5:22 to play in the first half before the Billikens rallied. The Bills closed the half on a 10-2 run and forced ISU to miss nine of 10 shots to close the half. Indiana State took a 36-28 lead at intermission.

The Billikens then opened the second half with a 10-0 run and took their first lead at 38-36 at the 16:40 mark. The teams then traded the lead six times before the Billikens edged out to a 49-45 lead with 11:01 to play. Indiana State cut the lead to 49-47 before the Billikens answered with a quick 6-0 run. Jana Haywood hit two free throws, and Star Jackson converted a driving layup. Angie Lewis closed the run with a short baseline jumper as SLU took a 55-47 lead with 8:12 to play.

The Billikens led 57-51 before Harmonie King took over from 3-point range. King drained a trey from the baseline to push the Billikens ahead to 60-51 with 4:52 left. ISU made a layup to close to 60-53 with 2:46 to play. But King answered with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Indiana State had two chances to pull closer, but misfired. LaKia Jones hit one free throw and King ended her explosion with a trey as the shot clock wound down with 43 seconds left to seal the win.

Haywood tallied 19 points and added six rebounds. Jackson had a tremendous overall game with 14 points, a career-high seven rebounds and eight assists. Melanie Boeglin paced Indiana State with 13 points while Kourtney Mennen added 11.

The Billikens win their fourth straight and improve to 8-3 on the season. Indiana State falls to 5-2 on the year. The Billikens are off for the holidays and are next in action on Sun., Dec. 29, in a 2 p.m. game at Bradley.

Saint Louis Billikens Women's Basketball