Fourth-Quarter Struggles Cost Trojans at Saint Louis

ST. LOUIS – Outscored 17-6 in the fourth quarter, Little Rock women's basketball took a 48-45 loss to Saint Louis on Friday night at Chaifetz Arena.
 
Raeyana DeGray led the Trojans (2-4) in points for the second consecutive game with a game-high 14 as she went 5-for-11 from the field while making a career-high four free throws. Coming up a rebound shy of her second double-double of the season was Keanna Keys as she finished with nine rebounds and a season-high 12 points. Ronjanae DeGray earned a career-high 12 boards with six points. Monique Townson led the game with three steals and came up with five points, three rebounds and six assists. Kyra Collier had a game-high seven assists with six points, six rebounds and two steals.
 
Maddison Gits earned a double-double for the Billikens (4-5) as she finished with 11 rebounds and 10 points. Jackie Kemph led Saint Louis with 11 points and a team-high four assists. Jenny Vliet was the other Billiken with double-digit boards as she tallied 11.
 
Little Rock began the game with its lowest-scoring first quarter of the year as it led Saint Louis 8-6. Both sides posted less than ideal field goal percentages as Little Rock shot 28.6 percent (4-for-14) while Saint Louis shot 15.4 (2-for-13). Keys led the quarter with five boards while Collier posted two steals.
 
Both sides scored 14 points in the second quarter to give Little Rock a narrow 22-20 lead at the half. Raeyana DeGray ended the half with a game-high seven points as she went 3-for-7. Keys upped her rebound total to seven while Collier led the game with four assists and two steals.
 
Little Rock outscored Saint Louis 17-11 in the third quarter after shooting 50 percent (7-for-14). Up 28-26, the Trojans went on a 9-0 run to take their largest lead of the game at 37-26.
 
Entering the fourth quarter with a 39-31 lead, Little Rock went cold as it shot 20 percent (2-for-10) from the field while Saint Louis went 44.4 percent (4-for-9) from the field and 9-for-12 from the foul line. Tied at 45, Kemph put the Billikens up by two with a jumper before Jordan Frantz came up with a steal for Saint Louis. After Frantz made a free throw to put the Billikens up by three, the Trojans put up an unsuccessful three-point shot to end the game.
 
Although the Trojans finished with the higher field-goal percentage at 35.8 percent (19-for-53), the Trojans shot just 46.7 percent (7-for-15) from the foul line. The Billikens, on the other hand, made 77.8 percent (14-for-18) of their foul shots while shooting 32.6 percent (15-for-46) from the floor.
 
Little Rock finished the game with the advantage in rebounds (35-34), assists (15-11) and steals (9-5) while committing one less turnover (13-12). Saint Louis committed fewer fouls (15-13) and made just one more block (3-2).
 
The Trojans will now return home to face Missouri State on Monday night at 6:30.