Women’s basketball rolled past Richmond Feb. 17 in Chaifetz Arena with a final score of 78-48. The team moved to 13-13 on the year and 8-5 in the conference with their seventh win in nine games. Jordyn Frantz and Ciaja Harbison both earned A-10 weekly honors for their performances in the 30-point victory.

Over 5,700 fans decked out in shades of pink packed into Chaifetz Arena for women’s basketball’s annual Pink Out game for breast cancer awareness. Fans were asked to create a sign in support of someone they knew who had been affected by cancer. Survivors and their caretakers were honored on the court during a timeout in which the arena was darkened so the crowd could see the pink lights they were holding on the court in the  shape of a ribbon. Many fans showed their support by turning on their flashlights in solidarity for those that have been lost and those that are fighting to beat the disease.

“What a great day for a great cause… I’m proud of our team, but I’m more proud of all of you,” Coach Lisa Stone said.  

The team also honored their alumnae at halftime, inviting them back to SLU to salute them for all they had done for SLU women’s basketball over the years. Billikens from the ‘50s through the class of 2018 returned to campus to celebrate their achievements and strides made, not just for basketball, but for women’s sports as a whole.

Following the performance, Frantz earned a weekly A-10 honor, Co-Player of the Week, and Harbison continued to dominate the A-10 rookies by being awarded the weekly plaudit for the 10th time this season, the fourth time any rookie has ever won the award 10 times in a year. Of the 14 total weeks, a SLU rookie has won the award 12 times.

In juxtaposition to the men’s game the previous day, the shooting from the charity stripe was a breath of fresh air for Billiken fans. The women shot 88.2 percent from the line, missing only two all day, their best team performance of the season.

The freshman class has stepped up all season to make an impact on the young Billiken team and a few of them have already put themselves in the SLU women’s basketball record books. Brooke Flowers has already smashed the freshman record for blocks and Harbison currently sits in second for assists and third for free throws as a freshman.

Following the win over Richmond, the Bills travelled to Davidson, N.C. to take on the third seeded Wildcats.  It was a hard fought game, with a Billikens rally to recover from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter for a final score of 60-57.  The loss dropped the Bills to 8-6 in the A-10 and held Davidson tied with Duquesne in the third spot.

SLU came home for their second-to-last game of the regular season to take on the league-leading VCU Rams for senior night.  For seniors Tara Dusharm, Frantz and Kerri McMahan it was their last regular season game for the Billikens in Chaifetz Arena.

Senior night is always a game full of high emotions and high level performances, and for the class of 2019 it was no different. Frantz had a career high 27 points, and McMahan tied her career high in points with 16.  The game was a great one from start to finish for Billiken fans, and a much-needed win that put SLU back in the win column with just one game remaining before conference play.

SLU jumped to a quick start with Frantz going on a 8-0 run herself, and the Bills never looked back.  There was only one lead change in the game; VCU took the early lead and when SLU got it back, they never gave it up.  The final in Chaifetz Arena was 76-60, a really solid win against a team contending for the conference title.

The final game for the Bills is Saturday, March 2 in Dayton, Ohio against the Dayton Flyers, another team that currently sits higher in the standings than SLU.  The A-10 Women’s Basketball Championship opens March 5 and SLU will be seeded either fifth or sixth, depending on whether or not they beat Dayton.

Since their loss in Richmond to A-10 leading VCU, the Billikens have rebounded to a 4-1 record in the last two weeks to put them in the fifth spot in the conference with four games left before the tournament.  

The first of the wins came in Chaifetz Arena against George Mason where Ciaja Harbison and Jordyn Frantz led the team by combining for 33 of SLU’s 60 points.  The Billikens snapped Mason’s three-game winning streak and moved themselves to .500 in the conference at 4-4. Following the win, the Bills topped the A-10’s other “George” school in D.C., George Washington, 60-44.

For the sixth time in the season, the Billikens held their opponent to under 60 points.  It was the second time in two games that the Bills came back from a first half deficit to pull out the win.  Harbison led SLU in the second half by scoring 19 of her 21 points in the last two stanzas.

With her success in the two wins over the George Mason and Washington, Harbison received not only her eighth A-10 Rookie of the Week nod, but also a U.S. Basketball Writers Association award for national freshman of the week, the first time a SLU women’s basketball player has ever been chosen.  

After two home wins, the team traveled to the Bronx for a matchup with Fordham where they fell in a close 54-51 game.  SLU had a comeback brewing, led by Tasia Jeffries’ free throws after the Billikens had trailed by double-digit points, but the Rams were able to hold on to get the home win.  In the effort, Brooke Flowers got her seventh double-double on the year, and her career-high eight offensive rebounds.

The Bills returned home to face La Salle where they took care of business and got the 11 point win over the bottom team in the conference.  The win moved the Billikens to 11-13 and 6-5 in the A-10. Frantz had a career-tying 23 points in the victory, and three of her teammates joined her with double-digit points.  

The win marked the team’s fourth consecutive win in Chaifetz Arena, and their fifth win in seven games.  After just one home game, the Bills headed back east to Pittsburgh to take on initial A-10 favorite, Duquesne.  

Frantz led the Billikens with her career-high 24 points in the game to get the win over the Dukes, 67-63.  They went into the fourth quarter with a solid lead, but it slowly melted away as the Dukes had more success converting their shots than the visiting team did.  Harbison got a career-high six steals in the game and Myia Clark was 3-of-4 from behind the three-point arc to add nine points from off the bench.

The win was the first time the Billikens had ever defeated Duquesne at their home in Pennsylvania which moved them to 7-5 in the A-10, finally getting more than one game over .500 for their conference record.  The preseason favorite Dukes fell to 6-5 in the conference, putting them in sixth just behind the Billikens.

With the exception of Richmond, who they will take on next, the remainder of the games this regular season are against teams currently seeded ahead of the Bills.  They will be back in action Sunday against the Spiders, but be sure to come out Feb. 27 as they take on league-leading VCU to look for a higher seed in the upcoming A-10 tournament.

To follow up a dramatic win in triple-overtime against Dayton last week, the Women’s Basketball Team headed on the road to take on the A-10 leading VCU Rams at their home in Richmond, Va. on Jan. 27. The Billikens were unsuccessful in trying to break the Rams down and ended up falling for their fourth conference loss, bringing their new record to 3-4 in the A-10.

Freshman Ciaja Harbison led the way for the Bills with 19 points, and fellow freshman Brooke Flowers led with 11 rebounds.

The first quarter remained close throughout, including three ties and five lead changes until the Rams were able to close out the quarter just one point ahead, with a 13-12 lead. VCU took more of a lead in the second quarter with an eight-point run, but SLU senior  Jordyn Frantz nailed a trey and Flowers followed it with a layup to bring the score back within range for the Bills. The Rams took off with a 7-0 run and gave the home team their biggest lead of the game going into half time, 30-22.

SLU shared the ball well at the start of the second half with four different players scoring to pull the Billikens within four with a few minutes remaining in the third. SLU kept the game close behind a few defensive stops, but they were unable to convert to gain the lead back. The Rams got the momentum and went on an 11-0 run to secure VCU’s win for good.

The game remained a double-digit lead until the closing seconds. The final score was 57-47, the Billikens falling to 8-12 on the year and VCU moving to 14-6,  holding onto their lead in the conference.

Flowers had her seventh double-digit rebound game of the season, and Harbison’s scoring performance earned her A-10 Rookie of the Week honors for the seventh time this season.

With just eight games left in the season, Harbison leads the Billikens in a number of categories, including scoring, assists, minutes and free throw percentage. Harbison is within the top five in the conference for points per game, coming in at fourth, averaging 14.9, and is in second for assists with 4.5. Flowers is also in the top five in the conference for rebounding at fifth with about 7.3 per game. Frantz is second in the conference in three-pointers

The Bills return to Chaifetz Arena Thursday at 7 p.m. to take on George Mason. The Patriots come into the game 3-3 in the standings with an overall record of 11-8.

Shockingly, despite the temperatures in the negatives in St. Louis, spring sports are right around the corner. SLU softball opens up their season in Cedar Falls, Iowa against South Dakota State next Friday in the UNI-Dome Classic. The tournament will feature Drake University, who finished at No. 31 in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and made the NCAA tournament a year ago.

The team returns 12 players from a group that finished fifth in the A-10 with a record of 28-29 overall. Six newcomers joined the squad in the off-season, including one transfer and five freshman.

Sophomore center fielder, Kat Lane said, “Our strength is that we have depth. You can put anyone in the lineup and we are still solid. We have people that can play multiple positions and hit the ball hard when needed.”

“The newcomers are adjusting well and have been competing in practice,”said sophomore first basemen Sadie Wise. The newcomers are joined by three sophomore returners, Alyssa Chavez, Lane and Wise, who were named to the All-Rookie Team last year and are a solid group of upperclassmen that will continue to produce on offense and hold down the fort on defense for the Bills.

Chavez said, “Billiken fans can expect to see big bats in the lineup and speed on the bases.”  “[There will be] many wins, dingers and a fun team to watch,” Lane added.

The team went 11-10 in the conference last season, finishing fifth overall, but this year, with the strong foundation they have built and cultivated in the offseason, the Bills are hoping for a better result. “Our team goal is to get to the A-10 Championship game and come out with the title,” said Lane.

A huge strength for the team is their camaraderie. “We have great friendships off the field and it really shows on the field with our team chemistry,” said Lane. “We all get along well and play well together,” added Wise.  They all want to do their part for the betterment of the group.

“I plan to compete every pitch and give [my] all for my team every game,” said Chavez.

Lane said, “I want to be positive, be there for my teammates, and do anything I can to help this team achieve our A-10 goal.”

Although their season opens up next week, the Billikens won’t be at home at Billiken Sports Center until spring break on March 14 against Loyola-Chicago. Prior to their home opener the team will stay busy as they travel to Iowa for the UNI-Dome Classic, Louisiana for the Lady Demon Classic, Illinois for the Coach B Classic and Georgia for the Bailey Memorial Tournament.  

Home games this season will feature a number of strong opponents, including last year’s No. 13, Kentucky, the defending A-10 champs, UMass and conference rival Dayton.

Get ready SLU softball fans because it’s almost time to head back to the ballpark!

The Women’s basketball team topped Dayton in triple overtime Wednesday morning in front of a crowd of over 6,000 elementary and middle school students on Education Day. With the win over second place Dayton, the Billikens move to 3-3 on the year in the A-10 and moved to 8-11 overall.

        SLU won the tip and freshman Evan Zars put the Billikens on top right away with a shot from behind the arc for three. After the first quarter, SLU was up by two, leading 21-19. A tie at 21 in the opening moments of the second quarter was the only time in the game until the fourth quarter that SLU wasn’t leading.

        In the third quarter, the Billikens took their largest lead of the game at 44-33 with just under three minutes to play. To end the third, Dayton went on a 5-1 run which extended into the four into a 10-1 run to come within two. The Flyers were down two with 16.1 remaining when freshman Brooke Flowers stuffed Dayton’s leading scorer, Jayla Scaife, to keep the lead. With just 3.3 seconds remaining in regulation, Dayton hit a layup to tie the game, 50-50, sending the game to overtime.

        Freshman Ciaja Harbison opened overtime with a quick layup after the Billikens won the tip. The Billikens held the Flyers scoreless until they converted a free throw late in the period. SLU was leading 52-51 with 44.5 seconds remaining in the first overtime. Dayton was able to score a layup to take the lead with 18 seconds remaining. In a last-ditch effort to take the lead, Harbison was fouled and sent to the charity stripe with two shots to take the game. She made the first but missed the second to keep the game tied at 53.

        Again, the Billikens won the tip-off in the second overtime, but turned the ball over twice early, giving the Flyers the chance to go up five points to make the score 58-53. A pair of Dayton turnovers opened the door for SLU to close the gap, and again, when the buzzer sounded, the game was tied.

        For the first time in SLU basketball history, a game was going into triple overtime.

        SLU won the tip in the third, but just like the second, turned the ball over quickly. Fatigue set in, and showed, as both teams turned the ball over until Harbison was fouled on two consecutive plays and converted all four of her opportunities from the line giving the Billikens a four-point lead. A Dayton air ball, followed by a SLU foul kept the score at 62-58 with under two minutes to play. The Flyers started desperation fouling giving the Billikens more opportunities to put the game away. The score stayed close but SLU was able to hold on 68-65 for the historic win.

        The women head to Richmond, Va. to play A-10 leading VCU before returning to Chaifetz Arena on Jan. 31 to take on George Mason.

 Freshman libero Cayce Chaykowski has not let first season jitters, or the transition to college stop her from becoming a force to be reckoned with on the court. She has played in all but three sets so far in her freshman campaign and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.

  She earned the nod of A-10 Rookie of the Week for the week of Sept. 24-30 for her efforts against two conference teams—VCU and Davidson—last weekend.

  Chaykowski averaged 6.71 digs per set in the two matches with 17 digs against VCU followed by a career high 30 digs in their win over Davidson.

  She is currently fifth in the conference in digs per set, averaging about 4.38 on the season.

  Chaykowski, a native of Henderson, Kentucky, started playing volleyball in fourth grade. She became a utility player, and eventually captain, for her high school team where she was able to play libero, outside hitter and setter.

  Choosing SLU seemed to be a somewhat easy decision for Chaykowski because she “loved the coaches, girls and SLU itself.”

  Playing a sport at SLU has opened up so many opportunities for Chaykowski, including playing in Chaifetz Arena.

  “All arenas are different and Chaifetz [is] such a cool place to play in,” she said. “It [is] definitely one of the largest crowds I’ve ever played in front of.”

  Not only does she get to play in front of bigger crowds, but Chaykowski said her favorite part about being a SLU student-athlete is access the fueling station in Chaifetz Arena, a small room for athletes to get healthy snacks in the mornings during the week.

  Despite that fact that she is only about half way into her first season as a Billiken, Chaykowski said she already has some wonderful memories with her teammates. Her favorite thus far is “spending time with [her] teammates at the [Baltimore] Ravens football game,” an extra experience the team got while playing conference games in Washington.

  Chaykowski is looking forward to growing with her teammates to continue beating teams in the A-10.

  The volleyball team has the goal of making it to the A-10 tournament for the sixth year in a row and Chaykowski’s personal goal is “to give everything that [she has] every single game or practice for [her] teammates.

  She attributes her personal success to her parents because they “have done everything that [she] ever needed to be able to play college volleyball.”

  After college, she hopes to either be a Division I volleyball coach or to own her own volleyball club.    

  Senior forward Anthony Brown currently leads the SLU mens soccer team in goals with three, number of shots with 13 and is tied with a few of his teammates for the lead in assists, with two.

Brown, a native of Belleville, Illinois, gained an interest in soccer at the young age of 5 when he saw his brother playing at his grandparent’s house and decided he wanted to play too. He only played one year of soccer for his high school, where he started his freshman year.

  His high school career was cut short due to rules established by the United States Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) stating that players in the academy program could not play high-school soccer.

  “It was not a tough decision for me to decide to stick with the academy because there I knew I would get to be around the best of the best players in the area and compete at a very high level for my age,” said Brown.

  When he was looking at colleges during high school, Brown said that his previous soccer coach, Mike McGinty, “played a huge role in getting [him] to play for SLU.” He fell in love with the campus and the team during these visits and it felt like home.

  Not only did SLU feel like home, it was super important for Brown to be close to his family and friends, so going 20 minutes from Bellville was the perfect fit for him.

  Along with the accessibility that SLU provides for him, Brown was very drawn to the history and prestige of the soccer program.

  “I wanted to be a part of the legacy and make an imprint here to compete and win championships,” he said.

  Another draw for potential soccer student-athletes to SLU is Hermann Stadium.

  Brown said, “The history that was made here just gives me this special feeling that I just can’t really explain but it is honestly amazing [to play in Hermann Stadium].”

  Hermann Stadium has been the home of SLU soccer since 1999 and has since seen many Billiken victories, including last season’s win over the eventual national champions, Stanford.

  “We have one of the best college fields in the country,” said Brown, “the grounds workers here do an amazing job to make sure that the field is always in top condition.”

  This year’s team is different from the past. According to Brown, “We have a great group of guys that are all committed to each other to fulfill our team goal to compete for championships on a consistent basis and to play an exciting style of football that gets the fans excited to watch.”

  Along with the new members of the team, the coaching staff is completely new as well. Coach Kevin Kalish has lead the team to a 3-1-2 start and has his sights set on a strong finish in the A-10. Brown said, “The new coaching staff has done nothing but add to the culture [of the program] and help give us the players [and] tools we need to be successful not only during the season, but [down] the road as well.”

  Brown attributes the team’s successes to “the fact that [they] are willing to fight for each other and [their] relationships with one another [are] so strong.” He attributes his own successes to his family, specifically his father.

  “He has helped me through the great times as well as the very bad times. My father is everything that I want to be in a man and I am on my way to getting there,” he said.

  For the rest of the season, and his career, Brown hopes to “just continue to score goals and get assist[s] to help the team win games and be the best teammate that [he] can be.”

  He shares a common goal with his teammates to win the A-10 championship, being hosted at home in Hermann Stadium this November, and to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2014 season.

  When he graduates from SLU, Brown hopes to continue his soccer career by getting picked up by a professional program. “It has been a long dream of mine and to fulfill that dream would be amazing,” he said.

  A fun fact about Brown is that he is “decent” at beatboxing. If you are in for a laugh, he recommends that you look up “14 yr old Star Wars beatboxing” on YouTube to discover his second talent.