St. Louis - The Maryville women's basketball team rolled to a 78-70 victory at Saint Louis University Thursday evening in Chaifetz Arena. The Saints scored the first 14 points of the game and held the lead the entire way to down the NCAA Division I Billikens. Carsyn Fearday and Antoinette Mussorici led the way with 23 and 21 points, respectively, in the exhibition victory.
 
Saint Louis recap
After a stop to open the game, Haidyn Pitsch sank two free throws to give the Saints a lead they would not surrender. Mussorici drilled a pull-up jumper and added a deep 3-pointer for a 7-0 advantage. Fearday knocked down a jumper before Hunter Stidham splashed in a triple and a 12-0 lead that forced SLU into a timeout. Rylee Mulvaney converted a layup as the Maryville margin grew to 14-0 at the 4:11 mark. The Billikens did not score until hitting one free throw with 2:51 left in the first quarter. Fearday and Mulvaney rained down back-to-back treys, Maddy Meehan added a hoop, and Stidham's free throws pushed the cushion to 24-1. SLU finally scored its first basket of the game with five seconds left in the quarter as the Maryville defense forced the Billikens to miss their opening 14 shots.
 
The Saints kept the advantage at more than 20 points and built their lead to as much as 29 points with a 44-15 edge with just over a minute to play in the first half. The Billikens closed with an 8-0 run to trim the Maryville advantage to 44-23 at halftime. SLU cut the gap in the third and trimmed the Saints lead to 58-41 heading into the final quarter. The Saints kept a double-digit lead in the fourth until the Billikens scored in the waning seconds for the final eight-point margin. Mussorici narrowly missed a double-double as she finished with nine rebounds. 
 
Statistical Leaders:
Points: Carsyn Fearday - 23
Rebounds: Taylor Kirby - 10
Assists: Taylor Kirby - 4
3-Pointers: four players - 2
Steals: Rylee Mulvaney, Antoinette Mussorici and Haidyn Pitsch - 2
 
What's Next?
The Saints open the 2022-23 season Friday Nov. 11, as they host Davenport for an afternoon 1 p.m. contest in Moloney Arena.