SLU head coach Rebecca Tillett and players Kyla McMakin (00) and Julia Martinez (11) leave the court after the Billikens’ win over Vermont on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy: SLU Athletics)

NCAA Women’s Basketball	1	2	3	4	Final
SLU (21-18)	13	4	24	16	57
Vermont (25-12)	11	13	13	17	54

Nora Nichols
Staff Writer

BURLINGTON, VT — The Saint Louis University women’s basketball team continued its incredible run through the postseason Wednesday evening, when it defeated the University of Vermont, 57-54, in the WNIT semifinals at Roy L. Patrick Gymnasium.

Saint Louis will now advance to the WNIT Championship game, where it will play the University of Minnesota, Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network, but the game’s location has yet to be determined.

The Billikens notched win No. 21 against the Catamounts, and enter the championship on a five-game win streak earning victories in 10 out of their last 11 games.

SLU shot 24 percent in the first half, and found itself in a 24-17 deficit at the break. Out of the locker rooms, Peyton Kennedy scored her 11th point of the day as the Billikens pulled back within five points. Sparked by the senior forward, the Billikens flexed offensively, going on a 17-4 run to take the 41-37 lead as time expired in the third quarter.

Kyla McMakin scored the first points of the final period in Burlington, extending the Billikens’ lead to six points. From there, the Billikens took control of the game, registering five of their eight steals in clutch moments.

The Billikens earned the three-point win to advance to the WNIT’s championship game, holding off the Catamounts in the final seconds after Brooklyn Gray pushed SLU’s lead to five at the charity stripe.

Kennedy led all scorers with 23 points in the game, matching her average of 23.2 points through the team’s post-season run. Gray scored 13 in the win while Julia Martinez registered six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Saint Louis University 57

##	Player	GS	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	ORB-DRB	REB	PF	A	TO	BLK	STL	PTS
32	Kennedy, Peyton	*	38	10-13	3-6	0-0	0-3	3	2	0	2	0	2	23
45	Gray, Brooklyn	*	26	5-12	0-2	3-4	1-1	2	3	1	2	0	2	13
04	Calhoun, Kennedy	*	30	3-6	0-2	2-2	1-2	3	3	1	4	0	0	8
00	McMakin, Kyla	*	29	2-9	0-0	2-2	1-2	3	1	1	2	0	0	6
12	Simon, Tierra	*	32	0-3	0-0	1-2	3-11	14	0	1	2	2	1	1
11	Martinez, Julia		33	2-7	0-0	0-0	1-5	6	3	4	2	0	3	4
25	Shavers, Marcavia		5	1-2	0-0	0-0	0-1	1	0	0	1	0	0	2
02	Clegg, Camreé		7	0-1	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
TM	TEAM		0	0-0	0-0	0-0	1-1	2	0	0	2	0	0	0
	Totals	–	200	23-53	3-11	8-10	8-26	34	12	8	18	2	8	57

Vermont 54

##	Player	GS	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	ORB-DRB	REB	PF	A	TO	BLK	STL	PTS
10	Vito,Bella	*	32	5-10	1-1	0-0	4-7	11	3	3	3	1	2	11
23	Utterback,Emma	*	37	5-11	0-1	0-1	0-1	1	1	4	2	0	0	10
33	Richason,Delaney	*	36	3-7	1-3	2-2	0-1	1	2	2	0	0	1	9
24	Olson,Anna	*	36	4-12	0-0	0-0	2-4	6	1	3	2	1	0	8
12	Hanson,Keira	*	31	3-10	1-6	0-0	0-1	1	2	1	1	0	2	7
04	Matic,Andjela		20	3-4	1-1	0-0	0-1	1	1	2	4	0	0	7
25	Priede,Nikola		8	1-2	0-0	0-0	0-4	4	1	0	3	0	0	2
TM	TEAM		0	0-0	0-0	0-0	1-0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Totals	–	200	24-56	4-12	2-3	7-19	26	11	15	15	2	5	54

2023-24 SLU Billikens Women’s Basketball Schedule

Date	Event	Time	Opponent	Location	Broadcast
April 6, 2024 (Saturday)	WNIT Championship Game	2 pm	Minnesota	TBA	CBS Sports Network