Saint Louis held off UALR in the opening round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament on Thursday night.
Junior Sharde Collins missed a jumper as time expired to allow the host Billikens to escape with a 70-69 victory over the Trojans at the Chaifetz Arena.
Saint Louis (25-7) failed to score in the game's final 2:45, but the Trojans (20-13) could not come up with enough offense to overcome a 70-63 deficit. The Billikens will play Ball State, a 77-72 winner at Iowa, in the Round of 32 early next week.
Sophomore point guard Jackie Kemph, the Atlantic 10 co-Player of the Year, scored 20 points and handed out seven assists for the Billikens, who were 17 of 34 from the floor in the second half compared to a 13 of 31 effort by the Trojans.