The Saint Louis women’s basketball team snapped a six-game losing streak at Saint Joseph’s Hagan Arena with a 69-65 win on Wednesday.

At halftime, the Hawks (16-5, 5-3 Atlantic 10) held a seven-point lead over the Billikens (7-13, 2-5 A-10), however, SLU opened the second half on a 20-7 run and never looked back

Erin Nelson led the charge for the Billikens, scoring 18 points, all of which were in the second half of the game, and was responsible for nine points on Saint Louis’ game-changing run as she cashed in on two 3-pointers.

Denisha Womack finished the game with her second straight double-double. Womack netted 14 points and secured 10 rebounds. Jamesia Price and Desirae Ball added 25 points collectively, while Sadie Stipanovich was two points shy of a double-double after scoring eight points and recording 10 rebounds.

Natasha Cloud, Erin Shields and Sarah Fairbanks each posted 15 points and 11 rebounds for St. Joe’s as well.

SLU plays A-10 rival Fordham on Wednesday in Missouri as they look to keep their three-game winning streak alive, while the Hawks will travel to New York to take on St. Bonaventure on Wednesday.

Richmond cruises by La Salle

Freshman Janelle Hubbard and senior Kristina King were responsible for 35 of Richmond’s 56 points in an easy 56-39 win over La Salle on Wednesday night.

Redshirt junior Genevieve Okoro scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Spiders (10-11, 4-4 A-10) in the winning effort.

Richmond’s strong defensive efforts paid off as the Explorers (10-10, 5-3 A-10) shot a mere 25 percent from the field and failed to hit a single 3-pointer.

Richmond, on the other hand, shot 88 percent from the free throw line as King made all nine of her attempts.

Although the Spiders ran away with the game, they only led by five points at halftime. Richmond forced 19 turnovers and turned their takeaways into 10 points. The Spider’s persistent defensive effort was proven successful as the Explorer’s 39 points was the fewest that Richmond allowed all season.

Richmond will visit Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday, while La Salle will host George Mason on Wednesday.

Dayton’s offense explodes

Dayton recorded 100 points for the third time this season, crushing George Mason 103-81.

Six Flyers scored over 10 points and its head coach, Jim Jabir, won his 200th game at Dayton as his team led by as many as 31 points.

The Flyers (13-5, 6-1 A-10) finished the first half leading 56-42 thanks to strong play by freshman Celeste Edwards. Edwards connected on five 3-pointers in the first half and finished the game with 17 points, tying her career high.

Dayton erupted in the second half after Ally Malott logged 18 of a career-best 25 points in the second half to go with six rebounds and five assists.

The Patriots (6-16, 0-9 A-10) performed well despite being outplayed by the Flyers. Sandra Ngoie scored 15 points in the first half and finished the game with 21 points. Taylor Brown scored 19 points in the second half and ended the game with 30 points.

Dayton will face VCU on Wednesday at home, while George Mason will visit La Salle on Wednesday.

Matthew Zackman can be reached at [email protected].