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EDWARDSVILLE, Ind. -- Kyla McMakin scored 20 points and Peyton Kennedy added 19 Saturday to help Saint Louis beat Minnesota 69-50 and win the first WNIT championship in program history. The Billikens won six games in a row and 11 of their last 12 to close the season. Their 22 wins is the program's third most in a single season. Saint Louis won 26 games in 2017-18 and 25 in 2018-19. Kennedy Calhoun scored 11 points for Saint Louis and Julia Martinez finished with 10 rebounds, 6 assists and a season-high-tying 5 steals as well as 3 points on 1-of-4 shooting. Sophie Hart scored 13 points for Minnesota (20-16), and Janay Sanders added 12. Mallory Heyer had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Mara Braun, Minnesota's leading scorer (17.0 per game), did not play. Braun aggravated an injury to her right foot -- which was sustained Jan. 28 at Illinois, required surgery and kept her out for 11 games -- against North Dakota State in the Sweet 16. McMakin made back-to-back baskets and Kennedy followed with a 3-pointer and a layup to spark a 14-4 run to close the first quarter, and the Billikens took a 16-9 lead when Camree Clegg capped the spurt with a 3-pointer. Hart made a layup that trimmed Minnesota's deficit to six points with 3:15 left in the second quarter, but McMakin and Martinez each hit a 3 as Saint Louis scored 10 of the final 14 first-half points to make it 33-21 at intermission. The Billikens led by double figures the rest of the way. The Gophers shot 34% (20 of 59) from the field, hit 4 of 23 (17%) from 3-point range and made 6 of 14 (43%) from the free throw line. Saint Louis (22-18), which went into the game shooting 31.6% from 3-point range, made 11 of 24 from behind the arc (45.8%).
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