A strong second-half comeback by Saint Louis overwhelmed women’s basketball Sunday afternoon.

GW (8–14, 5–4 A-10) led by one point at halftime but could not endure an offensive surge from the Billikens (9–13, 5–4 A-10), ultimately falling 60–44 in a battle for sixth place in the Atlantic 10. Saint Louis outscored GW 37–20 in the final two quarters.

Saint Louis freshman guard Ciaja Harbison led the floor with 21 points, 19 of which came in the second half. Senior guard Jordyn Frantz and redshirt sophomore guard Kerri McMahan followed with 13 and 12 points, respectively, for the Billikens.

The Colonials were paced by sophomore forward Neila Luma, who had 13 points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Mei-Lyn Bautista, the team’s second-leading scorer, played all 40 minutes and grabbed four steals but recorded one point while going 0-for-5 from the field.

“She had a tough assignment tonight, defensively, so I think she was focused on having our offense assist the right guys for getting shots,” head coach Jennifer Rizzotti said. “We’ll just have to work with her, finding that balance, making sure she’s looking for her own shots as well.”

An athletic department spokesman declined to provide interviews with athletes postgame, citing a department policy.

GW shot 37.0 percent from the floor and went 3-for-10 from beyond the arc, attempting much fewer than the team’s average of 18.2 three-point shots. The Colonials committed six of their 13 turnovers in the fourth quarter alone, crippling their chances of winning.

Luma opened things up for GW and scored the first basket of the game with a layup. The Billikens fought back with consecutive baskets from freshman center Brooke Flowers and McMahan to make it a 4–2 game before allowing a three from senior guard Anna Savino that sparked a 6–0 Colonials run.

Shortly after, Saint Louis went on a 6–0 run of its own, punctuated by a three-pointer from sophomore guard Tasia Jeffries that recaptured the Billikens’ lead. Freshman center Kayla Mokwuah drained a layup to tie the score but a jumper from Flowers gave Saint Louis a 14–12 advantage heading into the second frame.

Frantz knocked down a three for the Billikens to start the second quarter but Savino answered with her second three-pointer of the day and her final points of the afternoon. Frantz converted a jumper to put Saint Louis ahead 19–15 with 8:24 left in the quarter before a series of turnovers hindered both teams’ scoring success. The Colonials broke the scoring drought with 4:12 before halftime when Luma scored twice in quick succession to tie the game 19–19.

With 40 seconds remaining in the first half, senior forward Kelsi Mahoney and Frantz traded baskets to tie up the score. Frantz missed a free-throw opportunity to put her team ahead, giving GW a chance to take the lead entering the locker room. In the ensuing possession, Mahoney was fouled while attempting a three. She went 1-for-3 from the charity stripe to give her side a 24–23 lead at the break.

GW started the third frame playing well, with Luma extending the lead to 26–23 while the Billikens were held scoreless for two minutes. But the Colonials’ success quickly dropped off as Saint Louis embarked on a 12–2 run in the span of three minutes. Harbison had nine points of her own during the stretch.

“Saint Louis did a nice job of recognizing where our shooters were. Anna got loose a couple times early but they really focused in on Kelsi and Mei,” Rizzotti said. “Those are our guys that have been making most of our threes so again we just have to have people step up and that’s kind of been the theme for this year.”

Bautista dished a no-look pass inside to Luma for a layup and Mokwuah followed up with another layup to get GW within three points with two minutes left in the third quarter. Mokwuah added four more points in the frame but as a team, the Billikens doubled that total, including a buzzer-beating three from McMahan, to help Saint Louis take a 43–36 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Freshman guard Maddie Loder drained a baseline jumper to close the deficit to five points early in the final frame. But a 6–0 Billikens run in the span of one minute powered by Flowers gave them their largest lead of the game at 49–38, forcing Rizzotti into a timeout with eight minutes to play.

Saint Louis held a double-digit lead for the remainder of the contest as the Colonials struggled to get into a rhythm offensively, scoring just eight points in the quarter.

Loder scored a layup with 5:30 on the clock to reduce the gap to 54–44, but the Colonials failed to score again while Harbison and Frantz both drilled three-point daggers to secure victory.

“They made threes that we weren’t really expecting them to make and we got a little stagnant with our offense,” Rizzotti said. “We weren’t able to match their scoring output and I think we got a little frustrated with that.”

The Colonials stay on the road to face George Mason Wednesday at 7 p.m.