Box Score

SAN ANGELO, Texas – The weather forecast called for near-freezing temperatures in San Angelo on Tuesday night, and the Hilltoppers followed that trend with a 22.8% shooting percentage in their 57-47 loss to Angelo State.
 
Angelo State (1-0) jumped out to an early 4-0 lead with a jumper by Lauren Holt and a Haylee Oliver lay-up. St. Edward's (1-2) responded with two free throws by DAWN KIEL and a jumper by MADDIE WHEELER to cut the lead to 6-4. A three-pointer by Kiel gave St. Edward's its first lead of the game.
 
Angelo State would go on a 6-0 run to increase the lead to 12-7 just six minutes into the game. VALENCIA WHITE helped spark a run for her Hilltoppers by connecting on a jumper and assisting on a three-point shot by STEPHANIE DEKKERS to knot the game at 12.
 
With about five minutes remaining in the first half, Kiel attempted a shot that was followed by her and teammate KELSEE BARR. Barr was tangled with Kiel that led her to a knee injury that would sideline her for the remainder of the game. A foul was called on the play and Kiel would knock down her two free throws to give the game its fourth tie. Unfortunately for the Hilltoppers, it would be the closest they would get to take the lead for the rest of night.
 
St. Edward's would close the first half by missing on eight attempts from the field.

The Hilltoppers would finish the first half of play shooting only 21.4% form the field and only making three shots from behind the arc for a three-point percentage of 17.6%.
 
Angelo State connected on two shots to open the second half and extend the lead to 13 points. This would be the biggest lead of the game for either team. The Hilltoppers quickly cut the 13-point deficit to six courtesy of Kiel and her two free throws and a steal and lay-up by MADDIE WHEELER. Dekkers added a steal of her own and answered with a layup in which she took advantage of the three-point play.
 
St. Edward's cut the lead down to four with about 14-minutes remaining in the second half with back-to-back baskets by White. The Rambelles lead would increase to nine at the halfway point in the half.
 
The Hilltoppers work try and cut into the lead, but couldn't overcome the poor shooting on the night. The St. Edward defense stepped up during the last seven minutes of play and caused several turnovers to chop away at the lead. Again, they cut the lead to four points with four minutes remaining, but the Hilltoppers couldn't get any closer.
 
St. Edward's finished the game shooting 22.8% from the field and 19.2% from three-point land. Dekkers finished with a team-high 12 points and four steals. Kiel ended the game with 11 points and two steals. She also shot and made the most free throws for the team, going 8-for-12 from the charity stripe. 
 
Head Coach J.J. Riehl commented after the game, “It's difficult to win games when you shoot as poorly as we did. We didn't handle the adversity of the contest as well as I would've hoped. After we lost Kelsee for the game, there was an emotional drop-off and we never regained it throughout the game, and I hope this is lesson for the team that we need to learn to grind out tough victories on the road.”
 
The Hilltoppers return home on Saturday for a matchup against Huston-Tillotson. Tip-off is set for 2:00 pm at the Recreational Convocation Center (RCC) on the St. Edward's campus. Live video and stats will be available through the Hilltopper website.