Box Score

AUSTIN, Texas – DAWN KIEL led all scorers with 19, but that wasn't enough to overcome the 29 St. Edward's turnovers as the Hilltoppers fell to Harding, 74-61, Sunday afternoon at the Recreation and Convocation Center.
 
St. Edward's (3-3) got on the scoreboard first with the help of Kiel. She drove baseline and floated in the games first points. The Hilltoppers would extend their lead to 8-4 with a three-point basket by STEPHANIE DEKKERS at the 17-minute mark.
 
Dekkers hit back-to-back three pointers during the 14^th minute of action to give St. Edward's a 21-12 lead. ERIKA ROUSCULP added a layup and Kiel knocked in two free throws to give the Hilltoppers a 13-point lead with 12:21 left in the first half.
 
Harding (2-2) would fight back over the next five minutes and go on a 15-3 run that would cut the Hilltopper lead to just one point with 6:11 remaining. Shana Holmes would hit her two shots from the charity stripe to give the Bison its first lead of the game. A three-point bucket by Amelia Bramer and a lay-up by Arielle Saunders would quickly extend the Harding lead to six points.
 
MADDIE WHEELER swished a three-point basket with under one minute remaining to cut the lead to four points going into half time, 42-38. The Hilltoppers shot 38.5% during the first period of play and turned the ball over on 15 different occasions.
 
The Bison entered the second half with two quick buckets to extend their lead to 46-38. The Hilltoppers would mount a miniature run with baskets by Kiel and CASEY RILEY. SARAH KENDRICK nailed a three-point shot from the top of the key to give St. Edward's momentum and cut the Bison lead to 51-45, with 14:08 remaining in the contest.
 
St. Edward's stiffened its defensive pressure over the next four minutes causing the Bison to miss on all their attempts and off of the scoreboard. The Hilltoppers were not able to capitalize on their defensive stops during this time. St. Edward's committed four turnovers and went 0-for-2 from the field during the stretch.
 
After both team experienced defensive struggles, Harding would go on a 11-5 run that would give them a 19-point lead. The Hilltoppers gave it one last push as Kiel and Dekkers combined for seven-points during the games final minutes to eventually cut the lead to 13 points.
 
Dekkers would contribute 16 points and MADDIE WHEELER added 12. Dekkers would lead the game with five assists. ERIKA ROUSCULP was the games leading rebounder with seven. St. Edward's ended the game shooting 38.5% from the field and 40% from behind the arc. The Hilltoppers outrebounded Harding 34-27.
 
Head coach J.J. Riehl commented after the game, “Today was not our day. Our inability to handle the full court pressure was the difference in the game. You cannot have the number of turnovers that we had and have a favorable outcome. We will learn from this and be better Thursday night.”
 
The Hilltoppers will be back in action on Thursday as they travel to UA-Fort Smith for their conference opener. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. Live video and stats will be available through the Lion Athletic Website.