CLAREMORE, Okla. – The St. Edward's Women's Basketball team brought it's A game to the Expo Center in Claremore, Okla. Thursday night, as the Hilltoppers defeated Rogers State, 71-57, behind big nights from AIMEE DURBIDGE, LEXI FATHEREE, and SYDNEY THOMAS.
 
St. Edward's (13-5, 7-3 HC) got off to a favorable start, taking an early 8-2 lead, three minutes into the game. Over the next six minutes, the Hilltoppers would build an 11-point lead; however, would fail to hold its advantage.
 
In a game of ebbs and flows, Rogers State (5-13, 3-7 HC), would garner a run of its own, going on a 7-0 streak, and cutting its deficit to four. The halftime score stood, 25-24.
 
Motivated by head coach J.J. Riehl's halftime speech, the Hilltoppers started the second half with a great deal of vigor and quickly bringing their lead up to seven.
 
Eight minutes into the half, the Hilltoppers would gain a 14-point lead, which they would later increase to 17 points, with just 7:28 left to play.
 
St. Edward's would close the game with steady play all around and complete a convincing road win over Rogers State, 71-57.
 
"I was really pleased with how we responded after halftime. We came out focused and executed really well on the offensive end," Riehl said of her team. 
 
Additionally, three Toppers stood out on the night with superb games. Freshman point guard, Thomas, would finish with a career-high 17 points. The youngster, would miss one shot on the night, going 4-of-5 from the field, 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, and 6-for-6 at the charity strike. Thomas also dished out three assists.
 
The Aussie, Durbidge would continue her solid play in the month of January, scoring 11 points and setting a new career high with 12 rebounds. Tonight's performance marked her first career double-double. Over the month of January, Durbidge has amplified her game averaging 10.8 points per contest along with 6.5 rebounds over the last eight games.
 
The sophomore, Fatheree, had a brilliant night shooting the ball, scoring 16 points while shooting 60 percent from the field. Fatheree knocked down four long balls and grabbed seven rebounds.
 
"It was really good to see Syd (Thomas) knock down some outside shots. She had a huge second half. Lexi (Fatheree) finally got her stroke back after a solid week of preparation and hit some big shots from the outside. Aimee (Durbidge) was huge for us again in all areas," Riehl stated.
 
St. Edward's will head to Fort Smith, Ark. to take on the UA Fort Smith, Saturday afternoon. Tip off for the game is set for 1 p.m. and live coverage will be available on the Lion Athletic Website.
 
                                             Heartland           Overall
Team (Preseason)                 W-L                   W-L
Lubbock Christian* (1)           9-1                    15-5
UA Fort Smith (7)                    8-2                    10-7
St. Edward's (4)                       7-3                    13-5
St. Mary's (2)                            6-4                    12-6
UT-Permian Basin (8)             5-5                    11-7
TAMU-International (3)          5-5                     9-9
Oklahoma Christian* (6)         4-6                    7-11
Newman (5)                             3-7                    6-12
Rogers State* (9)                     3-7                    5-13
Panhandle State (10)             0-10                   2-18
* - Not eligible for HC Tournament due to NCAA Transition Year.
 
SCHEDULE/RESULTS
January 29
LCU 87, OPSU 51
SEU 71, RSU 57
TAMIU 48, NU 47
UAFS 85, UTPB 54
OC 55, STMU 54
 
January 31
UTPB at RSU                                1:00 PM
TAMIU at OC                                1:00 PM
SEU at UAFS                                 1:00 PM
STMU at NU                                  1:00 PM