NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The St. Edward's Women's Basketball were within two points with six minutes remaining, but fell to Southern Connecticut State, 70-60, Sunday afternoon at Moore Field House. The game was the second of a two-game road trip that saw the Hilltoppers travel more than 4,000 miles to the Northeast and back.
 
"We showed some grit today in how we responded from yesterday's game, and in how we played and executed our game plan," St. Edward's head coach J.J. Riehl said.
 
BAILEY HILL led the Hilltoppers in scoring with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, which included two makes from behind the arc. KHIANI CLARK added 12 points and five rebounds, while MILEKA LOYDRAKE added 10 points and five rebounds of her own. SHAKERA BARNES led St. Edward's with five assists.
 
Through the first five minutes of the first quarter, both teams matched each other shot-for-shot as St. Edward's (2-4) held a slim 10-9 advantage. Hill then went to work for the Hilltoppers as the freshman scored eight-straight points to push the visitor lead to 18-12, with 2:02 remaining. Buckets by MILEKA LOYDRAKE and KAYLA GOEBEL extended the lead to 22-14 at the end of the quarter.
 
"Bailey was really good for us off of the bench," Riehl said. "She looked more comfortable, and more like herself today. She played a really good all-around game."
 
The lead extended to 10 points at the start of the second quarter and stayed that way until the 5:39 mark. Southern Connecticut State (4-2) then used a 14-1 spurt leading to halftime to overtake St. Edward's at the break, 32-29. The Hilltoppers were held without a field goal during the stretch.
 
Out of the break, the Owls scored the first six points of the third quarter to build a 38-29 lead, with 8:09 on the clock. The Hilltoppers still trailed by seven points with 3:31 left in the quarter when Goebel nailed a three-pointer, followed by a layup from Hill to cut the deficit to two points. SCSU hit a layup in the final minute to take a four-point lead into the final period.
 
Five points by Hill and a jumper from Loydrake kept St. Edward's within two with 6:23 remaining in the contest. Seven-straight points by the home team over the next two minutes put the deficit into double-digits, and the game out of reach.
 
"We have to continue to work on our consistency," Riehl added. "We have a lot of youth and inexperience playing a lot of meaningful minutes for us. They have to start making plays under pressure."
 
St. Edward's will be back in action Saturday when they host Angelo State. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the Recreation and Convocation Center. Live video and stats will be available on the Hilltopper Athletic Website.