AUSTIN, Texas – It was a tale of two halves Thursday night at the Recreation and Convocation Center as St. Edward's let a nine-point halftime lead slip away in a 78-72 loss to Texas A&M-International.
After St. Edward's (4-10, 2-4 HC) bested the Dustdevils, 39-30 in the first half, TAMU-International (7-8, 4-3 HC) rebounded to shoot 63 percent from the floor and outscored the Hilltoppers, 48-33, in the final half for the six-point victory.
"We did a good job of working the inside and outside during the first half," head coach J.J. Riehl said. "In the second half, we did not do a good job of getting the ball in to the post. Couple that with their great shooting down the stretch, and that is the difference in the game."
KHIANI CLARK had a monster game in a losing effort with her fifth double-double of the season. The junior forward scored a team-high 17 points while pulling down 14 rebounds. Three other Hilltoppers ended in double figures with both
HALEY JOLY and
SHAKERA BARNES scoring 13 points and
BAILEY HILL adding 11 points off of the bench. Barnes led St. Edward's with season-high tying eight assists and
ABBY HOPPER contributed a career-high 10 rebounds off of the bench.
In the first quarter, St. Edward's came out firing on all cylinders. The home team shot 60 percent from the floor and raced out to an eight-point advantage, 23-15. Both Joly and Barnes had six points in the opening quarter. Joly knocked down back-to-back treys for her points.
In the second quarter, the Hilltoppers kept their foot on the gas. In the final minute, two free throws from Hill and a bucket by Clark gave St. Edward's the nine-point lead.
In the third quarter, TAMU-International scored the first five points, but the Hilltoppers held serve to keep an eight-point lead with 4:33 left in the quarter. The Dustdevils responded with 10-straight points to take their first lead of the game, 53-51, with 1:51 remaining.
The Dustdevils kept it going, as it scored 13 of the next 15 points to take control of the game, 66-53, halfway through the fourth quarter. St. Edward's heated up once again from outside to nail four shots from behind the arc down the stretch. They cut the lead to six points on two occasions but were not able to break through.
The Hilltoppers won the battle of the board, 39-37, with 20 of those coming on the offensive end, but the Dustdevils connected from downtown at a higher rate, making 13 shots compared to eight for St. Edward's.
St. Edward's will be back in action Saturday when they host longtime rival St. Mary's in their "Battle of the Saints" matchup. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. at the Recreation and Convocation Center. Live video and stats will be available on the Hilltopper Athletic Website.
| Heartland Conference Standings |
| Team | HC | OVERALL |
| Lubbock Christian | 6-0 | 14-0 |
| St. Mary's | 6-1 | 12-3 |
| UA Fort Smith | 4-2 | 11-4 |
| TAMU-International | 4-3 | 7-8 |
| Oklahoma Christian | 4-3 | 7-10 |
| Rogers State* | 3-3 | 8-5 |
| Newman | 3-4 | 9-6 |
| St. Edward's | 2-4 | 4-10 |
| Panhandle State | 0-5 | 1-12 |
| UT-Permian Basin | 0-6 | 4-12 |
| *-Not Eligble for Postseason Play | | |
| | |
| Thursday, Jan. 14th | | |
| TAMU-International def. St. Edward's, 78-72 |
| St. Mary's def. UT-Permian Basin, 71-56 |
| Lubbock Christian def. Rogers State, 68-59 |
| Newman def. Oklahoma Christian, 81-61 |
| UA Fort Smith def. Panhandle State, 70-40 |
| | |
| Saturday, January 16th | | |
| St. Mary's at St. Edward's | | 1:00 PM |
| TAMU-International at UT-Permian Basin | 1:00 PM |
| Panhandle State at Rogers State | 1:00 PM |
| Lubbock Christian at UA Fort Smith | 5:00 PM |
