AUSTIN, Texas – St. Mary's came into to Saturday's "Battle of the Saints" with a five-game winning streak and second place in the Heartland Conference well in hand. St. Edward's threw the records out the window as they blitzed the Rattlers with a 71-52 victory at the Recreation and Convocation Center.
SHAKERA BARNES led the effort with a game-high 23 points. After averaging just 9.5 points in her first eight games as a Hilltopper, Barnes has stepped up her scoring with seven-straight double-figure games. She has upped her scoring average to a team-best 14.1 points per contest.
LEXI FATHEREE had her best game of the season, registering 16 points off of the bench.
KHIANI CLARK continued to produce down low for St. Edward's (5-10, 3-4 HC) as the junior added 10 points and seven rebounds.
St. Edward's opened the game with a 10-0 run in the first three minutes of play as the Hilltoppers made their first seven shots from the field. Barnes tallied eight of the points to lead the way.
St. Mary's (12-4, 6-2 HC) followed by trading a pair of free throws with the Hilltoppers, but the home team would not take its foot off of the gas going on an 11-0 run over the rest of the first quarter and halfway through the next. Barnes was at it again, scoring six points during the run. She added a free throw down the stretch to make it 15 first-half points as St. Edward's took a commanding 36-14 advantage into the break.
The third quarter saw more of the same, as St. Edward's seemed to want the victory more. It shot a season-high 55 percent (29-53) from the floor. They also held the Rattlers to their second-lowest shooting performance of the season at 31 percent. The only team to keep them lower was nationally-ranked Lubbock Christian.
"We had much more passion on the defensive end today," head coach J.J. Riehl said. "We know we can play like this, it's just about us being consistent in what we do."
St. Edward's will be back in action Thursday when they travel to take on Panhandle State. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. at Oscar Williams Fieldhouse in Goodwell, Okla. Live video and stats will be available on the Aggie Athletic Website.
| Heartland Conference Standings |
| Team | HC | OVERALL |
| Lubbock Christian | 6-0 | 14-0 |
| St. Mary's | 6-2 | 12-4 |
| UA Fort Smith | 4-2 | 11-4 |
| TAMU-International | 5-3 | 8-8 |
| Oklahoma Christian | 4-3 | 7-10 |
| Rogers State* | 4-3 | 9-5 |
| Newman | 3-4 | 9-6 |
| St. Edward's | 3-4 | 5-10 |
| Panhandle State | 0-6 | 1-13 |
| UT-Permian Basin | 0-7 | 4-13 |
| *-Not Eligble for Postseason Play | | |
| | |
| Saturday, January 16th | | |
| St. Edward's def. St. Mary's, 71-52 | |
| TAMU-International def. UT-Permian Basin , 77-49 |
| Rogers State def. Panhandle State, 60-56 | |
| Lubbock Christian at UA Fort Smith | 5:00 PM |
| | |
| Thursday, January 21 | | |
| St. Edward's at Panhandle State | 5:30 PM |
| St. Mary's at TAMU-International | 5:30 PM |
| Rogers State at Newman | | 5:30 PM |
| UA Fort Smith at Oklahoma Christian | 5:30 PM |
| UT-Permian Basin at Lubbock Christian | 6:00 PM |
