GOODWELL, Okla. – St. Edward's never trailed in a 70-51 road victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State Thursday evening at Oscar Williams Fieldhouse. The victory was the second-straight and third in last four games for the Hilltoppers as they evened their record in the Heartland Conference at 4-4.
KHIANI CLARK led all scorers as she notched her sixth double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds. She was 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe. Six of her 10 boards came on the offensive end.
LEXI FATHEREE tallied double figures for the second-straight game, as she was 3-of-7 from behind the arc for 13 points. Both
ESSENCE SAULS and
SHAKERA BARNES added 10 points each.
"Khiani did what she does and finished inside the block," head coach J.J. Riehl said. "She dominates the glass and does a great job of anticipating the double team to kick it out to open shooters."
In the first quarter St. Edward's (6-10, 4-4 HC) took a 13-10 lead. Fatheree had five points, while Clark added four during the opening frame.
Halfway through the second quarter, Panhandle State (1-15, 0-8 HC) had pulled to within three points, 15-12, with 9:12 remaining before halftime. The Hilltoppers then went to work, outscoring the home team, 17-4 over the next six minutes. The run was keyed by two buckets from Clark as the lead expanded to 32-16 with 3:42 on the clock.
Both teams would trade baskets down the stretch in the second, but a three-pointer by Fatheree in the waning seconds put the Hilltoppers in front, 37-23 at intermission.
In the second half, the St. Edward's lead would expand to as many as 21 points, but the Lady Aggies were able to cut it down to just eight points, 50-42, with 29 seconds left in the third quarter. A bucket by Barnes to close out the quarter, along with a jumper from
BAILEY HILL and another three pointer from Fatheree to open the fourth put the game away. Sauls made sure Panhandle State had no shot for a comeback as she scored eight points in the fourth quarter alone.
"I questioned our focus throughout warm-ups, and I thought we came out of the gates a little flat," Riehl said. "The team responded after the first media timeout. Overall, I'm just really pleased with the team's commitment to doing it our way and staying with us. We can always improve, but I like where we headed."
St. Edward's will be back in action Saturday when they travel to take on the second-ranked and undefeated Lubbock Christian Lady Chaps. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. at the Rip Griffin Center. Live video and stats will be available on the Lady Chap Athletic Website.
| Heartland Conference Standings |
| Team | HC | OVERALL |
| Lubbock Christian | 8-0 | 16-0 |
| St. Mary's | 6-3 | 12-5 |
| TAMU-International | 6-3 | 9-8 |
| Rogers State* | 5-3 | 10-5 |
| Oklahoma Christian | 5-3 | 8-10 |
| UA Fort Smith | 4-4 | 11-6 |
| St. Edward's | 4-4 | 6-10 |
| Newman | 3-5 | 9-7 |
| UT-Permian Basin | 0-8 | 4-14 |
| Panhandle State | 0-8 | 1-15 |
| *-Not Eligble for Postseason Play | | |
| | |
| Thursday, January 21 | | |
| St. Edward's def. Panhandle State, 70-51 | |
| TAMU-International def. St. Mary's, 73-53 | |
| Rogers State def. Newman, 55-50 | |
| Oklahoma Christian def. UA Fort Smith, 77-72 |
| Lubbock Christian def. UT-Permian Basin, 70-34 |
| | |
| Saturday, January 23 | | |
| St. Edward's at Lubbock Christian | 1:00 PM |
| UA Fort Smith at Newman | | 1:00 PM |
| Rogers State at Oklahoma Christian | 1:00 PM |
| UT-Permian Basin at Panhandle State | 1:00 PM |
