ODESSA, Texas –
SHAKERA BARNES scored 20 points in the second half against UT-Permian Basin on Thursday night as St. Edward's Women's Basketball rolled to its first win on the road this season, 72-63.
With the win, the Hilltoppers improve to 4-9 overall and 2-3 in the Heartland Conference. The loss drops the Falcons to 4-10 as they remain winless in the league at 0-4.
Barnes finished the night with a career-high 33 points. She led the team in assists and steals with six and four. The junior guard also added four rebounds.
KHIANI CLARK and
ABBY HOPPER scored in double digits as well with 15 and 10, respectively.
HALEY JOLY and Clark each collected six boards, tying the game high, and Joly denied her 10
th shot of the season.
"This was a huge, huge game. It was another opportunity to progress to the best version of us," said head coach J.J. Riehl. "With a young team, and to deal with what we've dealt with this year, these girls have been great since Christmas break. It's just been about us finishing; having the confidence to finish and make moments."
The Hilltoppers only trailed twice the entire night, and both moments came in the opening quarter. UT-Permian Basin scored first to take a two-point lead before Barnes, Clark, and Hopper led St. Edward's on an 8-3 run to go up 8-5. The Falcons followed up with a 5-0 surge of their own to take their second, and final, lead of the night. Riehl's squad fired off 14 points and surrendered just two to close the first quarter.
With a double-digit lead to start the second-quarter, layups from Hopper and Clark pushed the Hilltopper's advantage to 14. However, steady shooting from UT-Permian Basin helped the Falcons outscore St. Edward's, 14-10, in the second quarter and pull within six points at the half.
Coach Riehl's halftime speech sparked a fire in Barnes as she came out and scored six points in 90 seconds to start the third quarter. St. Edward's outscored the Falcons 15-14 in the period and entered the fourth, leading 47-40. However, Barnes was not done. She proceeded to drop 15 more points in the final period, clinching the Hilltopper victory.
St. Edward's finished the game shooting 50 percent from the field, and outscored the Falcons off of turnovers, 22-4. Despite losing the rebounding battle, the Hilltoppers outscored UTPB team in the paint, 48-30.
The team will take the weekend off before returning home to the hilltop next Thursday for a league contest against Texas A&M-International. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in the Recreation and Convocation Center with live stats and video available at GoHilltoppers.com.
| Heartland Conference Standings |
| Team | HC | OVERALL |
| Lubbock Christian | 4-0 | 12-0 |
| St. Mary's | 4-1 | 10-3 |
| Rogers State* | 3-1 | 8-3 |
| Oklahoma Christian | 3-1 | 6-8 |
| TAMU-International | 3-2 | 6-7 |
| UA Fort Smith | 2-2 | 9-4 |
| St. Edward's | 2-3 | 4-9 |
| Newman | 1-4 | 7-6 |
| UT-Permian Basin | 0-4 | 4-10 |
| Panhandle State | 0-4 | 1-11 |
| *-Not Eligble for Postseason Play | | |
| | |
| Thursday, Jan. 7 | | |
| St. Edward's def. UT-Permian Basin, 72-63 |
| Oklahoma Christian def. Panhandle State, 101-81 |
| St. Mary's def. UA Fort Smith, 65-54 |
| TAMU-International def. Rogers State, 73-64 (OT) |
| Lubbock Christian def. Newman 87-42 |
| | |
| Saturday, Jan. 9 | | |
| Oklahoma Christian at Lubbock Christian | | 1:00 PM |
| Rogers State at St. Mary's | 1:00 PM |
| Newman at Panhandle State | | 1:00 PM |
| UA Fort Smith at TAMU-International | 1:00 PM |
| |
