EDMOND, Okla. – St. Edward's junior
KHIANI CLARK notched her second-straight game of 20-plus points but that was not enough as the Hilltoppers fell on the road to Oklahoma Christian, 94-67, Thursday evening at the Eagles' Nest.
Clark was 8-for-11 from the field and 5-of-9 from the charity stripe. She also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, just missing out on her 10
th double-double of the season.
LEXI FATHEREE scored 16 points as she made three shots from behind the arc, while
SHAKERA BARNES added 14 points and a game-high five assists.
In the first quarter, St. Edward's (10-15, 8-9 HC) had things rolling. Clark tallied two buckets and Fatheree added two shots from downtown, as the visitors took a 12-11 lead halfway through the quarter. Back-to-back buckets from Barnes and Fatheree gave the Hilltoppers an 18-15 lead with time winding down in the quarter.
Oklahoma Christian (13-14, 10-7 HC) responded with a 14-2 run that spilled over into the second quarter and gave the Lady Eagles a 29-20 advantage. Addy Clift had eight points during the spurt.
Seven points by Clark and four from Barnes kept the Hilltoppers in the game as they only trailed 45-37 at the break.
In the second half, a three-pointer by Fatheree at the 6:39 mark cut the home team's lead to six points, but Oklahoma Christian took control of the game by scoring the next 13 points to take a commanding 67-48 lead with 3:26 left in the third quarter. The Lady Eagles would shoot 59 percent from the field in the second half to keep the Hilltoppers at bay.
"Tonight was a tough one to swallow," head coach J.J. Riehl said. "We didn't show a lot of grit on the defensive end of the floor. Give Oklahoma Christian credit as they present tough matchups for us and they exploited those matchups. We have to find our passion and energy before Saturday."
St. Edward's will wrap up regular-season play Saturday when they travel to take on Newman in Wichita, Kan. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. at Fugate Gymnasium. Live video and stats will be available on www.GoHilltoppers.com
