CLAREMORE, Okla. – SHAKERA BARNES scored 13 second-half points Thursday night as St. Edward's women's basketball came from behind to beat Rogers State 72-67.
 
Barnes led all scorers with 22 points and handed out five assists. BAILEY HILL shot 100 percent in the game, going 4-for-4 from the floor with two 3-pointers and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
 
St. Edward's (10-5, 6-0 Heartland) has won eight straight games, dating back to Dec. 3, and sits atop the Heartland Conference standings. Rogers State (5-11, 1-5 Heartland) falls to eighth place in the league.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Rogers State shot 71 percent from the field to take a 25-19 lead after the first quarter.
• The Hilltoppers responded in the second quarter with an 8-0 run over three minutes to pull within one point at the half.
• KHIANI CLARK used a pair of layups in the third quarter to keep St. Edward's within one.
• Barnes drained a jumper with 26 seconds to play in the third to give SEU a 47-46 lead.
• In the final period, Barnes scored nine points while Hill scored seven to clinch the victory.

 
HILLTOPPER NOTES

• Eight games is the Hilltoppers' longest winning streak since the 1996-97 season when they closed the regular season with 13 straight victories.
• The last time St. Edward's started 6-0 in conference play was the 1997-98 season in the Heart of Texas Conference.
• St. Edward's is 5-2 all-time against Rogers State after winning the last two meetings.
• Barnes entered the night ranked 12th in NCAA Division II in total assists and 14th in assists per game.

 
QUOTE BOARD: HEAD COACH J.J. RIEHL
"Everything begins and ends with defense. We gave up 25 points in the first quarter, and in the second quarter we went to full-court pressure and locked in defensively. We knocked down some shots and got back into the game. It was just us coming out and continuing the same defensive intensity, and making a few more shots than we did in the first half."
 
UP NEXT
St. Edward's heads to Fort Smith, Ark. Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. tipoff against Arkansas Fort Smith inside the Stubblefield Center. Live stats and video will be available at GoHilltoppers.com.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: St. Edward's 72, Rogers State 67
Records: St. Edward's (10-5, 6-0 Heartland), Rogers State (5-11, 1-5 Heartland)
Leading Scorers: St. Edward's-Barnes (22), Rogers State-Nedoroscikova, Kindred (14)
Attendance: 231
 
HEARTLAND CONFERENCE STANDINGS
Team                   Conference                    Overall
St. Edward's             6-0                               10-5
St. Mary's                  4-1                              12-3
Lubbock Christian     4-1                               9-7
UA Fort Smith           4-2                               9-7
Oklahoma Christian  3-3                               8-10
Newman                    2-3                              12-5
TAMU-International  1-4                               1-14
Rogers State             1-5                              5-11
Panhandle State       0-6                              1-13
 
 
For the latest information on the St. Edward's University Women's Basketball team, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @SEUWBasketball, or visit us at www.GoHilltoppers.com.