Box Score Box Score

THE RUNDOWN
FORT SMITH, Ark. – The St. Edward's University women's basketball team dropped its final game of the 2017 Heartland/Rocky Mountain Conference Challenge Saturday as it fell, 59-39, to Colorado School of Mines inside the Stubblefield Center.

Despite shooting just 21 percent from the field in the first half, the Hilltoppers (1-1) only trailed by six at halftime. However, the Orediggers (1-1) used a 7-2 run in the third quarter to open up a double-digit lead on SEU.

Lexi Cunningham opened the game by scoring the Hilltoppers' first eight points before Mines tied the game 8-8 with 5:59 remaining in the first quarter. Brooke Panfili followed up with a 3-pointer, but CSM stormed back to regain the lead and never looked back.

St. Edward's was held to 15-percent shooting from the floor in the second half and only managed seven points in the third quarter. Mines used a 6-2 run to open the fourth quarter, putting the game out of reach for SEU.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Cunningham finished with a game-high 13 points, going 4-of-13 from the field and 2-for-6 from 3-point range.
• Cunningham's last double-digit scoring output came on Jan. 5, 2017 with 12 points against St. Mary's.
• Saundra Guillory led all players with a career-high 14 rebounds.
• Haley Joly led all players with three steals. She now has seven steals in two games.
• Greta Kairyte and Abigail Whyte both made their SEU debut Saturday.
• Head Coach J.J. Riehl's career record is 80-62 in six seasons at St. Edward's.

STAT OF THE GAME I
19 – St. Edward's produced 19 second-chance points while Mines only scored 14.

STAT OF THE GAME II
 28 – The Hilltoppers were outscored in the paint 28-18.

TOP QUOTE
Head Coach J.J. Riehl on the loss…
"Today was a tough one offensively for us. This is nothing new. It has kind of been our theme thus far. We are lacking confidence and experience in pressure situations, and right now every possession is a pressure situation. Anytime you cloud your mind with negative thoughts, good things usually don't happen."

Head Coach J.J. Riehl on the defense…
"Defense, ball control and rebounding are real positives for us right now. We are doing a great job in all of those areas, and we will have to continue that and get better while we go through these growing pains."

Head Coach J.J. Riehl on what's next…
"It's one game and no one game is more important than another. So we will learn from this and move forward. It's a process for us and we will continue to stick to that process."  

WHAT'S NEXT
The Hilltoppers open their home slate Tuesday against Southwestern at 5:30 p.m. inside the Recreation and Convocation Center. Live stats and video will be available at GoHilltoppers.com.

Follow St. Edward's Women's Basketball all season long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @SEUWBasketball