Box Score Box Score

THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA, Kan. – The St. Edward's University women's basketball team rallied back from a 13-point deficit Thursday but could not complete the comeback as it fell to Newman 45-43 in its Heartland Conference opener inside Fugate Gymnasium.

Newman (7-4, 1-0 HC) took an 11-3 lead in the first quarter on 4-of-10 shooting from the floor. The Hilltoppers (4-5, 0-1 HC) responded in the second quarter with 15 points on 7-of-15 shooting as they cut the Jets' lead to 22-18 at halftime.

Both teams went back and forth in the third period before NU closed the quarter on a 7-0 run, taking a 37-30 lead into the fourth.

St. Edward's opened the final period with a 9-2 run behind five points from Isabel Hernandez and tied the game at 39 with 5:54 left to play. The Hilltoppers held Newman to just one field goal in the entire fourth quarter, but sent the Jets to the free-throw line 11 times as NU held on to win.

HIGHLIGHTS

• St. Edward's is 12-10 in the all-time series with Newman.
• Head Coach J.J. Riehl is 6-5 in her career against the Jets.
• Hernandez had game-highs of 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
• Hernandez has scored in double digits in seven-straight games and has 100 points on the season.
• Saundra Guillory scored in double digits for the third time this season with 11 points and surpassed 150 points for her career.
• Guillory recorded three blocks – her second game with multiple stuffs in 2017.
• The Hilltoppers have held five-straight opponents under 60 points this season.
• Head Coach J.J. Riehl's career record is 83-66 in six seasons at St. Edward's.

STAT OF THE GAME I
.111 – The Hilltoppers held the Jets to 11.1-percent shooting from the floor in the fourth quarter and 26.7-percent in the game – their best defensive performance of the season.

STAT OF THE GAME II
22 – St. Edward's scored 22 points in the paint compared to Newman's 12.

TOP QUOTE
Head Coach J.J. Riehl on the loss…
"It was tough one tonight. The story is free throws. We gave them too many and missed our opportunities. Going 10-for-19 is just not going to cut it on the road. I think after the first quarter the kids fought really hard. Our defense continues to be our staple. We just missed critical free throws down the stretch. We'll go back to work on Saturday and learn from this and figure out a way to keep moving in the right direction."

WHAT'S NEXT
The Hilltoppers host St. Mary's Wednesday in their Heartland Conference home opener 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