Box Score Box Score

THE RUNDOWN
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas A&M International slipped by St. Edward's women's basketball team, 47-45 to claim its first conference win of the season Wednesday night at the RCC.
 
Despite holding the Dustdevils (3-24, 1-12) under wraps defensively, it was the offensive struggles that plagued the Hilltoppers (11-15, 4-9) in the two-point loss. After a rocky start in the first quarter, SEU outscored TAMIU, 12-8 in the second to knot the score at 21 through one half of play. TAMIU came out firing in the third stanza with a 7-2 run, but SEU settled in again, scoring 14 points in the frame to keep things close as they entered the final quarter. St. Edward's intensity stayed high defensively as they held International without a field goal for nearly the final five minutes of the contest, but was only able to make three field goals themselves in the same time span. A layup by ISABEL HERNANDEZ made it a one-point affair with 19 seconds remaining, however, a free throw TAMIU's by Dannia Gonzalez with seven seconds tics left was enough to hold off the home team.
 
Hernandez tallied her fifth consecutive game scoring in double-figures and nearly put up a double-double as she finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. ABBY HOPPER followed with eight points and seven boards, while LEXI CUNNINGHAM knocked down two triples to add six points.
 
Although held below her scoring average, Tantashea Giger logged a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds while adding three assists and three steals. She was the only player to finish in double figures for the Dustdevils.


HIGHLIGHTS
• St. Edward's is 17-12 all-time vs. Texas A&M International and 11-4 in the Riehl era.
• ABBY HOPPER's sixth rebound was the 400^th of her career.
• LEXI CUNNINGHAM's first three-pointer was the 50^th of her career.
• After being sidelined with a knee injury, HALEY JOLY logged her first minutes since Jan. 11, 2018 vs. UAFS.
• MADISON SCHENCK recorded a new season-high four rebounds vs. Texas A&M International.
• TAMIU's Danna Gonzalez's free throw in the fourth was her only point of the game.
 
THEY SAID IT
Coach J.J. Riehl's thoughts on today's game…
"Defensively you hold someone to 47 points you should win. Unfortunately, the way we shoot the ball puts pressure on us to get stops every single time down the floor and you can't get stops every single time down the floor. We didn't make shots. In the first half we counted 15 missed open shots and you just can't miss open shots. The second half was much of the same. It goes back to the same thing we've been talking about all year. Sometimes your worse enemy lies in the space between your own two ears and that is our issue. That has been our issue and will continue to be our issue until we fix it and we change it. That was really the story of the game, shots."

STAT OF THE GAME I
8 – St. Edward's held Texas A&M International to eight points in both the second and fourth quarter.

WHAT'S NEXT
The Hilltoppers host Lubbock Christian on senior day this Saturday at 1 p.m. at the RCC. Fans can follow the action with links for live stats and a live stream found on GoHilltoppers.com.

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

GoHilltoppers.com