Box Score Box Score

THE RUNDOWN
AUSTIN, Texas – A strong third quarter was the difference for No. 2 Lubbock Christian as the Lady Chaps defeated St. Edward's 65-52 Saturday at the RCC. The Hilltoppers (11-16, 4-10) played competitive basketball throughout, but LCU (25-1, 14-10) outscored SEU 18-11 in the third quarter, and the upset bid was cut short.
 
LCU's Tess Bruffey scored 29 points and had five blocks to lead the Lady Chaps. ISABEL HERNANDEZ had 15 points and six boards in the loss for SEU while LEXI CUNNINGHAM added a dozen.
 
The Lady Chaps took a 34-28 lead into the locker room but took charge in the third when Bruffey's bucket with 4:52 left sparked an 11-3 run to end the quarter and gave the visitors a 52-39 lead heading into the final quarter. From there, SEU matched LCU's score in the fourth quarter with 13 points.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
• LEXI CUNNINGHAM scored 12 points including two 3-point field goals; she has 14 career games with double-figure scoring and nine this season.
• ISABEL HERNANDEZ scored 15 points, the 13^th of which was her 350^th career points; Hernandez has scored in double-digits 19 games this season.
• BAILEY HILL tied STEPHANIE DEKKERS (125) for fifth all-time on the SEU career list for 3-point field goals made with her one 3-pointer vs. LCU Saturday.
• On senior day GRETA KAIRYTE scored four points off the bench and grabbed her 50^th and 51^st rebounds of the season.
• HALEY JOLY scored her first points since Jan. 11 when she suffered a knee injury; Joly has rehabbed and has played in each of the last two games, but she scored two points Saturday for her first points in more than a month.
 
STAT OF THE GAME I
40 – Lubbock Christian scored 40 points in the paint, controlling the inside game while SEU had 20.
 
THEY SAID IT
SEU Head Coach J.J. Riehl on a good effort vs. the No. 2 team in the country …
"I thought we played great. The defensive execution was great and you know, Lubbock is a great team and they have a great player. [Tess] Bruffey is just a great player and she hurt us today. We contained her the first time we played them and we didn't today. She kind of exploited us, but all in all, from where we were standing here, I guess it's been about three days ago to today, it's night and day. Sometimes you get that with a young team, and an inexperienced team, and a team that's trying to figure it all out. But, I am really pleased with the kid's effort and their fight and how they represented us today. I don't really have any complaints."
 
SEU Head Coach J.J. Riehl on moving forward with the Heartland Conference Tournament …
"I don't know that the opponent is necessarily going to change the preparation. We're going to do what we're going to do regardless of who we play. So, you know, they'll get a day off and we need to get rested and recovered. There's a chance we could be the seven seed which means we play Thursday. You can look at it as a good thing or a bad thing. It's a tough matchup if we get that seed, but if we get that seed, we will get a day of rest and we've done some special things here as a low seed. So, it's just another opportunity for us to get better and that's how we're looking at it and whatever happens, happens."

WHAT'S NEXT
St. Edward's will play as the No. 7 seed in the Heartland Conference Tournament and take on No. 2 UAFS at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at the Union Multipurpose Activity Center in Tulsa, Okla.