SEU Tournament Game Notes | HC Tournament Central Page

AUSTIN, Texas – The St. Edward's University women's basketball team has arrived at the Union Multipurpose Activity Center (UMAC) in Tulsa, Okla. where they will take on No. 2 seed UAFS, Thursday at 2:30 p.m. in the quarterfinal round of the 2018 Heartland Conference Women's Basketball Tournament.

All eight women's basketball teams in the league will make an appearance in the tournament. Along with the Hilltoppers and Lions, the top seeded and 2018 Heartland Conference regular season champions, Lubbock Christian, will play Thursday vs. No. 8 Texas A&M International at 7:30 p.m. Friday will conclude the quarterfinal round when No. 4 Newman and No. 5 Oklahoma Christian square off at 2:30 p.m., followed by No. 3 St. Mary's vs. No. 6 Rogers State at 7:30 p.m. The semifinals will be on March 3 and the tournament champion will be crowned on March 4 with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in hand.
 
"I think mentally we are in a better place than where we were last week this time," said head coach J.J. Riehl. "Obviously if anyone have seen our last six weeks they know that we have been struggling a little bit. But, the team that I have been seeing in practice does not look like a team that is struggling. I think we are excited, we're energetic and I think our culture is what makes March great for St. Edward's. Our togetherness, selflessness, and our love for one another has been the thing that has made St. Edward's special these last five years in the conference tournament and hopefully that plays out again for us Thursday."

The Hilltoppers (11-16, 4-10) are the defending tournament champions and go head-to-head with the Lions (18-9, 10-4) for the third time this season. UAFS took both meetings in the regular season, but SEU has the edge with an all-time 2-1 record in the conference tournament. The last time these two clubs saw each other on this stage was last year in the semifinals when St. Edward's defeated UA-Fort Smith 67-60 before taking down Lubbock Christian 52-44 for the championship title.


 

With the inception of the conference tournament in the 2005-06 season, SEU has made an appearance in all but one year. They are 10-9 all-time in the tournament, 8-5 vs. this year's field, and 7-3 in the Riehl era, adding two Heartland Conference Tournament Championships (2014 and 2017).
 
SEU brings seven players on its roster that have logged minutes in a conference tournament contest. BAILEY HILL leads those experienced players with 8.2 ppg while ABBY HOPPER follows with 7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, and 1.7 apg.
 
SEU HEARTLAND CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT HISTORY AND NOTES:
 Hilltoppers' Titles: 2014, 2017
All-Time SEU Record in HC Tournament: 10-9
 
• St. Edward's is making its 12^th appearance in the Heartland Conference Tournament Thursday. The Hilltoppers have missed the tournament only once (2012).
• The Hilltoppers are two-time champions of the Heartland Conference Tournament, both under former player and current head coach J.J. Riehl in 2014 and 2017.
• Against the 2018 tournament field, SEU is 8-5 in the HC Tournament (3-0 vs. Texas A&M International, 2-1 vs. UAFS, 1-0 vs. Newman, 1-1 vs. Lubbock Christian, 1-3 vs. St. Mary's).
• SEU's last tournament win was for the HC Tournament Championship where they defeated Lubbock Christian 52-44 to claim its second tournament title.
• BAILEY HILL is one point shy of 50 in Heartland Conference Tournament games.
• ABBY HOPPER logged her first career postseason double-double vs. UAFS where she turned in ten points, and ten rebounds in the 78-63 win on March 5, 2016.
• Current roster members HALEY JOLY, BAILEY HILL, ABBY HOPPER, SAUNDRA GUILLORY, FAIREN SUTTON, LEXI CUNNINGHAM, and MADISON SCHENCK has all made an appearance in at least one Heartland Conference Tournament game.
 
GAME STORY LINES
• After losing 67-60 in last year's semifinals, UAFS won both regular season meetings. The Lions won 72-60 Jan. 11 in Austin, and 76-48 Feb. 10 in Fort Smith, Ark.
• SEU is seeking to snap a six-game losing streak vs. conference opponents.
• UAFS has won four of its last five games and three of their last four conference games.
• In the two regular season meetings, ISABEL HERNANDEZ averaged 20.5 ppg, shooting 16-of-27 from the floor (.593), 4-of-7 from three (.571), and a perfect 5-of-5 at the stripe. BAILEY HILL averaged ten points per contest and a team-best five rebounds per game.
• The Lions averaged 74 points vs. the Hilltoppers this year and held their opponent to 54 ppg.