AUSTIN – St. Edward's women's basketball led in nearly every defensive category, outrebounding UT Permian Basin 36-32 and forced 29 Falcon turnovers with 17 steals for a 74-57 win Friday.

UTPB started the game on a 7-0 run but SEU quickly responded and closed the gap and eventually took the lead 15-14 on D'AVIYON MAGAZINE's jumper with 3:26 to play in the first quarter.

The lead seesawed back and forth throughout the second quarter and the Hilltoppers took a one point lead, 30-29, into the locker room at the break.

It was St. Edward's who opened the third quarter on a 7-0 run of their own and continued on to lead by as many as 10, 45-35, with just under two minutes to play in the quarter.

The Hilltoppers continued their unrelenting pressure to hold off the Falcons the rest of the way, never trailing by more than eight points in the final frame.

St. Edward's shot 52.5 percent from the floor for the game and was led by SAMMIE DUFEK who was huge off the bench for, scoring a game-high 15 points on 7-9 shooting from the floor while also grabbing six boards. Magazine and CHRISTINA MASON chipped in 11 points each while JAZMINE JACKSON was perfect from the floor, going 5-5 for ten points.

The Hilltoppers improve to 3-5 on the season and 3-5 in Lone Star Conference play. They return to action on Monday, returning to the road to face #15 West Texas A&M at 4 pm.