LAWTON, Okla. – After consecutive games of making every critical play to secure victories, the St. Edward's women's basketball team found itself on the wrong side of the coin flip in another tightly contested conference game, losing 74-66 to the Cameron Aggies.
Both teams traded runs throughout the game, leading to 12 lead changes, including eight in the second half. The Hilltoppers were within a single possession with 6:57 remaining on an and-one opportunity by SAMMIE DUFEK out of a baseline inbounds play.
However, a technical foul on the play put Cameron back up 67-62 after a pair of King free throws to spark a 7-4 Aggie run to close the game.
"I'm really proud of the girls for how we fought and the resilience we shoed in a tough environment. There was lots of great stuff," St. Edward's head women's basketbal coach J.J. Riehl says. "Obviously, we need to be beter with our awareness and understanding the situation down the stretch. We had many opportunities in the last three minutes but didn't make good decisions."
St. Edward's opened the game with three consecutive 3-pointers, getting a pair of corner treys from LAUREN CATHERMAN, who lit up the scoreboard like a Christmas tree.
After struggling through a shooting slump early in the season, Catherman hit a pair of big shots to go with solid defense in the fourth quarter of the Hilltoppers' win over Midwestern State last Saturday. The confidence of the moment carried over into the first possession for St. Edward's when the junior guard delivered a jab step to create space and pull for her first 3-pointer. She followed with another 3-pointer, assisted MORGAN GARY with the HIlltoppers' third, and hit a pull-up jumper from the right elbow as part of an eight-point first quarter.
Catherman led the Hilltoppers with 21 points, shooting 3-for-7 from deep and 6-for-8 from the free-throw line.
"Lauren played well offensively. She's a huge part of who we are so to see her get going offensively was really exciting," Riehl says. "I'm happy for her and proud of her for fighting through this scoring adversity the last month."
Cameron responded to the early 3-point flurry with a 9-0 run near the end of the first quarter, hitting a pair of 3-pointesr themselves to take a 19-16 lead.
Catherman and Gary continued their scoring tear in the second quarter, combining for 11 points on 4-for-9 shooting. Gary brought the Hilltoppers within two on a layup with 5:07 remaining in the half, but Cameron responded with an 8-0 run field by Katie King's six points over the two-and-a-half minute stretch to give the Aggies a 43-36 lead at the break.
Kings was a constant thorn in the Hilltoppers' side, scoring 22 points on 5-for-15 shooting from the field, and a stellar 12-for-15 from the free-throw line to go with seven assists and four steals.
JAYDA RUFFUS-MILNER picked up her aggression in the third quarter, scoring six points by slicing through the lane for two made buckets and two free throws. Catherman hit a 3-pointer and 4-of-6 free-throw attempts in a quarter with eight lead changes and two ties. Ruffus-Milner finished with 12 points and nine rebounds on an efficient 5-for-7 shooting.
"Jayda was a huge spark plug out of halftime and really gives our team so much energy," Riehl says. "We have to work on her consistency and getting longer doses of that."
Once again, Cameron made a late push in the quarter to keep the Hilltoppers from gaining separation, closing the third quarter on a 6-0 run to maintain a 59-56 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
St. Edward's appeared to seize momentum with back-to-back buckets to cut their deficit to three, but King hit a pair of technical free throws and Dufek missed the free throw during an and-one opportunity to give Cameron some breathing room. The Aggies closed the game on a 9-4 run, shooting just 2-for-12 from the field but 5-for-7 from the free-throw line to earn the victory.
"All in all, a successful road trip," Riehl says. "We did what we needed to do and while it's disappointing to not close this one out tonight, the best learning moments come from adversity and we will grow from tonight."
St. Edward's drops to 4-6 and 1-2 in conference play. The Hilltoppers will host NCAA Division III on Wednesday, Dec. 14, and Arlington Baptist on Monday, Dec. 19.
