DENTON, Texas – The St. Edward's women's basketball team battled with the No. 18-ranked Texas Woman's Pioneers until it lost a battle of attrition with foul trouble catching up to the Hilltoppers in a 64-53 loss.
MORGAN GARY led the Hilltoppers in three statistical categories, scoring 17 points, grabbing eight rebounds, and dishing out four assists. SAMMIE DUFEK limited star center Ashley Ingram to 3-for-11 shooting from the field but was limited to just under 20 minutes after fouling out for the first time in over a calendar year.
Dufek and LAUREN CATHERMAN each fouled out in under 20 minutes, removing St. Edward's best defensive interior presence and top perimeter scoring option. Starters Gary and JAYDA RUFFUS-MILNER also ran into foul trouble, with four each.
When St. Edward's ran its full complement of players, the Hilltoppers played on near-even terms with Texas Woman's (13-1, 8-0), the second-ranked team in the South Central Region.
"I was really pleased with the fight today," St. Edward's head women's basketball coach J.J. Riehl says. "We got back to us, playing with a little more love and playing together. That was good to see."
St. Edward's threw a few new wrinkles at Texas Woman's, opening the game with various defensive coverages, including a fullcourt press that was highly effective early. Dufek shutdown Ingram on the latter's first post attempt then sprinted the floor for a fastbreak layup on a feed from Catherman.
Gary scored a layup and foul for the three-point play, then the Hilltoppers immediately stole the ball in its press, getting it to Gary for another spinning drive before the Pioneers could set their zone defense. Gary followed with another steal and drive-and-kick pass for Dufek for a long 2-point jumper. The Hilltoppers forced six turnovers in the first seven minutes, including five steals, jumping to a 13-3 lead.
"I thought our defensive changes were great," Riehl explains. "We were mixing the presses and halfcourt zones, fighting hard not to allow them to get into an offensive rhythm."
Texas Woman's battled back by turning to its most significant strength all season: the free-throw line. The Pioneers rank No. 10 in the nation and second in the Lone Star Conference in free-throw attempts per game (24.1) and fourth and first in free throws made (17.6).
Ingram steadied Texas Woman's with six free-throw attempts in the first quarter, making five, and the Pioneers hit 9-of-10. Gary, Catherman, and Dufek each picked up their second foul in the first quarter, and TWU responded with a 10-0 run, overtaking St. Edward's for a 20-17 lead heading into the second.
Texas Woman's lead swelled to nine four minutes into the second quarter on a 7-0 run, but St. Edward's responded with a 5-0 run of its own on a driving 3-point play by Gary and a short jumper by Ruffus-Milner.
Gary scored eight of St. Edward's 10 points in the second quarter, getting fouled while attempting a putback and splitting a pair of free throws, splitting two defenders on a spin for a layup and foul, and getting a layup and an offensive putback in the final minute to keep St. Edward's within arm's reach at 31-27 at the half.
Sadie Moyer led Texas Woman's with 12 first-half points on 5-for-10 shooting. Scout Huffman added eight, and Ingram scored seven. Jordan Jackson and Jada Celsur had two each. Gary led St. Edward's with 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting. Dufek scored six points on five shots, Cantu scored four, and Ruffus-Milner and Catherman scored two each.
Catherman opened the third quarter with a stepback jumper and later hit a 3-pointer off a feed from Gary to pull the Hilltoppers within one at 35-34 roughly five minutes into the second half. Unfortunately, she picked up her fourth foul immediately after and had to leave the game. Dufek picked up her fourth foul a minute earlier, and Gary picked up her fourth a minute later.
Texas Woman's quickly reeled off a 13-4 run to close out the quarter, taking a 48-39 lead heading into the fourth.
"It was a one-point game midway through the third quarter, and foul trouble really hurt us," Riehl says. "Sammie, Mo, and Lauren were all sitting with four, and you can't do that against a top 20 team in their gym."
Ruffus-Milner went off for seven points in the fourth quarter, hitting 5-for-5 from the free-throw line to finish with nine points. Though her streak of three double-digit scoring games ended, the work she's put in at the free-throw line before and after practice continues to shine through, hitting 11 of her last 14 attempts.
Ingram scored eight points in the final quarter, making 2-of-3 from the field and all four free throws to get into double digits with 15 points. Moyer led the Pioneers with 19 on 8-for-16 shooting, hitting half of her six 3-point attempts.
Catherman joined Ruffus-Milner with nine points. Dufek scored six points on six shots, and the Hilltoppers outscored the Pioneers by 12 in her 12 minutes of play. Cantu added six, MATILDA SORIC had a 3-pointer, ISABEL LANGENBERG scored two, and AINSLEY THUNELL added a free throw.
St. Edward's drops to 7-9 with a 3-5 conference record. The Hilltoppers will return to the road next week for games against Oklahoma Christian and Arkansas Fort Smith.
