GOLDEN, Colo. – St. Edward's women's basketball wrapped up its weekend in Colorado with a 76-68 loss to LSC/RMAC Challenge host Colorado School of Mines (CSOM).
JANIAH PERKINS led three Hilltoppers in double figures with 22 points, hitting the 20-point mark for the second time in two games. Perkins opened the game with nine points in the first half, shooting 4-for-5 from the field with a 3-pointer to help lead the Hilltoppers to a 20-19 lead after the first quarter.
Orediggers' guard Ashley Steffeck helped the Colorado School of Mines withstand St. Edward's early scoring pace with 12 points of her own. She got free for four 3-pointers on six attempts in the first ten minutes.
The 3-point line and free throws proved to be the difference in a game where St. Edward's (25-for-62) made five more field goals than CSOM (20-for-51). St. Edward's also repeatedly got into the paint, outscoring CSOM 40-16 inside. The Orediggers countered by letting it fly freely from outside, shooting 8-for-27 from deep.
Both teams shot roughly the same amount of free throws, though the Orediggers did a better job of capitalizing by hitting 28 of their 31 attempts while St. Edward's shot 15-for-30.
Colorado School of Mines built its first bit of separation from the free-throw line, hitting 9 of 10 to outscore the Hilltoppers 17-11 in the quarter and take a 36-31 halftime lead. Perkins led St. Edward's with 14 points on eight shots at the break and six rebounds. Steffeck had 22 on 13 attempts for Colorado School of Mines.
St. Edward's battled back with back-to-back driving layups from
BAILEY FEATHERSTONE to open the second half.
LAUREN CATHERMAN tied the game on a 3-pointer off a feed from
JAYDA RUFFUS-MILNER, and Featherstone blocked Shelby Nichols to trigger a fast break layup for Perkins to give the Hilltoppers a 40-38 lead with 6:11 remaining in the third.
The Orediggers regained their footing with back-to-back 3-pointers to go up 44-41. Colorado School of Mines utilized a balanced attack to go back up double figures, reeling off an 11-0 run down the stretch for the 56-45 advantage after three.
JAYDA RUFFUS-MILNER got going in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting to help the Hilltoppers pull back within single digits. However, Loralee Stock and Steffeck combined for 13 points, and the Orediggers hit 12-for-13 from the free-throw line to keep St. Edward's at bay.
Featherson finished with 11 points and two steals. Ruffus-Milner added 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Steffeck led the Orediggers with 31 points, and Howery contributed 12.
With the loss, St. Edward's is now 0-2. The Hilltoppers will return to Austin on Saturday, Nov. 18, for their home opener against Texas Lutheran University.
