The St. Edward's women's basketball team opens conference play this week on the road in New Mexico, starting Thursday against Eastern New Mexico and then Saturday against Western New Mexico. 
 
Both opponents have four wins, with Eastern New Mexico dropping from eighth to out of the D2CSC South Central Region Rankings after two losses and Western New Mexico moving from tenth to seventh while remaining undefeated. 
 
After dropping its first three games of the season, St. Edward's earned its first victory with a 62-38 win over Huston-Tillotson. 
 
Two talented first-years have led St. Edward's offense so far this season. JANIAH PERKINS is fifth in the Lone Star Conference in scoring and assists, averaging 16.5 points and 3.8 assists per game. The shot creation and shot-making have been stellar – 53.1 percent shooting from the field and 46.2 percent from behind the 3-point line – for someone still learning to run a college offense and read college defenses as a true freshman. 
 
BAILEY FEATHERSTONE has produced back-to-back 16-point efforts, with a 7-for-13 shooting performance to lead the Hilltoppers in the win over Huston-Tillotson. Her True Shooting Percentage, which accounts for 3-pointers and free throws, has improved in each of her first four games. 
 
Her improving offense pairs nicely with some defensive playmaking. Featherstone is seventh in the LSC with 1.25 blocks per game and tenth with 2.25 steals per game. 
 
Her defensive activity makes for a potentially strong forward combination alongside JAYDA RUFFUS-MILNER, who scored double-digit in three of four games, shooting better than 70 percent in the previous two. 
 
Ruffus-Milner continues to be a force on the boards, averaging 6.8 per game, including five offensive rebounds each in consecutive games. Coming off averaging 1.7 steals per game in her first season at St. Edward's, Ruffus-Milner is fourth in the conference with 2.75 per game in the small sample size and averaging almost a block per game. 
 
vs. Eastern New Mexico (4-2)
 
Eastern New Mexico was voted 11th in the LSC Preseason Polls, entering the season with an almost entirely new roster under new head coach Blake Huber with only four returning players from last year's 12-15 season. 
 
The early results have been promising after a 4-2 start, driving down the pace of the game to limit opponents to 56.7 points per game, the conference's second-best mark, by dominating the glass with a 5.5 rebound margin and 21.8 turnovers per game, including 12.2 steals per game, all three also second in the LSC. 
 
Eastern New Mexico has four Division I transfers and five junior college transfers among its 12 new players, adding to a returning quartet that includes last year's LSC Newcomer of the Year Deja Adrian (17 points, seven rebounds per game) and sharpshooter Ashley Shipley (54 made 3-pointers, 35.5 percent).  
 
Jamila Nansikombi-Gunter, a DI transfer from Troy, leads the team in four statistical categories. The 5-11 guard averages 14.2 points, 2.8 steals, 6.7 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks per game. Adrian remains steady at 13 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.3 steals, and 1.8 assists per game. 
 
St. Edward's is 1-2 all-time against Western New Mexico, including last year's loss in which RONNIE CANTU led the team with 12 points. 
 
vs. Western New Mexico (4-0)
 
Western New Mexico has opened the season on a four-game winning streak, defeating the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's New Mexico Highlands and Fort Lewis College to open the season, followed by wins against NCAA Division III Sul Ross State and the NAIA's Arizona Christian University. 
 
The Mustangs were voted No. 12 in the LSC Preseason Polls after a 10-16 season last year.
 
Western New Mexico has been prosperous with a stingy defense, limiting opponents to 35.0 percent shooting (second-best in the LSC), grabbing the second-most rebounds per game in the LSC at 40.75, and is third in the LSC in rebound margin (4.8). 
 
Sydney Wright leads three Mustangs in double figures, averaging 11.3 per game, followed by Diamond Moore's 10.8 points per game and Eliza Joynes's 10.0 points per game. Moore and Joynes lead the rebounding effort, combining for 13 rebounds per game. 
 
Six different Mustangs are averaging a steal per game, led by Brooke Rodgers' 2.0. She's also pulling down 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. 
 
St. Edward's leads the all-time series 3-0, including last year's 64-57 win, in which Ruffus-Milner and BELLA MUSCOREIL were two of three Hilltoppers to score 13 points to help the Hilltoppers outscore the Mustangs 34-28 in the paint.