AUSTIN, Texas – St. Edward's women's basketball bounced back from a disappointing last-second loss with an inspired effort against Cameron, showing several key adjustments to carve out a 66-39 win over the Aggies. 
 
After struggling against a zone defense on Friday, St. Edward's showed sharper execution against a heavy dose from Cameron in the first quarter.
 
The same skip passes and quick reversals showed against Midwestern were still present, moving the defense side from side, and wings LAUREN CATHERMAN and BAILEY FEATHERSTONE and point guard JANIAH PERKINS made a more concerted effort to attack the rotating defense's seams off the catch, forcing it to collapse and expand as well. 
 
Though the team started with a few early misses and turnovers, the thought process was sound through an early 8-3 deficit. 
 
Two key developments unlocked the Hilltopper offense early. First, Catherman hit JAYDA RUFFUS-MILNER with an entry pass at the elbow for a quick rip-through and score, attacking the zone for the first time from its interior instead of the wings. Second, St. Edward's got two 3-pointers from RONNIE CANTU off the bench. 
 
The threat of shooting held strongside defenders in place from one pass away, keeping driving lanes open to exploit for the 17-14 first-quarter lead. 
 
St. Edward's continued to lean into the advantages its adjustments gained into the second quarter. The Hilltoppers moved the defense side-to-side, attacked the seams, and punctured the defense's interior with the pass. 
 
MIKAH CHAPMAN flashed into the middle of the defense for a pair of short jumpers over her defender off feeds from Cantu. Featherstone attacked the seam of the closing-out defense for a layup, and she and Ruffus-Milner each got into transition for layups. 
 
Defensively, the Hilltoppers set their base with sound interior defense. AINSLEY THUNELL, CELISE BOBBITT, and ABBEY MORTON did a great job of fighting for position in the post without fouling, then deflecting entry passes to move the post player off their position and walling up to force shots over the top of defenders. 
 
St. Edward's limited Cameron to 2-for-19 shooting in the second quarter without a free-throw attempt, outscoring the Aggies 14-4 to take a 31-18 halftime lead. 
 
The Hilltoppers carried the momentum into the second half, opening the third quarter on a 9-0 run. Featherstone hit a standstill corner 3-pointer, and Thunell was active on both ends, cutting for a layup on an inbound as the shot clock expired and getting a steal that turned into a Ruffus-Milner transition layup. St. Edward's capped it off with perfect execution of its zone offense, getting Catherman to flash to the middle instead of a forward, receiving the entry pass, and making a quick touch pass to Ruffus-Milner, cutting along the baseline. 
 
Ruffus-Milner led St. Edward's with three steals and six points in the third, pushing the Hilltoppers to a 47-28 lead. 
 
The Hilltoppers closed the game with their strongest offensive quarter, getting five points off the bench from ISABEL LANGENBERG and assisting on five of its seven made baskets while shooting 7-for-12 from the field. 
 
Ruffus-Milner led three Hilltoppers in double figures with 15 points, five rebounds, and six steals. Featherstone added 13 points and six rebounds, J.P. scored 10 with six rebounds, three assists, and two steals, and Cantu and Chapman added eight each off the bench. 
 
St. Edward's improves to 4-5 with a 2-2 conference record with the win. The Hilltoppers will face the University of Incarnate Word on the road in an exhibition next Saturday.