St. Edward's women's basketball opens the month of February seventh in the Lone Star Conference standings. Only eight games remain for the Hilltoppers, who are vying for one of the final spots in the upcoming LSC Tournament.
Texas Women's, Angelo State, and Texas-Tyler have separated from the pact with conference-winning percentages over .800. Lubbock Christian and Texas A&M-Kingsville have bought themselves some breathing room with 10-5 conference records, and the latter is in the midst of a six-game winning streak.
St. Edward's is 7-7 in conference games, followed closely by Eastern New Mexico (7-8), Cameron (7-9), and UT-Permian Basin (7-9). Texas A&M International is even with the latter two in the loss column with a 5-9 record.
That's five teams competing for two spots in postseason play.
The Hilltoppers face a challenging two-game stretch, hosting no. 4-ranked Texas Woman's University (19-1, 14-0) and UT-Tyler (18-4, 13-2). St. Edward's lost to both teams on the road in January but were competitive against Texas Woman's, settling on a formula for success despite the loss.
Texas Woman's boasts the league's highest-scoring offense at 71.4 points per game on a 43.6 percent shooting clip, supplementing its field-goal percentage with nearly 23 free-throw attempts per game, ranking 11th in the nation and low turnovers. The Pioneers run a patient jump shot-heavy offense that yields open catch-and-shoot opportunities and post-ups.
The inside-outside combination of Ashley Ingram (15.4 points per game, fourth in conference) and Sadie Moyer (14.8 points per game, sixth in conference) drives the Pioneers. Ingram is one of the most efficient post-scorers in the conference, shooting 50.8 percent from the low block for 1.082 points per possession. She complements that with a nice touch and an ability to put the ball on the floor, shooting 48.6 percent out of spot-up opportunities.
Moyer plays a balanced game and is equally adept off the ball as the primary ball handler in pick and rolls, and transition.
The duo combined for 34 points in the first meeting between the two teams. St. Edward's found early success in transition and punctured the defense off the bounce, where MORGAN GARY scored nine of her 17 points out of the pick and roll.
Texas-Tyler is a different challenge with the top-ranked scoring defense in the conference, forcing turnovers and taking care of the ball for the second-best turnover margin in the LSC. In addition, the Patriots are dynamic off the bounce, creating spot-up opportunities in transition and out of the pick-and-roll and drive-and-kick.
Destini Whitehead and Tina Machalova lead the Patriot offense, averaging 13.1 and 12.0 points per game. Whitehead excels in transition and off the catch, as well as a threat in the high pick and roll. Machalova works primarily off the catch, in the post, and transition, averaging roughly a point per possession in all three scenarios.
The Hilltoppers have found success muddying games up with a disruptive defense, cutting off the 3-point line and forcing 18.4 turnovers per game. In addition, LAUREN CATHERMAN and JAYDA RUFFUS-MILNER rank fifth and 10th in the LSC in total steals, Gary plays sound perimeter defense, and SAMMIE DUFEK protects the rim, leading the nation in total blocks.
St. Edward's host UT-Tyler on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. and Texas Woman's on Monday at 1:00 p.m.
