AUSTIN, Texas – After a low-scoring first half, the St. Edward's Hilltoppers women's basketball team turned to the tried-and-true alchemy of transforming defense into offense to defeat the Oklahoma Christian Eagles 64-52. 
 
BAILEY FEATHERSTONE led three Hilltoppers in double figures with 17 points, and St. Edward's forced 21 turnovers while limiting Oklahoma Christian to 18-for-59 shooting (30.5 percent). 
 
St. Edward's opened the game with solid defense, extending pressure the length of the floor. The tactic slowed the Oklahoma Christian offense more than it turned it over, bleeding the shot clock so the Eagles didn't get into their sets until less than 20 seconds remaining. 
 
From there, the Hilltoppers pressured the ball and fronted the post, with LAUREN CATHERMAN jumping a lob over the top from the weakside for one steal and poking the ball loose from a driving guard on another. 
 
The result was an early 12-3 run, with each basket scored by a different Hilltopper until Featherstone's pull-up jumper became the first to score more than one. Oklahoma Christian tightened its defense to hold St. Edward's scoreless the rest of the quarter and closed the gap with two layups, getting the second one after the Hilltoppers failed to close out the possession three different times. 
 
St. Edward's extended its lead to double digits quickly in the second quarter, getting back-to-back corner 3-pointers from ISABEL LANGENBERG and Featherstone off feeds from JANIAH PERKINS. 
 
The Hilltopper defense held steady, but St. Edward's committed several unforced turnovers on hit-ahead passes and picked up some fouls to get in the bonus, allowing Oklahoma Christian to put together a 12-5 run to cut St. Edward's lead to 23-20 at the half. 
 
Featherstone led St. Edward's with eight points and the defense held Oklahoma Christian leading scorer Brooklin Bain scoreless in the first half. 
 
Featherstone and Catherman opened the second half with layups and a Catherman free throw, and Ruffus-Milner capped off an early 9-2 run with four consecutive free throws to put St. Edward's up 32-22. 
 
Oklahoma Christian displayed its resilience again with an 8-2 run anchored by Asiyha Smith's four points, but the Hilltopper defense responded by dialing up its defensive pressure. 
 
Ruffus-Milner triggered two fastbreak layups to Langenberg, first on a steal, then off a defensive rebound. The hit-ahead passes that went too long in the first half found their mark in the third quarter, and Langenberg found Featherstone for a layup and foul, and CELISE BOBBITT closed the quarter with a layup on a long feed from Catherman for the 45-34 lead. 
 
St. Edward's used the Oklahoma Christian pressure against it, passing ahead into numbers advantages and open space to score nine fast-break points in the third. 
 
Bain kept Oklahoma Christian close with eight of her 12 points in the fourth quarter but couldn't close the gap more than seven as St. Edward's kept Oklahoma Christian at bay from the free-throw line, draining 9-of-10 with six coming from J.P. 
 
Featherston finished 7-for-16 from the field, draining both 3-point attempts. J.P. and Ruffus-Milner scored ten each, combining to shoot 16-for-17 from the free-throw line. Ruffus-Milner also had seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals. 
 
St. Edward's improves to 6-9 with a 3-6 conference record with the win. The Hilltoppers will host Arkansas Fort Smith on Saturday.