AUSTIN, Texas – St. Edward's women's basketball team has a variety of academic interests and majors but collectively turned to physics and Newton's first law of motion to deliver a convincing 84-57 victory over the Arkansas Fort Smith Lions. 
 
Objects at rest will remain at rest, and objects in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. 
 
Both teams dealt with stagnation through the game's first few minutes. St. Edward's opened with a pair of turnovers and a cold-shooting start until BAILEY FEATHERSTONE nailed a pull-up jumper from the elbow to tie the game at two with 6:39 remaining in the first. 
 
The jumper allowed St. Edward's to set its full-court defense, injecting life into the game and some spring into the offense. JANIAH PERKINS drew a foul on a spin move, then a steal led to a CELISE BOBBITT driving layup, and LAUREN CATHERMAN drove hard off a dribble handoff and found JAYDA RUFFUS-MILNER cutting down the middle of the lane for a layup. 
 
MIKAH CHAPMAN entered the game and picked up the intensity, shouting to pump up the team after a series of strong defensive rotations led to an Arkansas Fort Smith turnover. St. Edward's graduated from motion to Newton's laws of thermodynamics, not allowing energy to wane but transforming it from defense to offense with a 3-pointer to give St. Edward's a 13-5 lead heading into the second quarter. 
 
After Featherstone opened the second with a short jumper from an offensive rebound to extend St. Edward's lead to 10, Arkansas Fort Smith responded with five unanswered points, getting a corner 3-pointer from Riley Hayes and a Morgan Browning layup off a turnover. 
 
Ruffus-Milner steadied the Hilltoppers with a pair of free throws, Featherstone attacked a closeout on a pass from J.P. for a layup, and the Hilltoppers got back-to-back steals, getting a short baseline jumper from ISABEL LANGENBERG off a J.P. steal and dish to reclaim a 10-point lead at 21-11. 
 
The defense ramped up with J.P. forcing guards off their desired angles at the point of attack, Catherman and Ruffus-Milner digging on drives, and either AINSLEY THUNELL or Bobbitt walling off the paint. The Hilltopper defense slowed the Lions at every turn, allowing inertia to set in, firing off an 18-4 run led by J.P. and Featherstone to go up by 22 with 1:08 remaining in the half, leading to a 39-21 advantage at the break. 
 
Featherstone led St. Edward's with 10 points at the half. St. Edward's outscored Arkansas Fort Smith 20-9 in points off turnovers and shot 11-for-30 from the field. 
 
St. Edward's picked up a few offensive fouls to start the third quarter, and Zyniah Thomas steadied the Arkansas Fort Smith to an early 11-7 run, scoring seven points with a 3-pointer and two driving layups. 
 
However, Catherman and J.P. proved too much, leading the Hilltoppers to a 22-12 quarter to put the game out of reach. Catherman scored nine in the quarter, opening with a 3-pointer, but it was J.P. who dazzled late with back-to-back lay-up-and-foul 3-point plays to end the quarter for a 61-33 lead. 
 
Every bounce and subtle hesitation from the first-year guard was fraught with countless possibilities, like an expertly crafted choose-your-own-adventure book that left defenders turning the page back and forth, undecided on which path to take. 
 
Langenberg hit all three of her shots in the fourth for seven points, keeping the lead steady. J.P. led St. Edward's with 18 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Featherstone added 14 points and five rebounds, Langenberg scored 12 off the bench, and Ruffus-Milner and Thunell scored eight points and four steals each. 
 
With the win, St. Edward's sweeps the week and improves to 7-9 with a 4-6 conference record. The Hilltoppers will travel next week, playing at Texas Permian Basin on Thursday then Angelo State on Saturday.