ODESSA, Texas – St. Edward's women's basketball made a late surge, pulling to within a single possession with 1:30 remaining, but did not close a late rally to fall 68-63 to the Texas Permian Basin Falcons. 
 
JANIAH PERKINS led three Hilltoppers in double figures with 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting, but St. Edward's surrendered 20 offensive rebounds for 18 second-chance points and 10 UTPB 3-pointers for a 30-18 advantage from beyond the 3-point line. 
 
Texas Permian Basin opened with an efficient, balanced scoring effort. Morgan Helgesen and Andreea Mancha scored five each, and the Falcons hit 7-for-13 from the field for a 17-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. 
 
BAILEY FEATHERSTONE found her shooting touch from the field in the second quarter with seven points on five shots, but the Hilltoppers struggled from the free-throw line (1-for-6) to go into the half down 35-23. 
 
Featherstone and J.P. led St. Edward's with seven each at the break. JAYDA RUFFUS-MILNER added five, and Celis Bobbitt scored four off the bench. Morgan Helgesen led all scorers with 11 points on five shots for UTPB. 
 
J.P. exploded for eight points in the third quarter, draining two 3-pointers late in the quarter, and the Hilltopper bench and starter LAUREN CATHERMAN reeled off an 8-0 run to end the third to bring St. Edward's to within five at 48-43. MIKAH CHAPMAN sparked the Hilltoppers with six off the bench in the quarter. 
 
St. Edward's ramped up its defense in the fourth, generating five steals and forcing eight turnovers to outscore UTPB 9-4 in points off turnovers over the final ten minutes. Featherstone led a Hilltopper comeback with seven points, and St. Edward's tied the game at 62 on a J.P. fast-break layup off a Catherman steal with 2:23 remaining. 
 
Texas Permian Basin answered with a 3-0 run on four free-throw attempts, but Bobbitt hit just 1-for-2 in her trip to the free-throw line, and a late turnover on an offensive foul led to a UTPB layup with 14 seconds to seal the game. 
 
Featherstone finished with 16 points and three rebounds, and Bobbitt added 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Ruffus-Milner contributed seven points, five rebounds, five steals, and two assists. Mancha led all scorers with 23 points, hitting 5-for-7 from deep. 
 
St. Edward's drops to 7-10 with a 4-7 conference record. The Hilltoppers will travel to play at Angelo State on Saturday.