SALT LAKE CITY – St. Edward's women's basketball opened an early lead and never trailed again to defeat Westminister 78-70 on the first day of the Westminister Invite. The Hilltoppers picked up their first road win and third consecutive victory over an RMAC opponent. 
 
The Hilltoppers followed the same formula for victory used to defeat Regis and Mines last weekend. St. Edward's played stifling defense in the first quarter to pick up an early lead, got clutch play from J.P., and made critical stops down the stretch. 
 
St. Edward's started the game with swearing defensive pressure, bringing two to the ball at times and precise defensive rotations behind it. The Hilltoppers smothered the offense at the point of attack, obscuring passing lanes to buy the defense enough time to identify and rotate to the most significant threats. 
 
RAMSEY ROBLEDO provided the early scoring with a 3-pointer and three made free throws to jump out to an early 14-4 lead. 
 
St. Edward's limited Westminster to 3-for-19 shooting in the first quarter but surrendered six offensive rebounds, including three on one possession to surrender a corner 3-pointer to lead 18-10 after the first ten minutes.
 
Abby Conlee hit an early 3-pointer in the second quarter, and Teulia Nawahine scored an opportunistic layup when Alison Howe saved the ball under her basket for the open shot.
 
ISABEL LANGENBERG answered with a jumper off a feed from KIANA BENNETT, then picked off a pass and found J.P. for a fastbreak layup to go back up 24-17. 
 
Nawahine pulled Westminster back within six on a driving layup, but J.P. answered with back-to-back driving layups, finishing the second one through contact and sinking the free throw for the three-point play. J.P. then lost her defender with a violent stepback crossover and found JASMINE FARMER for an open 3-pointer for an 8-0 run to go up 33-19. 
 
J.P. answered a Conlee driving layup by following her missed pull-up jumper, then finding KIANA BENNETT for the open 3-pointer after the offensive rebound to build the Hilltoppers' largest lead of the game at 15 points with 2:35 remaining in the half. 
 
Westminster responded with a 9-0 run capped off by an Olivia Tausinga steal and layup with nine seconds left to pull within six at 36-30. 
 
Maunayia Harrigfeld sparked Westminster off the bench with eight points in the third quarter, hitting a 3-pointer, a layup, and three free throws to close the gap to four points. Still, JASMINE FARMER followed with a driving layup for two of her five points in the quarter, Ainstly Thunell hit a hook shot, and Robledo added five more points to extend the lead to 54-47. 
 
Westminster cut the St. Edward's lead to four three times in the fourth, but the Hilltoppers answered each run. Robledo found Langenberg for a 3-pointer with eight minutes remaining. J.P. hit a pull-up jumper a few possessions later and then answered a pair of free throws by finding Robledo for a 3-pointer. 
 
J.P. led St. Edward's with 21 points on 16 shots, six assists, and five rebounds. Robledo added 15 points, five rebounds, and two assists on an efficient 5-for-7 shooting, and Farmer scored ten off the bench. Nisa Ellis and Conley each scored 15 for Westminster. 
 
St. Edward's extends its winning streak to three and will play its third nationally-ranked opponent of the season, No. 21-ranked Colorado Mesa. Both teams are celebrating their program's 50th season and will play at 2:00 p.m. CT.