This Week at the Hilltop, Men's Basketball is in San Antonio for the River City Holiday Classic. Women's Basketball travels to play Midwestern State, then hosts Arlington Baptist for its annual Travis Heights game.
 
Women's Basketball (5-6, 2-1)
 
Women's Basketball hosts its annual Travis Heights Elementary game on Thursday. The Hilltoppers have a mentorship program at the school and spend hours volunteering and hosting the children for one game a year. 
 
First, the Hilltoppers will travel to Wichita Falls to face Midwestern State (3-7, 1-3). The Mustangs opened conference play with a brutal schedule, losing to nationally ranked Lubbock Christian, Texas Woman's, and UT Tyler before bouncing back with a conference win over St. Mary's. 
 
Midwestern State is led by Zarria Carter, who leads the LSC in double-doubles. She averages 19.3 points and 11.4 rebounds per game on 53.3 percent shooting. She also leads the conference in steals per game (2.4) and blocks per game. 
 
St. Edward's is coming off a week's rest, and a pair of conference wins over Sul Ross State and Western New Mexico. 
 
The Hilltoppers are led by their backcourt of J.P. and KIANA BENNETT. J.P. is a do-it-all point guard who leads the team in points (14.2), assists (4.6), and steals (1.6) per game and is second in rebounds per game (4.6). Bennett averages 10 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 0.9 steals per game and shoots .356 from the 3-point line. 
 
Arlington Baptist is a National Christian College Athletic Association member and is 0-4 this season.
 
Men's Basketball (8-3)
 
Men's Basketball wraps up its year in San Antonio against undefeated No. 3-ranked Washburn (9-0) and Central Oklahoma (4-4). 
 
The Hilltoppers are coming off a week's rest after picking up a pair of home wins over Lone Star Conference opponents Sul Ross State and Western New Mexico University, led by efficient scoring nights from center LEWIS ROWE. 
 
After a slow start, Rowe has settled into a rhythm. He scored double figures in seven consecutive games and shot better than 50 percent in five. The Australian big man averages 12.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 24.3 minutes per game and shoots .553 from the field. GAVINO RAMOS directs the offense. He averages 14.2 points and 4.1 assists per game, leads the LSC in free-throw attempts (66), and is second in percentage (84.8). 
 
The Hilltoppers lead the LSC in assists and are second in assist-to-turnover ratio. They force 19.82 turnovers per game, leading to a healthy turnover margin of 7.4, which ranks them eighth in the nation. 
 
Washburn is eighth in the nation in scoring defense and fourth in scoring margin, featuring a balanced scoring attack with five players averaging double figures, led by Brayden Shorter's 16.7 points per game, making 3.33 3-pointers per game. The Ichabods have three players at or approaching 1,000 career points. 
 
Central Oklahoma leads the MIAA in turnovers forced per game but is eighth in assist/turnover ratio. Israel Hart leads the team with 15.3 points per game on .388 shooting and 3.9 assists per game. Jordan Thompson directed the offense with 13.5 points and 4.5 assists per game on .477 shooting.