AUSTIN, Texas – The weather outside was frightful, but the St. Edward's women's basketball team played parts of everyone's holiday classics to defeat the Western New Mexico University Mustangs 77-52 to sweep both conference games this week.
 
Though temperatures only dropped to 50 degrees, staying well above freezing, J.P. had the Western New Mexico defenders on ice skates. The sophomore point guard froze defenders with hesitations and used their recovery momentum against them with crossovers, leaving defenders chasing the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future with seven first-quarter points on 2-for-3 shooting and two assists. 
 
KIANA BENNETT supplemented her backcourt partner's work by drawing four fouls, getting Western New Mexico into the bonus early to give St. Edward's 11 first-quarter free-throw attempts, making 10 to take a 27-14 lead at the break.
 
St. Edward's rested its starters for the first part of the second quarter, and both teams went cold, combining to shoot 7-for-26 in the second. The Hilltopper defense forced Western New Mexico to cough up the ball 11 times, generating six steals and taking a 37-22 lead into the half. 
 
MIKAH CHAPMAN led all scorers with eight points and six rebounds on 3-for-6 shooting, running the floor to help St. Edward's get a 12-6 edge in fast-break points. 
 
St. Edward's shooters heated up in the third quarter, roasting the Western New Mexico defense like chestnuts on an open fire with 4-for-9 shooting from deep, 9-for-17 overall from the floor, and all four free-throw attempts. Chapman, Bennett, and ISABEL LANGENBERG scored five each to extend the Hilltopper lead to 63-37. 
 
Both teams hit six field goals in the fourth quarter, with J.P. tallying three assists, and both teams emptied their benches with St. Edward's leading by 25 with three minutes remaining. 
 
St. Edward's played the role of the Grinch on defense, robbing Western New Mexico of its holiday joy and the basketball with a season-high 16 steals for 26 points off turnovers. Chapman, J.P., and Bennett each had three steals, RILEY MOORE and BAILEY FEATHERSTONE pilfered two steals apiece, and AINSLEY THUNELL, ISABEL LANGENBERG, and ALAYAH FLUCUS all had one steal. 
 
Chapman led the team in points (15), rebounds (eight), and joyful energy, playing with enough freneticism on the court and celebrations from the bench to make Will Ferrell's Buddy the Elf seem sluggish by comparison. 
 
Bennett added 14 points, Robledo scored 12 and matched Chapman's eight rebounds, and J.P. traveled the entire court in 24 minutes, gifting her teammates a seemingly endless number of passes from her bag for a game-high eight assists. 
 
With the win, St. Edward's improves to 5-6, including 2-1 in conference play. The Hilltoppers will return on December 17 for a road game against Midwestern State.