TYLER, Texas – In a game that swung wildly from quarter to quarter, the St. Edward's women's basketball team struggled to make enough plays down the stretch in a 74-71 loss to the UT Tyler Patriots. 
 
LAUREN CATHERMAN led four Hilltoppers in double figures with a career-high 25 points on a blistering .788 True Shooting Percentage, a metric that considers free throws and 3-pointers in determining a player's overall efficiency. 
 
St. Edward's dictated the terms of the game early, imposing its will on the defensive end and holding UT Tyler to 2-for-9 shooting while getting into the paint repeatedly on the other end for ten of its 16 points. BAILEY FEATHERSTONE and JANIAH PERKINS led the Hilltoppers with five points each in the quarter, and the Patriots stayed afloat with seven made free throws to trail 16-12 after the first. 
 
Martina Machalova led a UT Tyler scoring surge in the second quarter, draining all three of her 3-pointers and hitting a pair of free throws, scoring 11 of the Patriots' 24 points to take a 36-34 lead at the half. 
 
Catherman erupted for 13 points in the third in a nearly perfect performance from the field for the Hilltoppers, who shot 10-for-11, including 3-for-4 from long range. 
 
Catherman sparked an 8-2 run with off-ball movement, cutting backdoor on a feed from J.P., finding JAYDA RUFFUS-MILNER, and receiving the ball back for a layup. Then, AINSLEY THUNELL ripped Meagan Mendazona near the elbow, leading to a pull-up jumper in transition from Featherstone and a foul for a three-point play. After Machalova made a driving layup, Catherman responded with a corner 3-pointer on a drive-and-kick from Featherstone. 
 
Featherstone sparked an 8-0 run a few plays later with a layup and free throw, then a Catherman 3-pointer from Thunell off an offensive rebound, and capped off by a Catherman layup off another feed from Thunell on a backdoor cut. 
 
UT Tyler broke the run with a Machalova 3-pointer, but Thunell answered with a pair of free throws earned in transition, a Catherman floater after splitting a full-court trap, and a Ruffus-Milner steal and layup for a 61-44 lead with 1:15 remaining, leading to a 62-47 advantage for St. Edward's heading into the fourth. 
 
Machalova, Mendazona, and Ella Bradley led a massive rally for UT Tyler in the fourth, combining for 24 of the Patriots' 27 points. The trio got to the rim and free-throw line throughout the quarter, shooting 6-for-10 from the field and 11-for-11 from the free-throw line. 
 
St. Edward's struggled to generate offense on the other end, getting a pair of buckets on four attempts from Catherman before she fouled out with 1:30 remaining and a 2-for-10 shooting performance with eight turnovers as a team. 
 
The Hilltoppers had two opportunities to retake the lead in the closing seconds but could not get a shot off, and Mendazona iced the game with a pair of free throws. 
 
Catherman finished 9-for-13 from the field, including 3-for-5 from deep and 4-for-6 from the free-throw line, and also tied Ruffus-Milner for a game-high four steals. Featherstone scored 14 points, and Thunell and J.P. each had 10. Machalova led all scorers with 28 points, hitting 5-for-8 from behind the 3-point line and 8-for-12 overall. 
 
St. Edward's drops to 7-15 with a 4-12 conference record after the loss. The Hilltoppers will travel next week to play Arkansas Fort Smith on Thursday, then Oklahoma Christian on Saturday.