TYLER, Texas — St. Edward's women's basketball went five games and one regulation unbeaten, but couldn't extend its five-game win streak to six, falling 53-47 in overtime to the UT Tyler Patriots. 
 
Both defenses operated with a stinginess that would make Scrooge blush, forcing turnovers in droves and prolonged scoring droughts. 
 
The Patriots spread the floor with pristine spacing, going four and even five out, hoping to pull the Hilltopper defense apart. St. Edward's countered by switching on and off-ball screens, neutralizing them. The Hilltoppers supplemented those schemes by loading up on the strong side and perfectly timed rotations from the weak side. 
 
In all, St. Edward's forced UT Tyler to make long skip passes over the top of the defense with enough air under them to buy time to recover. 
 
St. Edward's double big lineups, consisting of some combination of KENDALL BECK, MIKAH CHAPMAN, and JASMYN JACKSON at all times, and the size wings KIANA BENNETT and RAMSEY ROBLEDO, made it an overwhelming strategy. Beck, Chapman, and Jackson all possess the mobility and quickness to string out guards on stretches and the length to contest, with burgeoning chemistry between the three to cover both. 
 
It was enough to limit the Patriots to 9-for-28 shooting in the first half, forcing 11 turnovers, including seven steals. Beck protected the rim with two blocks, and Davis and Bennett combined for five steals. 
 
Only UT Tyler freshman forward Leila Davis had the patience and poise to exploit St. Edward's switching schemes, moving into and creating space for 14 first-half points. More often than not, the Patriots struggled to make the Hilltoppers pay with skip passes, until Hayley Cumming broke free with two 3-pointers in the second quarter, to go with a fastbreak layup in the first. Together, Davis and Cumming accounted for all 22 of UT Tyler's first-half points. 
 
St. Edward's backcourt of SUNI DAVIS and Bennett combined for 15 first-half points, but the Hilltoppers shot just 9-for-30 from the field, taking a 23-22 lead into the break. 
 
The Hilltopper defense continued after the break, forcing two turnovers in the Patriots' first three possessions, getting an elbow jumper from Beck, and a short corner jumper and two free throws from Chapman. The two combined for eight points, Davis hit three free throws, and Jackson threw in a short-corner jumper to outscore the Patriots 13-8 in the third quarter for the 36-30 lead. 
UT Tyler found enough offensive footing to bring the game even and even take a brief lead on Mariah Neal's 3-pointer with 1:22 remaining in regulation. But Davis knocked down a pair of free throws to tie the game, forcing it into overtime. 
 
The Patriots' Davis did the bulk of the work from the free-throw line, scoring four of her six points in overtime, while St. Edward's shot 2-for-7 from the field. Davis led all scorers with 25 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists. SUNI DAVIS led St. Edward's with 16 points and seven rebounds. 
 
St. Edward's drops to 6-3 with a 2-1 conference record. The Hilltoppers will travel to Puerto Rico next week to compete in the Puerto Rico Clasico.