Despite a tough loss against St. Mary’s University Thursday, the St. Edward’s University Women’s basketball team prevailed in their next game.

The team beat Texas A&M International to earn sole-possession of third-place in the Heartland Conference.

On Thursday, the women’s basketball team (14-8, 8-6 HC) trailed close behind St. Mary’s throughout the entire matchup.

After a 31-29 lead at halftime, rival St. Mary’s would go up by 10 points with only 5:12 to play in the second half.

However, the Hilltoppers fought back, managing to cut the lead to three with 34 seconds to play.

St. Edward’s had the opportunity to cut the lead to one or tie the game, but were unable to do so, turning over the ball. St. Edward’s lost, 62-57

“When you think about our games versus St. Mary’s, they are usually low scoring and they are always an absolute fight. We got a lot of quality shots, unfortunately we just couldn’t knock them down,” Head Coach J.J. Riehl said.

However, the Hilltoppers had another chance to earn a win against Texas A&M International on Saturday.

“It was a huge game for both teams in the hunt for a spot in the playoffs so we knew we had to have a very short memory and forget about Thursday and move on to the opportunity that Saturday presented us,” Riehl added.

Sophomore forward, Lexi Fatheree recorded 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, going 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and had six assists. Senior forward, Kathleen Brisbane scored 14 points, had six rebounds and had three assists.

Throughout the game, St. Edward’s outscored the Dustdevils, as they recorded a season-high 19 assists.

“We absolutely dominated the glass on both ends of the floor and our full court defensive pressure really took them out of rhythm,” Riehl said.

St. Edward’s 64-42 victory helped the Hilltoppers to gain sole-possession of third place in the Heartland Conference.

Besides the great sport action on the court, the Hilltoppers were also playing with another motivation on Valentine’s Day.

College and high school basketball teams, at all levels across the nation, registered with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and Kay Yow Foundation for a #Play4Kay game in honor of cancer awareness.

The team’s fundraising goal was to reach $500 and the Hilltoppers came in well ahead of that, reaching an estimate closer to $800, according to Riehl. 

All the proceeds go directly to the Kay Yow Foundation and fund research for all women’s cancers.

With less than two weeks of regular season play, the third-place Hilltoppers are determined to extend their winning streak and play well in the Heartland Conference Tournament.

The ultimate goal is to make another apperance in the national tournament.