St. Edward's University

DENTON, Texas - Sophomore Sara Head tallied a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead St. Edward's to a 63-56 victory over Incarnate Word Friday afternoon in the Heartland Conference Semifinals at the Super Pit.

Even though starting point guard went out of the game with an injury, St. Edward's (12-16) opened the game on a 15-6 run in the first nine minutes.  Senior Tammy Bartosh was key with five points and Head chipped in with four of her own.

"When Alana went out, I was proud of how the girls rallied," head coach Jennifer White said.  "To see others step up and take on the vocal leadership that she provides was nice to see."

Four more points from Head and five points from sophomore Haley Tidwell pushed the lead out to 26-11, with 4:07 remaining in the first half.

Incarnate Word (17-11) closed the gap down the stretch in the first, going on an 8-1 run in the last four minutes.  Nia Torru scored the last five points of the half.

With St. Edward's ahead, 52-39, with 4:38 remaining in the second half, the Cardinals made a run.  Incarnate Word went on a 15-5 run to cut the lead to 57-54, with 48 seconds remaining. 

The Hilltoppers hit 6-of-8 of free throws in the final minute to clinch their spot in Saturday's final.

St. Edward's used a stingy defense to hold Incarnate Word to 33 percent shooting from the floor.

"Our zone defense was the key to the game," White said.  "The girls executed our scheme perfectly."

Head was 7-of-15 from the floor in 30 minutes of action.  Bartosh added 12 points, while Tidwell registered 10 points.

Incarnate Word's Hayley Harvey led all scorers with 24 points to go with her five rebounds.  Both Torru and Kim Robinson posted 14 points each.

St. Edward's will be back in action Saturday when they take on #24 St. Mary's in the championship game.  The Rattlers are the regular-season conference champion and are the No. 1 seed.  The Hilltoppers will also look for another reversal of fortune as St. Mary's has beaten St. Edward's twice this season.