Hilltoppers can’t hang on as they fall to #16 St. Mary’s, 56-55
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - After two tight matchups earlier season, St. Edward's and St. Mary's played another classic game Friday afternoon as the Rattlers came from behind to take down the Hilltoppers, 56-55, in the semifinals of the Heartland Conference Tournament at Bill Greehey Arena.
St. Edward's (15-13) came out firing on all cylinders as the scored the first 11 points of the game. Juniors Sara Head and Sophia Holguin each scored four points each, while junior Kelli Payton added a three-point play. The Hilltopper defense forced St. Mary's into 0-of-6 shooting and three turnovers to give St. Edward's an 11-0 advantage with 15:34 remaining in the first half.
A bucket by Ashton Benford put St. Mary's (24-4) on the scoreboard, but St. Edward's answered with back-to-back buckets by Payton and senior Charron Sumler pushed the Hilltopper lead to 15-2 with 13:32 left in the first half.
St. Edward's extended the lead to 18 points with 6:55 remaining, but then the Rattler comeback began. St. Mary's scored the final 13 points of the half to cut the lead to 26-21 at the halftime break.
With 17:05 left in the second half, a three-pointer by Chasity Noble tied the score 30-30.
The Hilltoppers responded with a 7-0 run, which included three-pointer by senior Jasmine Parr and junior Nicole Etheridge.
With 5:34 left in the game a three-pointer by Payton gave St. Edward's an eight-point lead, 48-40.
St. Mary's then went on a 14-5 run over the next four minutes to take its first lead, 54-53, with 1:49 remaining. Jesse Smith knocked in two treys off of the bench to spark the run.
The Hilltoppers retook the lead with a bucket with 1:19 remaining from Sara Head. Rachel Jones gave the lead back to the Rattlers with a jumper with 54 seconds. St. Edward's had two shots to win the game, but came up empty.
Head finished the game with a double-double, scoring 16 points and collecting 13 rebounds. Payton finished with 11 points and five rebounds.
Jones led the Rattlers with a game-high 18 points, while Mallory Moeller added 12 points and nine rebounds.
St. Edward's ends its season with a 15-13 record. The 15 victories ties for most wins in a season during Jennifer White's tenure as head coach.