AUSTIN, Texas -- St. Edward's more than doubled its halftime lead over UT Tyler with a huge third quarter, handing the visiting Patriots a 73-35 defeat in Lone Star Conference action Thursday in Austin.
The Hilltoppers took a 30-16 halftime edge and then posted a 25-6 margin in the third quarter to take a 55-22 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Shala Robinson produced team-highs of 8 points and 7 rebounds, and Niah Richard distributed a team-high 3 assists to go with a pair of steals to help lead the Patriots. St. Edward's was led by Lauren Catherman's 15-point, 4-steal performance off the bench.
UT Tyler is now 0-3 on the season, while St. Edward's improved to 1-2 heading into the teams' Saturday rematch in Tyler.
Turning Point: St. Edward's turned a 30-16 halftime lead into a commanding 40-point margin with a 25-6 third-quarter scoring margin and a 7-0 run over the first five minutes of the fourth quarter.
How It Happened: St. Edward's never trailed in the game, building a 12-6 lead after one quarter before extending the lead to 30-16 by halftime. The Hilltoppers started the second half with a 32-6 run before the Patriots finished by scoring 13 points in the final five minutes of the contest.
UT Tyler Standouts: Shala Robinson scored a team-high 8 points and collected a game-high 7 rebounds to lead the Patriots. Josephine Elliott added 6 points on a pair of three-pointers, and Kayla James came off the bench for 4 points, 5 rebounds, and a team-high 3 steals.
St. Edward's Standouts: Lauren Catherman came off the bench to score a game-high 15 points along with a game-high 15 steals. She hit 3-of-5 three-pointers, and she was joined in double figures by Charli Becker, who scored 10 points. Sammie Dufek scored 8 points and pulled down a team-high 6 rebounds.
By The Numbers: St. Edward's produced big margins in points in the paint (24-10), points off turnovers (27-10), and bench scoring (37-8)… The Hilltoppers also produced a 45-37 rebounding edge and forced 36 UT Tyler turnovers… Three UT Tyler players finished with at least 5 rebounds… UT Tyler shot 24 percent (12-for-50) from the field, but the Patriots finished 5-of-13 (39 percent) in the fourth quarter… St. Edward's posted a 39 percent (23-for-59) shooting effort from the field, and the Hilltoppers heated up over 50 percent after halftime, hitting 52 percent (14-of-27) in the second half.
What's Next: UT Tyler and St. Edward's meet up again in Tyler on Saturday, Jan. 9, at 3:00 p.m., concluding this week's Lone Star Conference two-game series. This will be the Patriots' first split-location series with games between the same opponents at both home sites rather than back-to-back games at a single site.