AUSTIN, Texas (Jan. 2, 2020) – Trailing most of the basketball game, Oklahoma Christian seemed oh-so-close to topping the summit and taking control against St. Edward's (Texas) on Thursday, but it never quite happened.

OC thrice pulled even in the second half and was within six points with 6:47 left, but St. Edward's – ranked sixth in the South Central Region – closed strong to pull away for a 79-66 win over the Lady Eagles at the Recreation and Convocation Center in the second-semester opener for both teams.

Deijah Blanks, the leading scorer for St. Edward's (8-3, 4-2 Lone Star Conference), poured in 25 points on 12-of-18 shooting, while Lexi Cunningham hit 4 of 7 3-pointers and added 18 points for the Hilltoppers. St. Edward's also outrebounded OC 50-34, led by 10 by Sammie Dufek.

Tyra Peck led OC (3-7, 3-3) with 16 points, going 3 of 6 from 3-point range, while fellow junior Maddison Collyer added 14 points, six assists and five rebounds and Katie Mayo contributed nine points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.

"I was proud of the effort the girls gave," OC coach Stephanie Findley said. "They never quit playing hard! I thought Tyra had a really good game. I challenged her to be more aggressive offensively and she came through.

"We showed some real toughness with our guards stepping in to take charges on their big girl, too. Now we have to take that toughness and transfer it to our rebounding game. We took care of the ball better tonight than we have been, too (with only 12 turnovers). Those are the little things we are trying to improve on this semester."

OC's only leads came in the first 90 seconds, before a 13-2 run put the Hilltoppers in control. A 3-pointer by Cunningham extended the St. Edward's lead to 28-14 with 1:33 left in the first quarter and it looked like the Hilltoppers might run away and hide.

But the Lady Eagles answered with a 16-2 run of their own that included 3-pointers by Peck and Connor Atkinson and Megan Shelton hit two free throws to tie the game at 30-30 with 4:13 left in the half.

Cunningham then hit consecutive 3-pointers, though, and the Hilltoppers led 39-35 at halftime. Again, OC responded. Back-to-back buckets by Carolyne Lawley pulled OC even at 39-39 just 77 seconds into the third quarter and the Lady Eagles also forged ties at 41-41 and 43-43, the latter on a put-back by Mayo at the 7:07 mark of the quarter.

St. Edward's scored the next nine points and the Lady Eagles never quite caught up, but they kept it close. Mayo scored with 7:26 left in the game to pull OC within 67-61, but that proved to be the Lady Eagles' last basket. A subsequent 12-3 run by the Hilltoppers sealed their win.

OC will play Saturday afternoon at St. Mary's (Texas) at 2 p.m. The Lady Eagles' next home game will be Jan. 9 vs. Tarleton State (Texas).