Senior Kelli Payton registered 21 points to lead St. Edward’s to a 78-75 overtime victory over Lincoln Thursday afternoon in the opening round of the Heartland Conference Tournament at Bill Greehey Arena.
St. Edward’s (9-19) opened the game on a 7-2 run in the first three minutes. The run was capped off by three-point play from Payton.
Lincoln (12-15) fought back with a 20-4 run over the next 10 minutes to build a 22-11 lead with 7:00 minutes left in the first half. Cherakie Barrett led the way with six points.
The Hilltoppers then received some clutch scoring from sophomore Brittany Ward as she tallied five points, which included a three pointer at the to cap off a 15-6 run and cut the Blue Tiger lead to two points with 52 seconds left.
A layup by Lincoln’s Terika Adams gave the Blue Tigers a 30-26 halftime lead.
In the second half, St. Edward’s was trailing 40-35 at the 16:27 mark. Payton then took over, scoring six points in the Hilltoppers’ 8-1 run over the next three minutes. The spurt gave St. Edward’s their first lead since the opening part of the first half.
A quick 4-0 run by Lincoln’s Ashley Norris gave the Blue Tigers the lead right back, 45-43, with 13:09 remaining.
However, St. Edward’s went on a 7-0 run over the next four minutes with senior Sara Head ending the run with a three-point play. The run gave the Hilltoppers a 50-45, with 9:03 remaining.
The Hilltoppers would not allow Lincoln the lead the rest of the game.
A layup by Payton with 42 seconds gave the Hilltoppers a three-point lead but a layup by Adams cut the lead to one. Ward was then fouled and she made two free throws to push the lead back to three with 25 seconds remaining. Stacey Smith would drain a trey with nine seconds left to tie the game and send it to overtime.
In the extra period, Lincoln took a one-point lead with 3:01 on the game clock.
Two free throws by Head and a jumper from Payton later, and the Hilltoppers took a three-point lead at the 1:30 mark.
St. Edward’s would hit on 4-of-6 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
Payton also had five rebounds and three assists to go along with leading the team in scoring. She led five Hilltopperds in double-figure scoring. Ward tallied 16 points and five assists, while freshmen Monica James and Sarah Milewski both had 12 points. Head had 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
The Hilltoppers will advance to the semifinals of the Heartland Conference Tournament on Friday at 12:00 p.m. versus #1 Seed Incarnate Word. The game will have free live audio and live video will also be available for a small fee. Check the Hilltopper Athletic Website for more details.