DENTON, Texas – Sadie Moyer poured in a season-high 21 points, while Ashley Ingram grabbed 18, as the Texas Woman's University basketball team (9-3, 2-0 Lone Star Conference) rode a second-quarter surge to a 70-57 win over St. Edward's (8-6, 1-2) on Saturday inside Kitty Magee Arena.
 
"The energy inside Kitty Magee Arena was fantastic today," said head coach Beth Jillson. "We had over 100 students from the area taking part in FCA game day, and the crowd was such a key factor in our keeping our defensive edge. We forced 29 turnovers, scored 34 points off turnovers, and did a good job limiting second chances. Our bench really stepped up in the second quarter, and taking a 17-point lead into the half made all the difference."
 
TWU opened the first quarter strong, using a 3-pointer by Moyer to pull ahead 12-3 with just over five minutes to play. However, St. Edward's closed the quarter equally strong, pulling to within one (14-13) at the quarter break.
 
An early 3-pointer by SEU gave the Hilltoppers the lead in the second quarter, but the Pioneers quickly reclaimed the advantage. The two teams played relatively evenly through the first five minutes of the quarter, with SEU's Lauren Catherman hitting a jumper with 4:25 to play that pulled the Hilltoppers to within three (26-23).
 
Those points would be the last points that SEU would score in the half, as the Pioneers went on a tear, scoring 16 unanswered points over the final four-plus minutes to take a commanding 40-23 lead into the intermission.
 
Twice in the third quarter the Pioneers pushed their lead to 20, and kept the 17-point advantage entering the fourth quarter.
 
SEU was able to pull to within 12 points (61-49) after scoring the first five points of the fourth quarter, but the Pioneers would allow them to get no closer down the stretch.
 
SEU held a 53.7 to 42.6 advantage from the floor, but the Pioneers used the turnover margin to take 13 more shots on the afternoon than the Hilltoppers, and TWU capitalized on its free-throw opportunities – connecting on 81.8 percent of opportunities to SEU's 46.7.
 
TWU outscored SEU in the paint 26-18, in bench points 17-11, and 9-0 on the fast break.
 
The Pioneers hit the road this week for a pair of Lone Star Conference games, facing UT Permian Basin in Odessa on Thursday and Angelo State in San Angelo on Saturday.