Bethany, OK - The University of St. Thomas women's basketball team traveled to Bethany, Oklahoma to compete in the Southwestern Christian Eagles Classic this weekend. They left Bethany with one win and one loss moving their record to 2-1 on their young season .
The Celts faced the Southwestern Christian Eagles on Friday night coming away with a 81-74 win. UST had key performances from Sheridan Hopkins (JR/Galveston, TX) and Sydney Hayes (JR/Houston, TX) while the team put forth a complete game to secure the win. For the second straight game Sheridan Hopkins had 30+ points, scoring 31 points for the game. Eight of those coming in the last 2 minutes of the game to help keep the lead and eventually the win. She also pulled down 14 rebounds making this her first double double of the season and her ninth career double double. Sydney Hayes assisted with the win by hitting a pull up jump shot with 40 secs left in the game to keep the score out of reach for the Eagles. This took her tally to 19 points which was her season and career high. Aerial Starks (FR/Houston, TX) and Alexya Castillo (FR/Cypress, TX) contributed 9 points a piece.
UST shot 44.3% from the field and 72.4% from the FT line. They outrebounded the Eagles 34-29 and forced the Eagles into 22 turnovers converting those into 25 points.
The Celts had a quick turnaround to play their second game of the weekend, facing University of Science and Arts Oklahoma. UST came out strong and took the first quarter 24-19 before going cold and only scoring 14 points in total for the next 20 minutes. The Celts competed in the last quarter but the 29 point deficit was too large to overcome. The final score had USAO victors with a final score of 81-50.
USAO outrebounded the Celts 40-19 and held UST to only 29.8% shooting for the game. Sheridan Hopkins, who is ranked #2 for scoring in the country for NAIA Division 1, led the Celts with 18 points while Alexya Castillo had a season and career high 16 points.
UST will play their first home game of the season on Wednesday, November 21st at 5:30pm against Dillard University. Remember to "Wear Red" and get out to Pack the JAAC!
