The St. Edward’s women’s basketball team was upset in their home opener by Texas Lutheran University on Saturday afternoon. The 71-63 defeat to TLU marks a monumental moment in Bulldog program history: it was their first win over a Division II opponent in its 24 years in Division III.

TLU had the Hilltoppers on their heels for most of Saturday’s contest. SEU only led for four and a half minutes in the entire game. Jayda Ruffus-Milner and Bailey Featherstone each had 16 points to lead SEU in scoring, but TLU’s Brianna Wilson netted 19 points and 10 rebounds to propel the Bulldogs further than the Hilltoppers could muster. 

Ainsley Thunell’s layup with less than six minutes left in the first quarter gave the Hilltoppers a 10-6 advantage and their largest lead of the day before the Bulldogs closed out the first quarter on a 12-0 run. 

TLU rolled into halftime with a 40-26 lead. After a head-scratching first half for SEU that was filled with turnovers on offense and miscommunication all over the court, the Hilltoppers settled down in the third quarter, tightening up its press and protecting the ball. 

Ruffus-Milner’s three steals and eight points helped pull SEU within six points on two occasions in the second half. SEU tightened the gap to 52-49 on Lauren Catherman’s layup with 7:17 to go in the game, but the Hilltoppers couldn’t get any closer. Texas Lutheran’s bench dominated St. Edward’s 28-7 on the day but showed up huge towards the end of the game, outscoring SEU 10-3 in the final quarter.

St. Edward’s loss dropped them to 0-3 on the season. Texas Lutheran improves to 4-0, the best start in its Division III era.