One of the keys to competing for a conference championship is winning home games, and so far, the UAFS Lady Lions are enjoying a successful home stand in Heartland Conference play.

Senior forward Ellie Lehne scored a team-high 16 points and junior forward Tamera Gulley posted her second double-double of the season as the Lady Lions edged the St. Edward's Hilltoppers 60-51 on Thursday night at the Stubblefield Center.

UAFS (5-11, 2-1) bounced back from its first conference loss of the season – a 71-65 road loss at Rogers State on Saturday – to improve to 2-0 at home in conference play. The Lady Lions jumped into second place in the conference behind conference co-leaders Lubbock Christian Lady Chaps (13-4, 3-0) and Newman Jets (11-5, 2-0).

The Lady Lions will play the Lady Chaps at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock, Texas.

The Lady Lions shot 37 percent from the field – they were only 1-of-9 shooting from 3-point range – but shot a solid 81 percent from the free-throw line (21 of 26). Along with Lehne, Gulley had 10 points to highlight an otherwise balanced offensive effort by the Lady Lions, who led 32-30 at halftime.

UAFS dominated St. Edward's in rebounding, out-rebounding the Hilltoppers by 19 rebounds (44-25). Gulley had a team-high 12 rebounds and tied a career-high with four blocked shots.

St. Edward's (9-8, 1-2) shot only 33 percent from the field (17 of 52) – it was 4-of-17 shooting from 3-point range – and shot 72 percent from the free-throw line (13 of 18). Junior guard Maryam Wilcher was the only Hilltopper to score in double-figures, finishing with 14 points.

Senior guard Bailey Hill came off the bench to lead the Hilltoppers with four rebounds.

It was a physical game that featured 42 fouls, including four technical fouls during the two-hour-long game.
 
WOMEN
HEARTLAND CONFERENCE
UAFS 60, ST. EDWARD'S 51
St. Edward's               18        12        14        7          --          51
UAFS                          17        15        19        9          --          60
St. Edward's (9-8, 1-2): Wilcher 14, Hernandez 9, Cunningham 7, Hill 7, Sutton 6, Mason 4, Dufek 3, Hopper 1
UAFS (5-11, 2-1): Lehne 16, Gulley 10, D. Brown 9, Green 8, Terry 4, A. Brown 4, Nelson 3, Bonham 3, Richardson 2, Elkins 1