WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Deijah Blanks and Haley Blankinship combined to score 39 points to lead the visiting St. Edward's Hilltoppers to an 86-74 Lone Star Conference win over the Midwestern State Mustangs on Thursday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.

Blanks, who entered the night as the second leading scorer in the Lone Star Conference, scored 10 of her team's first 12 points to help the Hilltoppers to an early 12-6 lead. The grad student finished with 23 points and by night's end, had jumped St. Mary's Soteria Banks to become the conference's leading scorer at 19.4 PPG.

"She is a good player," Head Coach Noel Johnson said. "We were keying on her and trying to square her up and we did not do a good job on her."

SEU forced MSU into 13 first half turnovers and led 46-25 at the break. 

"It was a turnover prone game for us," Johnson said. "It is like we carried Saturday's game against Commerce over to tonight."

The Hilltoppers built a 31-point lead with just under four minutes remaining in the third quarter on a Blanks jumper. MSU Texas responded with an 11-3 run to end the stanza that pulled the Mustangs to within 69-46.

The teams traded baskets early in the fourth quarter before the Mustangs closed the game on a 17-2 run.

Elizabeth Cathcart continued her torrid start to the season with a 19-point effort off the bench. The senior leads MSU in scoring at 14.1 PPG.

"She had some great looks in the paint," Johnson said. "I am proud of her for scoring 19 points off the bench."

GAME NOTES
- Freshman Sheridan Bostic hit a pair of three pointers to finish with six points
- Sophomore Shawnisay Millar tied a season-high with 15 points
- The Maroon and Gold went 22-of-28 from the free throw line
- The meeting was the first between the two sides since 2010 

UP NEXT
The Mustangs continue their three-game homestand on Saturday afternoon with a game against St. Mary's. Tipoff from D.L. Ligon Coliseum is set for 2 p.m.