LAWTON – After getting their first two home games of 2022 postponed last week, the Aggie women return the competition this weekend when they visit St. Edward's and St. Mary's.
 
After starting conference play 2-0, the Aggies had to put their winning streak on hold when their games against UT Tyler and Texas A&M-Commerce were postponed last week. Now they are back on the road, visiting St. Edward's on Saturday at 1 p.m. and then St. Mary's on Monday at 2 p.m. for a pair of conference battles.

STARTING 5
1. Cameron was one of three teams to go 2-0 during the Lone Star Conference's opening weekend; the team averaged 13.5 three-pointers and 10.5 steals over the two-game span. 
2. Maighan Hedge averaged 25.5 points and made 10 three-pointers two weeks ago, earning her second Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week award of the season; the fourth-year guard leads the LSC and is second nationally with 22.3 points per game. 
3. The 8-6 Hilltoppers are one of the top shot blocking teams in the country, averaging 4.2 rejections per game to start the eighth season under head coach J.J. Riehl led by senior Sammie Dufek's 2.7 per game, which is eighth best in Division II.
4. St. Edward's has three players scoring over 10 points per game, Lauren Catherman, Taylor Cockerill, and Haley Blankenship; Cockerill is also averaging 4.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists. 
5. After going 6-9 last season, the Rattlers have started Jason Martens' 16th season with a 1-12 record, despite the post play of Hannah Wilson, who averages 18 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks while shooting 51.6 percent from the field.
 
ABOUT THE AGGIES
With their two conference wins two weeks ago, the Aggies are now 7-5 this season, averaging nearly 80 points on offense while giving up just over 71 points on the defensive end. They are one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation, averaging a Division II-best 11 made triples per game and hitting them at a 35 percent clip. Cameron is also forcing 21 turnovers per game, resulting in an average of 22.1 points off those takeaways. Hedge leads the team in scoring and assists and is shooting an efficient 52 percent from the floor, 47 percent from three, and 85 percent from the charity stripe. Stephanie Peterson adds 13.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.4 steals per game while Katie King, Korie Allensworth, and Whitney Outon all average over nine points for the Aggies. 
 
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
St. Edward's started off the 2021-22 season off hot, winning six of their first eight games. Since then, they have gone 2-4 including two conference losses to Midwestern State and Texas Woman's last week. The Hilltoppers have a scoring margin of six points while averaging 67.4 points per game and shooting over 43 percent from the field. While their three-point shooting is not a strong suit, their perimeter defense is, holding teams to making just 4.7 three-pointers per game at a 27.6 percent clip. They also out-rebound their opponents by an average of 4.5 rebounds and turn the ball over 20 times per outing. Behind the trio of players averaging 10 points, Morgan Gary averages 9.4 points and 5.5 rebounds and Dufek adds a team-high 6.1 rebounds per game to go along with his nearly three blocked shots per contest. 
 
LAST TIME AGAINST SEU
In five meetings against the Hilltoppers, CU has won four, including on Jan. 11, 2020 when they won 81-73 on their home floor. Hedge dropped 30 points while going 10-12 from the foul line in the win. St. Edward's turned the ball over 18 times and shot under 30 percent from three in the loss. Blankenship is the top returning scorer from that game with eight points. 
 
SCOUTING THE RATTLERS
St. Mary's lost 10 straight to start the season before earning their first win, 56-52, over Texas A&M-Kingsville on Dec. 20. Since then, they lost back-to-back conference games to MSU and TWU. They are averaging just 57.7 points per game while being outscore by an average of 11.6 points. The Rattlers are shooting 38 percent from the field and under 30 percent from three. Despite the losses, they are out-rebounding teams by 6.8 boards but are turning the ball over 23.4 times per game. Wilson is the lone Rattler averaging over 10 points while Sydney Hardeman averages 9.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists. 
 
LAST TIME AGAINST STMU
The Rattlers have handled the Aggies over their matchup history including last time out when they beat CU in the first round of the 2020 LSC Tournament 84-71. St. Mary's made 23 free throws and grabbed 53 rebounds in the win. Wilson was a key part of the win, scoring eight points and grabbing 16 rebounds, while Briley Perkins added 13 points and Hardeman scored 10 off the bench. CU struggled from three, going 6-26, and Peterson led the team with 18 points and Hedge added 12. 
 
WHO HAS NEXT
The Aggies are set to debut in 2022 in front of their home crowd next week when they host UT Permian Basin on Thursday, Jan. 20, and then Angelo State on Saturday, Jan. 22. They then conclude the month with three straight road games at Texas Woman's, Midwestern State, and Eastern New Mexico.