Demauria Miles’ torrid scoring streak continued Friday with a 27-point scoring performance in Schreiner University’s 60-44 victory over visiting St. Thomas.

More importantly, the victory earned the Mountaineers their fifth consecutive victory, keeping them one game back in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference standings for second place.

“We fought okay; it wasn’t always smooth,” Schreiner University coach Stacey Stephens said. “It wasn’t always graceful. But we stayed together. We fought well. I’m proud of how the girls responded in the second half.”

The Mountaineers blew open a tight first quarter with an 18-6 surge in the second quarter to take a 39-25 halftime lead. The Mountaineers, playing without standout Nariyah Buggs, relied heavily on the starters, and the bench scored three points.

However, Miles’ hot shooting continued to power the Mountaineers. Miles is averaging 29.6 points in her last three games. On Friday, Miles was 10-of-18 from the field, including five 3-pointers.

While the bench wasn’t productive offensively, the Mountaineers got 10 steals from their reserves on a night when Schreiner forced 24 turnovers. St. Thomas finished the night shooting 29% from the field, and the Mountaineers would answer whenever they would get hot.

Elisa Peralta, who infuses manic energy for the Mountaineers, scored 12 points, forced four steals, and added seven assists and six rebounds. Josline Hernandez scored 11 points, including three 3-pointers.

Schreiner returns to action at 2 p.m. on Saturday against visiting Centenary.