HOUSTON — Miranda Vallejo came off the bench Saturday afternoon to score 11 points and lead Schreiner University women's basketball team to a 68-62 victory over host St. Thomas.
The Mountaineers survived a rough second quarter, shooting 26.7%, but surged in the third quarter. Josline Hernandez delivered big for the Mountaineers in that third quarter, where she all of her nine points, including a pair of 3 pointers.
Schreiner's leading scorer Demauria Miles saw limited minutes for the Mountaineers and scored two points. Without Miles, the Mountaineers operated via committee when it came to scoring.
The Mountaineers got 10 points from Aazayleah Pirtle scored 10 and Elisa Peralta came off the bench to score eight points in 11 minutes of action. Peralta also presented St. Thomas with plenty of challenges by forcing three steals.
After a narrow loss Tuesday night to Texas Lutheran, Schreiner needed a win to stay in the hunt for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship and seeding for the postseason conference tournament.
St. Thomas was within five points of Schreiner with 7:47 left when Hayden Morin knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the Mountaineers lead to 53-48. However, the Mountaineers answered with a 10-0 run, including a 3-pointer by Pirtle.
The Mountaineers are now 3-2 in conference play and head to Colorado Springs next for a game against Colorado College on Monday.
