SAN ANTONIO (Feb. 14, 2014) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) women's basketball team forced 38 turnovers and recorded 25 steals in its 81-47 victory over the University of St. Thomas Friday evening in Mabee Gymnasium.

The win moves the Saints to 10-2 in the Red River Athletic Conference and 19-3 overall, while St. Thomas drops to 6-8 in conference and 12-13 overall. The Saints, the No. 9 team in the NAIA, are one game behind league-leader Wiley College (11-1/22-2), which is ranked No. 11 in the NAIA. Langston University (9-4/13-10) follows, while LSU-Shreveport (8-4/16-7) is in fourth place and is ranked No. 25 in the NAIA.

Head Coach Christopher Minner said, "We wore them down, and it was a solid performance. We did what we needed to do. The key was that our bench came in and the energy level did not change. We just need to keep winning so we can head into the playoffs."

The Saints started the game with a 6-3 run after back-to-back 3s from Courtney Bayliss.  The Lady Celts came back to take over the lead at 8-7. Chelsea Solis gave the Saints back the lead, and the game stayed close through the 13th minute. With eight minutes left in the half, the teams tied at 19 and the Lady Celts took the lead at 21-19. After an OLLU timeout, the team regrouped to gain back the lead as the Saints finished out the half with their biggest lead of the game at 41-28.

The Lady Celts started the second half with field goals from Maghen Lormand, Gaby Guzman and Taylor Forrest. Those six points would be their only points for the next 10 minutes as the Saints led 43-34. Nashae Owens got things started for the Saints with a steal and a full-court run to score.  From that moment on, the Saints scored 27 straight points to lead 70-34. OLLU continued its trouncing of the Lady Celts through the end of the game winning 81-47.

Bayliss led the Saints in scoring with 16 points, including 6-of-10 from the field, 2-of-4 from 3-point range and 2-of-6 from the free throw line. Rebecca Kolawole followed with 14 points, including 6-of-7 from the field and 2-of-5 from the free-throw line.

The Saints shot 46 percent from the field, 30 percent from 3-point range and 42 percent from the free throw line.

Lormand led her team in scoring with 18 points. Guzman added 15 points, while Taylor Mitchell finished with 14 rebounds for St. Thomas. The team shot 33 percent from the field taking 23 fewer shots than the Saints. They made 3-of-18 3-pointers for 16 percent and 10-of-18 free throws for 55 percent.

The Saints will return to Mabee Gym on Feb. 15 to host Paul Quinn College. Although Paul Quinn is a member of the Red River conference, the team is not eligible for postseason, so the game is a nonconference contest.