HOUSTON – The Celts of the University of St. Thomas claimed arguably their biggest win of the season Friday as they defeated No. 13-ranked Trinity (Texas) 83-81.

Sheridan Hopkins (Galveston, Texas / Ball) scored a game-high 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting, while Bresha Orange (Longview, Texas / Panola College) chipped in 22 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists as UST (15-4) improved to 10-2 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play.

The Celts handed Trinity (15-3, 10-1) its first loss in SCAC play this season. Trinity entered the weekend ranked No. 13 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division III poll, and No. 11 in the d3hoops.com poll.

Trinity led by as many as 20 points in the second half and took a 49-35 lead into halftime. The Celts fought their way back with a 26-point third quarter; the teams were tied after 30 minutes of play.

Holding a slim 79-78 lead with less than two minutes to play, the Hopkins forced a steal and then converted a layup with 1:37 remaining to put the Celts back up by three points. After a Trinity turnover and an exchange of 3-point misses, the Celts began to wind down the clock, forcing Trinity to foul Hopkins with 22 seconds left. Hopkins hit one of her two free throws to give the Celts a four-point lead.

Trinity got a desperation 3-pointer from Ashlyn Milton with five seconds left in the game to cut the lead to 82-81. The Tigers then fouled Micayla Hamilton, who sank her first free throw before intentionally missing the second with 0.7 seconds remaining. Since the miss did not hit the rim, Trinity was given a chance to in-bound the ball, but their desperation heave fell short.

Hamilton, a freshman from Richmond, Texas (Foster), scored 15 points.

The Friday doubleheader marked UST's Celts 2 Cure games, a Coach to Cure event that helps raise awareness and research money to combat Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Click here to see photo galleries from the event.

The Celts return to action Sunday when they host Schreiner. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.