Box Score
SAN ANTONIO — Rattler players hadn't even welcomed over their families for Thanksgiving when they welcomed in their first Heartland Conference foe of the 2013-14 season Thursday night.
Yes, Heartland Conference play is here — and the St. Mary's women's basketball team welcomed the earlier-than-usual scheduling with open arms.
Leading by as many as 19 points, St. Mary's ran past Oklahoma Christian 65-56 in the conference opener at Bill Greehey Arena.
Lia Kioa scored a game-high 18 points,
Dezirae Elias had 13 points and five assists, and
Morgan Pullins added 10 points to help St. Mary's jump to a 4-1 start on the season.
St. Mary's was outrebounded by 12 and had 20 turnovers — and still beat a good Oklahoma Christian (3-2, 0-1) squad by nearly double figures. The Rattlers contested shot after shot defensively, limiting the Eagles to 26.1-percent shooting (18 of 69), including a 5-for-31 clip from beyond the arc.
The Rattlers, meanwhile, were deadly efficient, connecting on half of their 3-point shots (6 for 12) and hitting nearly 45 percent overall, going 24 for 58 from the floor.
Freshman phenom
Kiara Etheridge, who holds two of the top four single-game rebounding performances in school history, added 10 more to her total for her fourth double-figure rebounding performance in five collegiate games.
St. Mary's will play once more before Thanksgiving, hosting Texas Woman's at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Bill Greehey Arena.
