Box Score
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — The Lady Rattlers looked like they had another overtime thriller in them. Instead, their season ended with a thud off the rim.
No. 3-seed St. Mary's fell in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament Friday, losing by three to No 6-seed Metro State, 58-55 at Brownson Arena.
The Rattlers had the chance to tie it at the buzzer and send the highly contested game into extra minutes, but
Jackie Woods' would-be-tying 3-pointer rimmed out at the buzzer. Down by three, St. Mary's went 0 for 4 from the floor over the final 30 seconds.
Felicia Jacobs (Sr., San Antonio) and
Jackie Woods (Jr., San Antonio) played as they have all season, as Jacobs led with 18 points to record her sixth double-double on the season. Jacobs added 10 rebounds and four steals, while Woods chipped in 14 points, knocking down three from behind the arc.
The Lady Rattlers ended their season Friday with a record of 22-7, marking the fourth time in Martens' seven seasons as head coach that his squad posted 20-plus wins.
As predicted, the contest between the Lady Rattlers and the Metro State Roadrunners (21-8) was a heated exchange, with the game going back and forth throughout. The Rattlers picked up a quick 7-0 lead over the Roadrunners just minutes into the game but the Roadrunners, too, wanted their postseason to extend as long as possible to comeback and lead it by eight at the half, 28-20. Metro State posted a pair of 10-0 runs in the half to create the margin.
The Rattlers were able to close on the lead and start a constant lead shift but it was the Roadrunners who would come out on top, narrowly avoiding overtime with the Rattlers' would-be-tying shot rimming out.
“You know, that's NCAA basketball,” said Martens, whose squad was in the regional tournament for the fifth time in eight years, four of which came under his watch. “I told my girls yesterday it was going to be a game of runs. We started off with a run, came back with a run (in the second half) and it was back and forth, back and forth.
“Unfortunately, they had the last run.”
St. Mary's led 54-53 on a
Mariah Lee (Jr., Houston) basket with about four minutes remaining, but scored just one point the rest of the way.
The heartbreaking loss Friday saw nothing short of all-out performance from Jacobs, who scored 13 of her 18 points in the second half alone.
“I knew I need to be the spark coming back for the second half,” said Jacobs, who ended her final season with the Rattlers on Friday. “And that's what I tried to provide for my team. I did the best I could do; we just came up three points short.”
As this season's Heartland Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Jacobs' four steals against Metro State places her as the record-holder for the most steals in a single season for St. Mary's with 85, shattering a 30-year-old record.
Although the Lady Rattlers were just one bucket away from advancing to the semifinals, they have much to be proud of in their spectacular season that included being crowned the Heartland Conference Champions for the fourth time under Martens.
St. Mary's University, as a Catholic Marianist University, fosters the formation of people in faith and educates leaders for the common good through community service, integrated liberal arts and professional education, and academic excellence. The University has six athletic national titles: men's basketball (1989–NAIA), baseball (2001–NCAA Div. II), softball (1986–NAIA and 2002–NCAA Div. II) and an individual national champion in men's golf (2006–NCAA Div. II) and a national academic championship in men's golf (2009–NCAA Div. II). St. Mary's also had more than 40 percent of its athletes named to conference, regional and/or national honor rolls this past year. St. Mary's student–athletes graduation rate is 65 percent, higher than the NCAA Division II average of 55 percent. To learn more about St. Mary's, visit www.rattlerathletics.com.
