LAREDO, Texas — St. Mary's Women's Basketball has been in this situation before.
For the last two seasons, the Rattlers have faced Newman in the first round of the Heartland Conference Tournament, coming out 1-1.
They're hoping to come out 2-1 Friday.
No. 2 seed St. Mary's will see the No. 3-seeded Jets for the third straight season in the opening round of the Heartland Conference Tournament, with the showdown taking place at 7:30 p.m. Friday at host school and No. 1 seed Texas A&M International in Laredo, Texas.
This season, the Rattlers split with Newman with the loss coming from a double overtime upset at Bill Greehey Arena.
For senior
Jackie Woods, she hopes the Rattlers end their season series with Newman the same way the Rattlers want to end their tournament series: 2-1.
"We don't want to lose to the same team twice," said Woods of the Rattlers' motivation to close out the series with Newman.
The Rattlers will look to defend their Heartland Conference title claimed over Texas-Permian Basin last season, with much of the championship squad returning.
StMU has experienced growth and development across the returning squad this season as nearly every Rattler who was on last season's championship team has improved in scoring.
With a spread offense, the Rattlers are versatile in their bench and starters, drawing on the skills and roles of all.
At the forefront of the Rattlers' 18-8 season is All-American Woods who was named All-Conference First Team or the third straight season as well as
Morgan Pullins who claimed her third straight All-Conference Second Team selection.
Both Woods (San Antonio) and Pullins (Jr., Franklin, Mich.) posted their best career numbers in their third season of play with Pullins nearly averaging a double-double (15.5 points, 8.3 rebounds) and Woods averaging a career-high 16.5 points per contest.
Stepping in and executing largely this season has been go-to point
Dezirae Elias (So., Chandler, Ariz.) who has seen the biggest spike in scoring this season to become one of the Rattlers' main threats.
Elias jumped from averaging 3.9 points per game as a freshman to 9.8 this season while also becoming a stalwart on defense, leading the conference in steals per game (3.00) and entered the program's single-season steals record tying at the No. 3 spot with 72.
Newcomers have also been a focus in the Rattlers' bevy of success, namely, freshman
Kiara Etheridge.
Breaking the St. Mary's single-season rebounding record in just her second collegiate game with 20 rebounds, Etheridge (San Antonio) finished the regular season third in the league for rebounding (8.7) and No. 1 in defensive rebounds at 6.4 per game and will be a major component in the postseason.
With an array of team highlights, senior
Bria Bell, who has also improved her scoring this season, puts her final Heartland Conference Tournament run in perspective.
"I know I speak for all seniors when I say we know this is our last shot and are going to give it all we got," said Bell (Mesquite, Texas) who has also having a career season. "We're all excited, we've worked all year for this and we have a fair shot."
In addition to their conference title on the line, the reoccurring Newman Jets also holds regional weight.
Currently at No. 6 in the latest regional rankings, a win over Newman will greatly increase the Rattlers' chance of advancing to the regional tournament regardless of the outcome of the championship game, but for Woods, a second straight conference title is what she's after first.
"We're just taking one game at a time right now," said Woods who leads the team in three's with 45. "Tomorrow is the start to potentially lock us in the regional and we're really hype."
The road to the conference title for the Rattlers and head coach
Jason Martens begins Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Laredo, Texas.
