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Scoreboard

Torres_Alexia_20190124_vs_RSU_58
Antonio Morano Photography
56
Rogers St. RSU 9-9
61
Winner St. Mary's (TX) STMU 12-5
Rogers St. RSU
9-9
56
Final
61
St. Mary's (TX) STMU
12-5
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Rogers St. RSU 15 12 16 13 56
St. Mary's (TX) STMU 18 15 9 19 61

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | RattlerAthletics.com

Women's basketball starts home stretch with win

By Heather Kennedy | St. Mary's Athletic Communications

SAN ANTONIO – The St. Mary's women's basketball team took care of the basketball and took advantage of Rogers State's miscues on Thursday evening, en route to a 61-56 win inside the Bill Greehey Arena for the team's 12th win of the season.

The Rattlers (12-5, 2-3 Heartland Conference) turned the ball over just six times – the second lowest total of the year – and scored 16 points off Hillcat (9-9, 2-3 Heartland) turnovers to snap a three-game losing streak. No StMU player recorded more than one turnover in the game and they forced Rogers State into 16.

Sophomore guard Soteria Banks (Round Rock, Texas) led the Rattlers with 14 points, while senior guard Kaitlin Walla (Georgetown, Texas) added 12 and senior guard Alexia Torres (San Antonio) added a career-high tying 10 points, three assists and a game-best three steals. Sophomore forward Hannah Wilson (Fredericksburg, Texas) led the team with eight rebounds.

"This was a huge game for Alexia," said Head Coach Jason Martens. "She was huge for us in the first half. We needed someone to step up and she was that person for us."

Rogers State was led by Lauren Shuldt with a game-high 20 points and three blocked shots, while Lindsey Byfield scored 12 points and led the game with nine rebounds. Azaria Floyd had a game-high six assists.

"They're a tough team," Martens stated. "We knew they weren't going to roll over on us. We've got to be better at finishing a half, we gave up some easy baskets and lost a little of the momentum there at the end of the first half, but we fought through and I'm proud of how we finished the game."

St. Mary's shot 35.9 percent (23-for-64) from the field and just 7.1 from the three-point line (1-for-14). It is the first win for the Rattlers this year when they've shot below 20 percent from beyond the arc. They did a good job of making their shots when the clock was stopped, connecting on 73.7 percent of their free throws (14-for-19). On the other side of the court, Rogers State shot 45.8 percent for the game (22-for-48) and 31.8 from the three-point line (7-for-22), however they struggled at the line, making just 5-of-13 from the charity stripe (38.5 percent).

The game had an auspicious beginning as Walla shot two free throws before the opening tip, as Rogers State was assessed a technical foul for not having its starters in the official book by the required time. The Rattlers won the tip and Torres scored a layup for a 4-0 lead. The teams went back-and-forth throughout the quarter with the Rattlers managing to lead by as many as five, 12-7 after a layup by sophomore Audrey Wandji (Houston, Texas) with 3:47 to play and at the buzzer, they led 18-15.

The Rattlers used an 8-1 run early in the second quarter to build a 10-point advantage, 28-18 with 2:51 to play, but the Hillcats scored five of the final seven points of the half for the 33-27 halftime score. Banks led all players at the half with 10 points, while Torres had eight of her 10 in the first stanza and all three of her steals.

The Hillcats outscored the Rattlers 16-9 in the third quarter, opening the quarter on a 9-2 run before Walla hit the team's only triple of the game to halt the flurry of RSU scoring.

The Rattlers got back on track in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Hillcats by six, 19-13. Sophomore Mya Culiver (Rockwall, Texas) opened things with a traditional three-point play before the Hillcats took their first lead of the contest after a five-point run. Wilson and Banks scored back-to-back baskets for StMU to get the lead right back but Byfield hit a triple for RSU for a two-point lead. Banks knotted the score at 51-51 for only the second tie of the game and senior Arysia Porter (San Antonio) did what she does best, stealing the ball and taking it in for the layup to give the Rattlers the lead they'd never again relinquish.

The Hillcats led for only 32 seconds in the game – all in the fourth quarter – while the Rattlers led for 39:05.

St. Mary's hosts UAFS on Saturday at 1 p.m. in this stretch of six of seven at home. Fort Smith defeated Texas A&M International 89-36 earlier this evening.
 
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