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St. Mary's University Athletics

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Scoreboard

Torres_Alexia_20181218WB_vs_Cameron_06
Antonio Morano Photography
49
St. Mary's (TX) SMU-TX 1-2,0-1 Lone Star
73
Winner Tex. A&M-Commerce TAMC 4-0,1-0 Lone Star
St. Mary's (TX) SMU-TX
1-2,0-1 Lone Star
49
Final
73
Tex. A&M-Commerce TAMC
4-0,1-0 Lone Star
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
St. Mary's (TX) SMU-TX 4 17 12 16 49
Tex. A&M-Commerce TAMC 34 10 13 16 73

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

Lopsided First Quarter Hurts Women's Basketball

By Heather Kennedy | RattlerAthletics.com

COMMERCE, Texas – After a lopsided first quarter, the St. Mary's Women's Basketball outscored the 22nd-ranked Texas A&M Commerce Lions, but the damage was done early and the Rattlers dropped their inaugural Lone Star Conference opener, 73-49.

The Rattlers (1-2, 0-1 Lone Star) were led once again by junior guard Soteria Banks (Round Rock, Texas) with 15 points, while senior point guard Alexia Torres (San Antonio) and junior forward Christina Baker (Mansfield, Texas) tied for team-high honors with seven rebounds each. Torres also had two steals to lead the way. Both junior Mya Culiver (Rockwall, Texas) and freshman Tonia Bilic (Zagreb, Croatia) added three assists, while Bilic and freshman McKenzie Piper (Irving, Texas) blocked two shots each.

St. Mary's grabbed a season-high 43 rebounds – including 13 on the offensive end of the floor – but shot a season-low 32.8 percent from the field. The Rattlers also blocked seven shots in the contest, after combining for just two in the first two games of the year, tying for the 10th most in a single game in St. Mary's history.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions (4-0, 1-0 Lone Star) began the contest on an 11-0 run before Banks hit a jumper in the paint at the 5:49 mark to put the Rattlers on the board. Commerce finished the quarter on a 23-2 run for the 34-4 tally after the first 10 minutes.

The Gold & Blue turned things around and outscored the Lions throughout the remainder of the game 45-39, including 17-10 in the second stanza. Banks hit a triple to start the scoring. The Lions scored the next four, but the Rattlers answered with a 7-0 run of its own for the 38-14 tally. The teams traded baskets and after a Commerce layup, Banks hit another three to make the score 42-19. The Rattlers continued to chip away, as the Lions made one free throw and Jessica Barbosa (Bissai, Guinea Bissai) made her first basket of the year to make it 43-21. Commerce ended the half with one free throw for the 44-21 score.

After the Lions hit a three-pointer to begin the second half, the Rattlers went on a 9-0 run with five points by Banks and four by Culiver to cut the deficit to 17, 47-30. Commerce answered with a 10-0 run to increase its lead back to 27, 57-30, but the Rattlers scored the final three of the quarter for the 57-33 score.

The Lions opened the quarter with the first nine points to double up the Rattlers, 66-33. The teams exchanged baskets before the Rattlers scored 10 straight to bring the score to 68-43 with 4:14 remaining. After another exchange to baskets, Commerce made one free throw and the Rattlers made the final bucket for the 73-49 final.

INDIVIDUAL & TEAM NOTES
  • The seven blocked shots by the Rattlers are the most by the team since the team blocked eight against Texas A&M International on Feb. 24, 2018. It is also tied for the 10th most blocks in a single game in school history.
  • Dating back to last season, Soteria Banks has scored in double figures in six straight games and in 11 of the last 12.
  • Lexi Torres tied her career-high with seven rebounds, knotting the seven she grabbed against Texas A&M International on Jan. 14, 2017.
  • Mya Culiver has increased her point total by one in each game this year, scoring five in the opener, six against UCCS and seven against Commerce.
  • Freshman Bella Hughes (Argyle, Texas) played in her first collegiate game, grabbing two rebounds and getting one assist.
  • Junior transfer Christina Baker recorded a season-high seven rebounds to tie for the team lead. She had one rebound in each of the first two games of the year, grabbing the seven boards in 13 minutes of action.
  • Both losses this season have come at the hands of nationally-ranked teams.
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