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Scoreboard

Culiver_Mya_20190112WB_vs_LCU_14
Antonio Morano Photography
81
Winner St. Mary's (TX) SMU-TX 2-2,1-1 Lone Star
53
Texas-Tyler UTT 1-4,0-2 Lone Star
Winner
St. Mary's (TX) SMU-TX
2-2,1-1 Lone Star
81
Final
53
Texas-Tyler UTT
1-4,0-2 Lone Star
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
St. Mary's (TX) SMU-TX 28 18 23 12 81
Texas-Tyler UTT 9 14 11 19 53

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

Women's Hoops Flips Script; Jumps Out Early In Win Over UT-Tyler

By Heather Kennedy | RattlerAthletics.com

TYLER, Texas – The St. Mary's Women's Basketball team flipped the script from two nights ago and took big leads in both the first and third quarters en route to a lopsided 81-53 victory on Saturday afternoon at UT Tyler for its first-ever Lone Star Conference victory.

The Rattlers used a balanced attack to even their season record at 2-2 overall and 1-1 in Lone Star action, while UT Tyler moves to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in Lone Star play.

Four Rattlers scored in double figures, led by junior Soteria Banks (Round Rock, Texas) with 13. Redshirt freshman Sydney Hardeman (Allen, Texas) added 12, while freshman Bella Hughes (Argyle, Texas) – in just her second game – scored a career-best 11 on the strength of three triples. Junior Hannah Wilson (Fredericksburg, Texas) added 10 points for the fourth player in double figures. Junior Jessica Barbosa (Bissai, Guinea Bissai) brought down a career-best eight rebounds to lead all players in the game, while junior Christina Baker (Mansfield, Texas) tied her season-high with seven boards as the Rattlers grabbed a season-best 18 offensive rebounds.

Junior Mya Culiver (Rockwall, Texas) led all players in the contest with six assists as the team did a terrific job of sharing the ball, recording 23 assists on 30 baskets. She and Barbosa also each had four steals to tie for game-high honors.

St. Mary's shot 43.5 percent from the field for the game and 34.7 percent from the three-point line. The team connected on a season-high 14 long balls and has made 10 or more in three of the four games this season. The Rattlers also had another good day at the free throw line, connecting on 87.5 percent (7-for-8).

HOW IT HAPPENED
Junior guard Alexia Torres (San Antonio) started off the scoring with a three-pointer. After a jumper by the Patriots, the Rattlers scored 25 straight points, but the Patriots scored the final seven of the quarter for the 28-9 tally.

UT Tyler continued the rally with a triple to open the second quarter, but the Rattlers immediately rattled off nine straight to push the lead back to 25, 37-12 with 6:04 left in the half. After four straight by Tyler, Hughes connected on another triple and the teams traded three-point plays for the 43-19 tally. The Patriots hit a pair of baskets, sandwiched around a three-pointer by Hardeman to end the half with the Rattlers doubling up UT Tyler, 46-23.

The Rattlers scored the first eight points of the second half, with Culiver and Banks hitting back-to-back three's to open up the scoring. A triple by the Patriots had the scoreboard read 54-26 with 8:13 remaining. The teams traded buckets and after a layup by Wilson, UT Tyler made four consecutive free throws to bring the score to 58-32 with 4:48 left. The Rattlers used another nine-point run to extend their lead to 32 points, 67-32 at 2:49. The squads traded a pair of free throws to end the third quarter scoring with the score 69-34.

Baker and Piper made back-to-back layups to start the fourth quarter and put the Rattlers up 39, 73-34. The Patriots answered with four-straight and after a Piper jumper, they hit a three for the 75-41 tally. The teams continued to trade baskets throughout for the 81-53 final.

INDIVIDUAL & TEAM NOTES
  • For the fourth-straight game, Mya Culiver has increased her season-high in scoring by one point. The junior tallied eight points against Texas-Tyler after scoring five in the opener, six against UCCS and seven at Texas A&M Commerce.
  • Culiver also tied her career-high in steals with four, matching her total against Arlington Baptist on Dec. 1, 2017 from her freshman season.
  • McKenzie Piper recorded a career-high six points, giving her back-to-back games with highs. She had four points at Commerce and six at Tyler. Piper also had a career-best three rebounds and the first two steals of her career in 11 minutes of play.
  • Jessica Barbosa also had a career-high in scoring with six points and doubled her career-high in rebounds with eight. She had four points on Thursday at Commerce and last season against Lubbock Christian and she's twice had four rebounds in a game. She also swiped a career-best four balls in the win.
  • Freshman Tonia Bilic has tallied three assists in each of the first four games of the season.
  • St. Mary's has out-rebounded three of the four opponents this season and has shot better than the opposition at the three-point line in three of four as well.
UP NEXT
The Rattlers finally open the home portion of the schedule with the annual St. Mary's Thanksgiving Classic. Southern Nazarene and defending National Champions Lubbock Christian open the tournament at 2 p.m. on Friday, followed by Central Oklahoma and the Rattlers at 4 p.m. The following day, Central Oklahoma and Lubbock Christian square off at 2 p.m., while the Rattlers host Southern Nazarene at 4 p.m.
 
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