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Scoreboard

Wilson_Hannah_20190126WB_vs_UAFS_25
Antonio Morano Photography
48
St. Mary's (TX) STMU 16-9, 6-7
63
Winner Ark.-Fort Smith UAFS 9-16, 6-6
St. Mary's (TX) STMU
16-9, 6-7
48
Final
63
Ark.-Fort Smith UAFS
9-16, 6-6
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
St. Mary's (TX) STMU 7 14 14 13 48
Ark.-Fort Smith UAFS 10 17 11 25 63

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

Cold shooting hurts Women's Hoops

By Heather Kennedy | St. Mary's Athletics Communications

FORT SMITH, Ark. – With four minutes remaining in the game, the St. Mary's women's basketball team began to foul to stretch out the game, but UAFS made enough free throws to fend off the Rattlers, winning 63-48 on Saturday afternoon.

The Lions (9-16, 6-6 Heartland Conference) were 18-of-27 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter alone and 25-for-38 in the game and they out-rebounded the Rattlers (16-9, 6-7 Heartland) by 11, 51 to 40 to aid in the victory. Both teams struggled from the floor, shooting under 30 percent for the game, leaving long stretches between baskets for both teams.

Senior guard Kaitlin Walla (Georgetown, Texas) scored a game-high 17 points behind the strength of four three-pointers, while senior guard Arysia Porter (San Antonio) added 11 points and sophomore forward Hannah Wilson (Fredericksburg, Texas) led the contest had a game- and career-high tying 17 rebounds. Wilson also tied her career-high with four blocked shots to lead the game.

Tamera Gulley came off the bench to lead UAFS with 16 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots, while Alexsis Brown had 14 points, four assists and three steals and Ellie Lehne added 11 points and nine boards. Daijah Brown also had three steals.

The Rattlers now turn their attention towards Texas A&M International on Saturday, March 2 for the regular season finale before heading to the final Heartland Conference Tournament, March 7-10 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

HOW IT HAPPENED
UAFS scored the first basket of the game, but Walla answered with a three-pointer to give the Rattlers the early 3-2 lead. It took almost three minutes for the next bucket, a jumper for the Lions at the 6:36 point to make the score 4-3, but Wilson answered to give StMU the lead back. UAFS regained the lead on a three-pointer for the 7-5 score and stretched it to three points with a free throw. Porter made a layup to cut it to one, 8-7 with 2:56 left in the quarter and the only other basket was a layup for UAFS with 35 ticks for the 10-7 score.

Gulley scored the first six points of the second quarter for the Lions to give them a 16-7 advantage. Sophomore Soteria Banks (Round Rock, Texas) and Wilson scored back-to-back baskets to cut it to a five-point contest, 16-11 with 7:06 left in the half. UAFS scored eight of the next 10 for an 11-point lead, 24-13 with 2:44 remaining. Walla and Culiver made layups sandwiched around a Lion triple for the 27-17 score and Walla stepped to the line to sink a pair of free throws. Wilson closed the half with another layup to cut the deficit to six points, 27-21.

Wilson and Banks kicked off the third quarter with consecutive layups to make it a two-point game, 27-25. UAFS made a pair of free throws and Walla answered with one of her own for a three-point spread. The Lions made a layup and Banks sank both of her free throws to keep the game at three, 31-28. After a UAFS triple, Porter made both of her attempts at the charity stripe for the 34-30 score. The Lions made a jumper in the paint and Walla nailed another triple with 1:46 left. The teams traded layups to end the quarter for the 38-35 score.

The Lions used an 11-0 run to begin the fourth quarter and stretch their lead to 14, 49-35 with 6:03 to play. Porter stopped the streak with a traditional three-point play. The next four points were scored at the free throw line for UAFS, when Porter again halted the run with a layup and the 53-40 tally. Three points at the charity stripe went to the Lions were answered by two by junior guard Alexia Torres (San Antonio). Once again, UAFS made three free throws and Walla made a triple to make the score 59-45. The process repeated and UAFS made one more free throw for the 63-48 final.

INDIVIDIUAL PLAYER NOTES
  • Kaitlin Walla made four three-pointers to bring her season total to 70 makes, moving her into third on the St. Mary's single-season record list. She passes Nicole Brantley, who made 69 in 2002-03. Walla is now just seven shy of the all-time record of 77 by Meosha Nash from 2002-03.
  • Walla has scored in double figures in each of the last four games and in 19 games this season.
  • Hannah Wilson is now eligible for the rebounds per game single season list (minimum 25 games played) and her 9.84 rebounds per game this season ranks her seventh in school history.
  • Wilson scored the 350th point of her career and now has 355 after scoring eight against the Lions. As a freshman, Wilson scored 173 points in 27 games, while this season, she has 182 points in 25 contests.
  • Arysia Porter has scored 10 or more points in each of the last six games and in 13 of the 18 games she's played this season.
TEAM NOTES
  • The 27.9 shooting percentage for St. Mary's is the second-lowest of the season and the lowest against a conference opponent this year.
  • On the flip side it is the fifth time this year the defense has held an opponent to shooting below 30 percent for the game, as the Lions shot just 29.8 for the contest.
  • The five blocked shots by the Rattlers ties for the season high mark, tying two other games – vs #1 Central Missouri, Nov. 23, 2018 and at MSU-Texas, Dec. 15, 2018.
  • The 22 fouls also ties for the most by the Rattlers this season – a mark they've done on three other occasions. St. Mary's is one of the lowest penalized teams in the country – they entered today ranked 61st in the nation in fewest fouls (395).
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