SAN ANTONIO – Three players scored in double figures for the St. Mary's Women's Basketball team as they won the fourth-straight game on Thursday night, defeating Texas A&M International 65-56.
It is the seventh-straight time the Rattlers (7-7, 6-4 Lone Star Conference) have defeated the Dust Devils (7-9, 4-6 Lone Star) and they improve to 23-6 all-time.
Junior
Jessica Barbosa (Bissai, Guinea Bissai) continued to play well for the Gold & Blue, recording her first double-double with a career-high 11 points and leading all players with 14 rebounds. Freshman
Briley Perkins (Houston, Texas) scored in double figures for the third-straight contest, leading the Rattlers with 14 points and fellow freshman
Sydney Hardeman (Allen, Texas) came off the bench to chip in 13 points. Both Perkins and Hardeman sank four three-pointers each as the team made double digits for the eighth time this year.
Senior guard
Alexia Torres (San Antonio) tallied a game-high seven assists and she was pivotal in the waning seconds as she made all four of her free throw attempts in the final 28 seconds to seal the win. Junior
Hannah Wilson (Fredericksburg, Texas) tied her season-high with three blocked shots – doing so in back-to-back contests. The Rattlers tied their season-high with seven blocks on the night.
The Rattlers keyed on second-chance opportunities, out-scoring the Dust Devils 18-to-2 in that regards. The team also had 19 points off turnovers on the night. St. Mary's shot 38.3 percent for the game and 31.3 percent (10-for-32) from the three-point line. The Rattlers also made 9-of-12 free throws.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Rattlers scored the first six points of the game with four by Barbosa. The Dust Devils broke onto the scoreboard for the first time at the 4:47 mark, but Barbosa nailed her third bucket of the quarter in an immediate answer. After a TAMIU basket, the Rattlers scored five straight for the 13-4 lead at 1:48. The Dust Devils scored the final five of the quarter for the 13-9 score.
Hardeman scored the first four points to open the second quarter. After a triple by TAMIU cut the score to five, 17-12, Hughes scored five straight for the first double digit lead. The Devils made a layup and the Rattlers went on a 10-0 run to extend lead to 18 with 1:05 to play. TAMIU scored five of the final seven for the 34-19 halftime tally.
The Rattlers pushed the first five points of the third quarter and both teams went the next two-plus minutes without scoring until they traded triples to keep the Rattlers advantage at 20, 44-24 with 6:03 on the clock. A 9-1 run by the Devils cut their deficit to 12, but Banks snapped the streak with a pull-up jumper at 2:03 for the 45-31 score. After trading layups, TAMIU scored four straight, but Perkins nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer as the scoreboard read 50-37.
The Devils opened the fourth quarter with five-straight point to cut the lead to single digits for the first time since the beginning stanza, 50-42. Hardeman nailed her fourth trey and the Dust Devils answered with a six-point run to cut it to a five-point game, 53-48. Banks sank a pair of free throws and after the teams traded shots, TAMIU scored four straight for the 57-54 score. Hughes made a free throw and Perkins drained her fourth triple to push it back to a seven-point lead. With 31 ticks left, TAMIU made its final basket of the game and Torres sank four free throws in the final 28 seconds to ice the win, 65-56.
INDIVIDUAL PLAYER & TEAM NOTES
- Junior Jessica Barbosa tallied the first double-double of her career with 11 points and 14 rebounds. In the last two contests, Barbosa has grabbed 35 boards. Her 11 points is a career-high, giving her back-to-back games after scoring eight at Midwestern State on Saturday.
- The Rattlers win their fourth-straight game, the longest streak of the year. The team now has a 7-7 season record and is 6-4 in conference games.
- Freshman Briley Perkins scored in double figures for the third-straight game, notching a team-high 14 points.
- St. Mary's out-rebounded its sixth-straight opponent, getting 40 boards and holding the Dust Devils to 34.
- Lexi Torres notched seven assists to lead the game, giving her five or more assists in four straight games and eight times this year.
- St. Mary's had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio with 16 assists to just 12 miscues. It is the fifth time this year the Rattlers have had a positive ratio.
- Hannah Wilson tied her season-high with three blocked shots for the second-straight game. She now has 60 blocks in her career, needing one more to tie for sixth all-time at St. Mary's (61, Jennifer Currey, 1993-97).
UP NEXT
The Rattlers remain at home, hosting Texas A&M Kingsville on Saturday at 2 p.m. They then make a tough road trip, heading to Lubbock Christian on Thursday, Jan. 23 and Angelo State on Saturday, Jan. 25.
