Women's Basketball Falters At Angelo State

SAN ANGELO, Texas – Free throws played a big part in the St. Mary's Women's Basketball loss at Angelo State on Saturday afternoon. The Rambelles (11-5, 8-4 Lone Star Conference) made 20 of 22 attempts at the line, making more than the Rattlers (8-9, 7-6 Lone Star) attempted in the 75-64 loss.

On the flip side, the Rattlers struggled at the charity stripe making 7-of-13 (53.8 percent). The Gold & Blue did shoot 38.8 percent from the field for the game and 46.9 in the second half.

Junior guard Soteria Banks (Round Rock, Texas) led all scorers with 21 points, while freshman Briley Perkins (Houston, Texas) scored 13 and junior Hannah Wilson (Fredericksburg, Texas) chipped in a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. The Rattlers were only credited with four assists on 26 baskets and junior Jessica Barbosa (Bissai, Guinea Bissai) had half of them. Senior guard Alexia Torres (San Antonio) led the club with three steals.

Seventeen of Banks' 21 points came in the second half as the Rattlers attempted the comeback. She now needs just two points to score the 1,000^th of her standout career.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Rattlers scored the first five points of the quarter with Perkins hitting a three and Banks nailing a jumper. The teams traded three-pointers and then inside shots for the 10-5 score. ASU scored the next nine points on three straight triples to take a 14-10 lead. Wilson sank a pair of free throws to snap the streak and the Rams hit back-to-back treys to stretch the lead to 20-12 with 1:19 on the clock. With 53 seconds left, freshman Sydney Hardeman (Allen, Texas) hit a jumper for the final points and the 20-14 tally.

Banks hit the first bucket of the second quarter, but the Rambelles scored the next six for the 26-16 lead with 8:16 to play. Torres snapped the streak with a jumper, but ASU tallied the next five for the 31-18 advantage. Wilson and Perkins scored the next six for the Rattlers to close within seven, 31-24, however ASU scored seven straight to push the lead to 14, 38-24. Torres hit a three with 18 seconds left and the Rambelles hit a buzzer beater for the 40-27 halftime score. Perkins led the Rattlers with eight points at the break, while Wilson had a game-high six rebounds.

Perkins opened the second half the same way as the first, draining a three pointer.  After a pair of free throws by the Rams, Banks and Barbosa hit consecutive baskets to cut the score to 42-34. ASU scored 10 of the next 13 points with the lone Rattlers basket being a three-pointer by Banks for the 52-37 tally with 3:08 to go. Junior Mya Culiver (Rockwall, Texas) drained a pair of free throws, ASU hit another three, and Banks and Culiver made consecutive StMU baskets for the 55-43 score with 2:01 on the clock. The teams traded layups to end the third quarter at 57-45.

The Rambelles scored first in the final stanza on a three-pointer. Banks responded with a layup and she hit another jumper sandwiched between four free throws by ASU for the 64-49 score. Perkins and freshman Tonia Bilic (Zagreb, Croatia) combined for three free throws to make the score 66-52 with 5:41 left. The teams traded layups and the Rams sank another pair of free throws to lead 70-54. Wilson made a jumper and the teams traded layups for the 72-58 score at the 3:19 mark. Banks hit another layup surrounded by three free throws by the Rams. The Rattlers scored the final four points of the contest on a putback by Wilson and a steal and jumper by Torres for the 75-64 final.

TEAM & INDIVIDUAL PLAYER NOTES

• Today marks the 100^th game played for senior Lexi Torres.
• For the sixth straight game, the Rattlers used the same starting lineup after using seven different ones in the first 11 games. The starting five of Banks, Barbosa, Perkins, Torres and Wilson is now 4-2.
• Soteria Banks needs just two more points to score 1,000 for her career after scoring 21 on the day.
• Hannah Wilson had one blocked shot in the game, moving her into a tie for fifth place all-time at St. Mary's with 63. She is knotted with Kiara Etheridge (2013-17) on the chart.
• With her final steal with 32 seconds left, Lexi Torres recorded the 100^th steal of her career.
• St. Mary's and Angelo State tied with 39 rebounds each in the game. It is the first time this season both teams have ended the game with the same total in boards.
• The Rattlers out-scored the Rambelles in the second half, 37-35.
• Hannah Wilson recorded her fifth double-double of the year and the 13^th of her career with 10 points and 14 rebounds. All five double-doubles have come against Lone Star opponents this year.

UP NEXT
The Gold & Blue return home to host Texas Woman's and Tarleton State next weekend. Game times are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday and 2 p.m. Saturday, respectively.