Wilson Breaks Rebound Record As Women's Basketball Falls In Overtime

SAN ANTONIO  -- Despite a school record 24 rebounds by Hannah Wilson, the St. Mary's Women's Basketball team couldn't overcome a late surge by Western New Mexico and fell in overtime, 80-75.

Wilson, a junior from Fredericksburg, Texas, grabbed 15 offensive boards and 24 total to break the school record established earlier this year when junior Jessica Barbosa (Bissai, Guinea Bissai) brought down 21 at Midwestern State on Jan. 11. Wilson also added 15 points in the loss to the Mustangs (8-15, 5-10 Lone Star Conference) for her ninth double-double of the year and her third-straight.

Junior guard Soteria Banks (Round Rock, Texas) led the Rattlers (11-11, 10-8 Lone Star) with 21 points, while Wilson added three blocked shots to tie her season high. Both senior Alexia Torres (San Antonio) and Briley Perkins (Houston) had two steals each.

After shooting just 18.5 percent in the first half, Western New Mexico shot a blistering 59.4 percent in the second half to come back from a 14-point deficit to knot the game and force overtime. St. Mary's shot 33 percent for the game, but only 10.7 percent (3-for-28) from beyond the arc – and they were 0-for-10 in the fourth quarter and overtime.

St. Mary's tallied a season-high 61 rebounds and out-rebounded the Mustangs 61-to-42 for the game. In addition to Wilson's 24 rebounds, freshman Sydney Hardeman (Allen, Texas) also notched a career-high with eight.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Rattlers jumped out to a 7-0 lead with four by Barbosa and three by Wilson before the Mustangs broke onto the scoreboard with a pair of free throws at the 4:57 mark. StMU scored four more for the 11-2 tally and the defense held WNMU without a field goal until the 1:11 point of the first quarter. The teams traded layups and the Mustangs scored the final six of the stanza for the 13-10 score.

StMU scored the first four of the second quarter behind a traditional three-point play by Torres to stretch the lead back to seven, 17-10 with 7:38 remaining. After a basket by the Mustangs, the Rattlers used its longest run of the first half scoring nine straight to take a 26-12 lead with 1:23 to go. WNMU responded with five straight, but Wilson made the final basket of the half for the 28-17 tally. Nine different Rattlers scored in the first 20 minutes, while the Mustangs had 15 of their 17 points by just two players.

The Mustangs scored the first nine points of the third quarter before Wilson sank a pair of free throws and Banks followed with a jumper in the paint to keep the lead at six, 32-26. A triple by the Mustangs cut the lead in half, and the teams traded jumpers to keep it a four-point game, 36-32 with 5:09 left. Hardeman drained one of her two three's on the night and Wilson followed with a layup to push the advantage out to nine, 41-32 with 2:31 on the clock. Five straight by WNMU made it again a four-point game and the teams exchanged triples and jumpers for the 46-42 score at the end of the third quarter.

After the teams traded baskets to start the final quarter, the Mustangs hit a three to close within one, 48-47. Hardeman made both free throw attempts and WNMU scored the next 10 to take a seven-point lead, 57-50 with 3:52 left. Trailing 63-56 with 1:31 remaining, the Rattlers scored nine of the final 11 in the game to force overtime. Banks scored five of the final nine.

The Mustangs won the opening tip in the extra period and took it in for a layup and led for the entirety, scoring the first nine points. With 32 seconds on the clock, the Rattlers cut it to two on a Banks basket for the 77-75 score, but the Mustangs made three of their four free throw attempts to secure the win.

TEAM & INDIVIDUAL PLAYER NOTES

• Hannah Wilson recorded a career-best and school-record 24 rebounds in the game. The 24 rebounds are also the most in the Lone Star Conference this season.
• Soteria Banks topped the 20-point scoring milestone for the ninth time in 2019-20 and the 17^th time of her career.
• The 61 rebounds by St. Mary's ties for third on the school's single-game record book. It is the third time in school history the team has grabbed 61 boards in a contest. The record is 64 against Huston-Tillotson from Nov. 25, 2000.
• Wilson recorded her third-straight double-double, the ninth of the season and her 16^th of her career with 15 points and 24 rebounds. She also tied her season-high with three blocked shots.
• Sydney Hardeman recorded a career-high eight rebounds, bettering her previous mark of six from at Cameron on Jan. 9.

UP NEXT
The Rattlers remain at home, hosting Texas-Permian Basin on Saturday at 2 p.m. UTPB lost at St. Edward's 78-62 earlier in the evening.