SAN ANTONIO – A huge fourth quarter by the St. Mary's Women's Basketball had the entire crowd on its feet on Senior Day, but the Rattlers (13-13, 12-10 Lone Star Conference) came up just short in overtime against St. Edward's (17-10, 13-9 Lone Star), 81-77.
Prior to the game, the Rattlers honored lone senior
Alexia Torres (San Antonio). Torres had four assists to tie for the team lead and now ranks seventh in St. Mary's history with 278 dishes.
Freshman
Briley Perkins (Houston) scored a career-high 27 points behind the strength of five three-pointers, while both juniors
Hannah Wilson (Fredericksburg, Texas) and
Soteria Banks (Round Rock, Texas) posted double-doubles. Wilson scored 10 and grabbed 11 boards before leaving the game in the fourth quarter, while Banks scored 19 and grabbed a career-best 14 rebounds – all on the defensive end of the floor.
Freshman
Tonia Bilic (Zagreb, Croatia) scored a career-high nine points – including the three-pointer with 18.7 seconds left to force overtime. Three different Rattlers swiped two in the game and Banks was the other co-leader in assists with four.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Rattlers scored the first three points of the game with a layup by Wilson and a free throw from Perkins, but the Hilltoppers scored the next 18 for the 18-3 advantage. Hardeman sank a pull-up jumper to snap the streak and after St. Ed's scored, Perkins made another two free throws for the 20-7 score. The Hilltoppers scored the final basket of the half for the 22-7 tally.
St. Mary's scored the first five of the second quarter to cut the deficit to 10. The teams traded baskets and SEU added five in a row for the 29-14 score. After exchanging buckets, Torres and Perkins both scored on layups to close within 11, 31-20. The Hilltoppers answered with two straight baskets and the teams traded to 37-24. St. Ed's scored the final seven of the half for the 44-24 spread.
The teams went back-and-forth the entire third quarter and each scored 15 points. The Hilltoppers led by as many as 26 with 6:43 to go, 52-26, but the Rattlers cut it to 20, 59-39 by the end of the 10 minute period.
After St. Ed's scored the first three of the final stanza, Perkins drained a three. The Hilltoppers posted a layup and it spurred the Rattlers into a 16-0 run to cut the deficit to six, 64-58 with 2:44 remaining. Perkins scored seven and Banks had five during the stretch. After two free throws by SEU, Barbosa sank a pair at the charity stripe, Perkins hit a triple and Bilic hit a three with 18.7 seconds left to knot the score and force overtime. The Rattlers out-scored the Hilltoppers 27-to-7 in the fourth period.
St. Edward's scored the first five of the extra period before Banks answered with a triple. The Hilltoppers scored six straight to push the advantage to eight, 77-69 with 1:41 left. Banks hit a jumper and Perkins made a free throw. After an SEU bucket, Perkins hit another triple, but the Hilltoppers made both free throws for the six-point lead with 4.2 ticks remaining. Bilic hit another shot at the buzzer, but it wasn't enough and the Rattlers fell 81-77.
TEAM & INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Saturday marks the 76th start for Lexi Torres, moving her into a tie for 10th all-time in St. Mary's history. She is also playing in her 109th game.
- Freshman Briley Perkins scored a career-high 27 points, bettering her previous high of 20, which she's done twice.
- Soteria Banks recorded her second double-double of the year with 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. It is the second double-double of Banks' career.
- Hannah Wilson also recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. It is her 11th double-double of the season and the 18th of her career.
- The 27 points scored by the Rattlers in the fourth quarter is tied for the fourth-most in a quarter by the team this season and is the 2nd most in the second half. The most scored in a 10-minute period is 33 in the third against Oklahoma Christian.
UP NEXT
St. Mary's will host Cameron in the first round of the Lone Star Conference Tournament on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
