KINGSVILLE, Texas – The St. Mary's Women's Basketball team completed the season sweep over Texas A&M-Kingsville on Thursday evening with a 55-48 victory in Kingsville.
Junior
Hannah Wilson (Fredericksburg, Texas) led the Rattlers (10-10, 9-7 Lone Star Conference) with a career-high 21 points and 10 rebounds, tallying her seventh double-double of the season. Junior
Soteria Banks (Round Rock, Texas) also scored in double digits with 12 points as the Rattlers won their fourth-straight against the Javelinas (4-14, 3-13 Lone Star).
Wilson scored 12 of her 21 in the second half as the Rattlers pulled away from the Javelinas. Senior
Alexia Torres (San Antonio) led the team with both four steals and four assists.
The Rattlers shot a season-best 92.3 percent from the free throw line (12-of-13) and 38.5 percent from the floor for the game. The team struggled from the three-point line, making just 3-of-14 attempts (21.4 percent). St. Mary's also out-rebounded Kingsville 33-to-28, the fourth-straight game the Rattlers have had the same amount or more boards than the opponent – and the 11
th time in the last 12 contests.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams combined for just 19 points in the opening quarter as the Javelinas held a slight 11-8 edge at the end of 10 minutes. TAMUK scored the first four before Banks got the Rattlers on the scoreboard with a jumper at the 5:25 mark for the 4-2 score. After a Javelinas layup, Baker made a pair of free throws to cut it to two again, 6-4. The teams traded free throws and Wilson scored a layup on an inbounds pass for the first tie, 8-8 but with three seconds left, the Javelinas managed a traditional three-point play for the 11-8 lead.
The Rattlers came out firing at the beginning of the second quarter, scoring the first eight points for the 16-11 lead. Junior
Jessica Barbosa (Bissai, Guinea Bissai) scored half of those. After a TAMUK triple, Wilson scored five straight to push the advantage to seven, 21-14 with 5:29 on the clock. The Javelinas made another trey, but the Rattlers poured in seven straight for the 28-17 lead at 3:18. TAMUK scored seven of the final nine points of the half, with Torres getting the lone StMU basket for the 30-24 halftime tally. Wilson led the team with nine points and five rebounds in the first 20 minutes.
Freshman
Briley Perkins (Houston, Texas) scored the first five points of the third quarter for the Rattlers with three points for the Javelinas sandwiched between her shots for the 35-27 score at 6:36. The teams traded baskets and the Javelinas scored four straight to pull within four, 37-33 with 1:52 on the clock. The Rattlers responded with five straight to push the advantage back to nine, 42-33 with 45 clicks left.
After two TAMUK free throws to kick off the final stanza, Banks nailed a layup. The teams again traded baskets to keep it an eight-point game, 46-38. The Javelinas posted four straight, but Wilson answered with four of her own to make it 50-41. After one TAMUK free throw, Wilson scored again to give her a career-high 21. The Javelinas scored five to cut the lead in half, but Banks nailed both free throws with 37 ticks remaining for the 54-47 score. Each team made one free throw for the 55-48 final.
TEAM & INDIVIDUAL PLAYER NOTES
- Soteria Banks now ranks 10th on the St. Mary's career list with 112 three-pointers, passing Arysia Porter (2015-2019), who made 111 in her standout career.
- Hannah Wilson also moved onto the career charts in the win and is now tied with Linda Gladney for 10th all-time with 596 rebounds.
- The double-double for Wilson was the seventh of the season for the junior and the 15th of her career. All seven this year have come against Lone Star Conference opponents and it is her second against TAMUK.
- Christina Baker tied her career-high with seven rebounds, doing so for the third time this season.
- The Rattlers shot 92.3 percent from the free throw line, making 12-of-13 attempts in the game. It is the highest percentage of the season (minimum 10 attempts). The team has now made 10 or more free throws in the last three games.
UP NEXT
The Rattlers look to complete the season sweep against their second-straight opponent on Saturday afternoon when they play in Laredo at Texas A&M-International at 2 p.m. The Gold & Blue then return home to host Western New Mexico on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and Texas-Permian Basin at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
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