KINGSVILLE, Texas – The St. Mary's Women's Basketball defense held Texas A&M-Kingsville scoreless over the final 4:11 of the contest on Thursday evening to pick up its first win of the year, 58-49.
The Rattlers (1-4, 1-4 Lone Star Conference) also forced two crucial shot clock violations in the final 3:27 of the first half and out-rebounded the Javelinas (3-4, 3-4 Lone Star) 42-31 to win their fifth-straight against TAMUK.
St. Mary's used a balanced scoring attack as both senior
Mya Culiver (Rockwall, Texas) and sophomore
Briley Perkins (Houston) led the way with 14 points, while sophomore
Brianna Ford (San Antonio) added 10 and senior
Hannah Wilson (Fredericksburg, Texas) narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and a game-high 14 rebounds. All seven players who played more than 10 minutes in the game scored two or more points and had at least one rebound.
Culiver and Ford each had three assists to pace the team, while Ford and senior
Audrey Wandji (Houston) each had a pair of steals.
Ford didn't waste any time for the Rattlers, grabbing the opening tip and taking it in for a layup. The Blue & Gold held the lead the entire first quarter, ending with a 13-9 lead. The Javelinas scored eight of the first 10 points of the second stanza, but the Rattlers responded with nine of the next 11 and entered the locker room at halftime up six, 27-21.
Kingsville outscored St. Mary's 17-14 in the third quarter, thanks in part to three three-pointers from freshman Janessa Payne. She ended the contest with a game- and career-high 18 points. The two clubs went back-and-forth through the first half of the fourth quarter until the Rattlers defense held TAMUK scoreless over the last 4:11 and scored six points during that same period to push the final score to 58-49, the team's largest lead of the day.
The Javelinas never led by more than two points despite there being nine lead changes and six ties on the night.
The two clubs take to the court on Saturday at 3 p.m. inside Bill Greehey Arena on the campus of St. Mary's. The Rattlers are not permitting fans to attend this season, however the game may be viewed on the Lone Star Network.
TEAM & INDIVIDUAL PLAYER NOTES
- St. Mary's has used the same starting lineup in all five games: freshman Brianna Ford, sophomores Briley Perkins and Natalia Ryng and seniors Mya Culiver and Hannah Wilson.
- Briley Perkins hit a season-best four three-pointers and has now connected on at least one long ball in her last 11 games.
- Freshman Maya Simon (Corpus Christi, Texas) scored a career-best six points, while Mya Culiver recorded a season-best six rebounds – missing her career mark by one. Hannah Wilson also tallied a season-high with 14 boards, bettering the 13 she had at Lubbock Christian on Dec. 12. Brianna Ford hit double figures in points for the first time in her career, scoring 10 – one more than her previous high of nine from the second game of the year.
- For the first time this season, the Rattlers had three players score in double figures. Both Briley Perkins and Mya Culiver scored 14, while Brianna Ford chipped in 10.
- Hannah Wilson is now in solo possession of fourth place in school history with 81 blocked shots after swatting one on Thursday. She entered the contest tied with Ashton Benford (2005-2009) at 80.
- The Rattlers now hold a one-game edge in the all-time series against Texas A&M-Kingsville. The two teams have met 53 times with StMU owning a 27-26 lead. The Rattlers have also won five straight in the series.
