LUBBOCK, Texas – It may not have gone down as a win in the results column, but the St. Mary's Women's Basketball team has a lot of positives it can take from the 65-50 loss against top-ranked (D2SIDA poll) Lander at Lubbock Christian on Saturday night.
The Rattlers (0-4) started a pair of true freshmen, guard Sarai Estupiñan (Cedar Park, Texas) and forward
Faith Phillips (San Marcos, Texas), for the first time since the 2017-18 season when senior forward
Hannah Wilson (Fredericksburg, Texas) and Soteria Banks were true freshmen.
The freshmen duo, along with true freshman
Ariana Rosado (Round Rock, Texas) each played at least 21 minutes and amassed 27 points, 12 rebounds and four assists between them. Estupiñan scored a career-high 11 points, surpassing her total from the first three games combined, on the strength of three three-pointers. Phillips led the Rattlers with a career-best 14 points – scoring in double figures for the second time – and was second on the team with a career-high seven rebounds and Rosado added two points, three rebounds and an assist.
"Before the game I challenged the team," Head Coach
Jason Martens said. "I wanted to see what this team is made of and I thought they responded by battling tough against a top-five team in the country."
"I told the team afterwards," Martens continued, "'if we have that type of effort and focus every game, we are going to win a lot of games this year.'"
The Rattlers get a chance to win one with the home opener on Tuesday against Saint Martin's. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m.
Wilson tallied her second double-double of the season with 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds and junior guard
Briley Perkins (Houston) added seven points and a team-best four assists. She also had the team's only blocked shot of the evening. Eight of the 11 Rattlers who played recorded one steal.
The Rattlers shot better from the field than the Bearcats (3-1), 33.9 percent to 29.7 percent, however the difference in the game was at the free throw line as LU was 21-for-26, while the Rattlers were just 8-for-11.
INDIVIDUAL PLAYER & TEAM NOTES
- Senior Hannah Wilson tallied her second double-double of the season and the 31st of her career with 12 points and a game- and season-high 15 rebounds.
- Both Faith Phillips (14) and Sarai Estupiñan (11) tallied career-highs in scoring.
- The Rattlers have shot better than the opponent in three of the four games this season, including Saturday, out-shooting the Bearcats 33.9 to 29.7 percent.
- This is the fourth time in the last five seasons the Rattlers have faced a team ranked #1 in at least one of the polls. Lander is #1 in the D2SIDA poll and #3 in the WBCA poll.
