AUSTIN – Knowing their careers are coming to a close, St. Mary's seniors
Mya Culiver and
Hannah Wilson did whatever it took on Wednesday to lift the Rattlers' Women's Basketball team to a 70-66 victory at St. Edward's.
Culiver, from Rockwall, Texas scored 11 points including two free throws with 16 seconds left to seal the victory, while Wilson, a forward from Fredericksburg, Texas scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. Culiver also tied for game-high honors with four assists and scored four of her 11 points in the final 1:33.
Sophomores
Briley Perkins (Houston) and
Tonia Bilic (Zagreb, Croatia) also both scored in double figures for the Rattlers (5-7, 5-7 Lone Star Conference) as Perkins scored 14 thanks to four three-pointers, while Bilic missed her career high by one point with 10. It is the first time in 2020-21 the Blue & Gold have had four players record double figures in scoring.
St. Mary's shot a season-best 48.2 percent in the game, as well as a season-high 58.3 percent from the three-point line (7-for-12). The 44 rebounds by StMU are also the second-highest total of the year.
The Hilltoppers (6-9, 6-9 Lone Star) also had four players score in double figures in their final home game of the year. McCall Hampton led the way with 15 points, while Sammie Dufek grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
The Rattlers shot 57.7 percent from the field in the first half, making 15-of-26 from the floor and 5-of-9 from the three-point line. It is the highest shooting percentage of any half for the Rattlers this season by over 10 percent, eclipsing the 47.6 from the second half at Texas-Tyler on Jan. 27. Wilson led all scorers with 13 points, while Perkins drilled three triples for nine points.
St. Mary's jumped out to the early 18-3 advantage and had a 21-8 lead after the first quarter. The Hilltoppers scored the first nine points of the second stanza to cut the StMU lead to eight, 23-15 before Wilson stopped the streak with a layup. St. Edward's continued to chip away, eventually knotting the score at 29-29 with 3:17 remaining. The teams went back-and-forth with Perkins scoring the last basket with a minute left to give the Rattlers a 39-38 lead at the break.
Both teams struggled a bit in the third quarter as they combined for only 22 points, 12 by SEU and 10 for StMU. The pace picked back up for the final stanza and the seniors for the Rattlers took over, scoring 18 of the team's 21 points.
St. Mary's plays its final two games of the season at Oklahoma Christian on Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m.
INDIVIDUAL PLAYER & TEAM NOTES
- Hannah Wilson scored a career-high 22 points and brought down a game-high 11 rebounds. It is her sixth double-double of the season and her fifth in a row. Wilson is the only player in the Lone Star Conference averaging a double-double this year.
- Wilson's 22 points surpass her previous career high of 21 from Feb. 7, 2020 against Texas A&M-Kingsville. It is the third time in her career she's scored 20 or more points.
- For the first time this season and the first time since March 3, 2020, the Rattlers had four players score in double figures.
- Briley Perkins has made multiple three-pointers in five straight games and she's sunk four in four of the last five games.
- Sophomore Natalia Ryng (Gdynia, Poland) blocked a career-best three shots. She entered the season with five swats.
