Women's Basketball Snaps Skid With 65-56 Win in Portales

PORTALES, N.M. — After suffering a last-second loss on Thursday night, the St. Mary's University Women's Basketball team was not going to allow history to repeat itself on Saturday afternoon and kept their foot on the gas pedal in the fourth quarter to come out with a 65-56 victory at Eastern New Mexico.
 
Senior guard Teanna Huggins (San Antonio) kept calm and focused throughout the game, scoring a career-best 19 points, and led the team with both six rebounds and six assists in lifting the Rattlers to their first win of the season (1-5, 1-1 Lone Star Conference). She betters her previous career-high of 16 from last year's season finale against St. Edward's.
 
Fellow senior Ariah Powell (Detroit, Mich.) added a season-best 13 points, hitting a pair of clutch three-pointers and drawing seven fouls. Newcomers Sian Phipps (Houston), Ramsey Robledo (San Antonio) and Vani Sancho (Baton Rouge, La.) all added seven points. Both Phipps and Sancho scored their seven points in the second half.
 
After shooting just 18 percent from the field in the second quarter, the Rattlers shot 57.1 percent in the second half, going 8-for-14 in each of the final two stanzas.
 
Eastern New Mexico (4-4, 0-2 Lone Star) was led by Deja Adrian with 17 points, while Jamila Nansikombi-Gunter had a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
Huggins hit three-straight baskets in a minute stretch late in the first quarter to give the Rattlers their first lead at 11-10 with 1:25 to play, and they led 13-10 after one period. The Greyhounds doubled up the Rattlers in points in the second quarter, taking a 28-22 lead into the break. The Rattlers starting five scored all 22 of the points as Huggins scored eight and Robledo added five.
 
Both teams struggled from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes as the teams each hit two, combining to go 4-for-22.
 
The Rattlers scored the first four points of the third quarter to cut the deficit to two and ENMU called for an early timeout with 8:21 on the clock. Freshman Taylor Haggan (Parker, Texas) stole a ball and went the length of the court, finding a wide-open Huggins for the first basket, then Haggan got a defensive board on the next possession, leading to a Powell pull-up jumper at the free throw line.
 
The teams continued to go back-and-forth in the third stanza with Phipps providing a spark off the bench. She scored four points with a rebound and a blocked shot in two minutes, helping the Rattlers tie the score at 36-36 with 2:52 on the clock on a pair of free throws by Powell. Sancho was fouled on a three-pointer and made two of the free throws for the 38-to-36 lead at 2:31. The Rattlers stretched the lead to 43-39 at the end of the third.
 
Tied at 51-51 at the midway point of the second half, the Rattlers found another gear – keeping Thursday night's finish in the back of their minds – and scored 14 of the final 19 points for the juxtaposed win, 65-56. Sancho had five points during the stretch, while Haggan added four, Powell hit a big three-pointer and Huggins scored a layup and added two assists.
 
The Rattlers return home to host Midwestern State on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. The game will benefit Jingle Mart, helping foster families afford the holidays. Bring an unwrapped toy and receive free admission to the game.