Women's Basketball Hosts Pair of Teams Appearing in WBCA Poll

Thursday, January 11 • Texas Woman's (Back to School Night) • 5:30 p.m.
#16 Texas Woman's (12-3, 6-1)
Head Coach: Beth Jillison (250-206)
at St. Mary's (2-10, 2-4)
Head Coach: Valerie Huizar (51-51)
Arena: Bill Greehey

Saturday, January 13 • UT Tyler • 1 p.m.
#RV UT Tyler (11-2, 3-2)
Head Coach: Rebecca Alvidrez (59-20) 
at St. Mary's (2-10, 2-4)
Head Coach: Valerie Huizar (51-51)
Arena: Bill Greehey

Opening Tip

•    Both opponents for the St. Mary's Women's Basketball team this week are either ranked or receiving votes in the WBCA poll. The Rattlers are in a stretch where four of five opponents are nationally ranked, dating back to Dec. 18 against then-#16 Montana State-Billings.

•    Texas Woman's has won the last four games in the series with St. Mary's to tie the all-time meetings at 12-12. This will be the second-straight meeting inside Bill Greehey Arena as the Pioneers won 52-45 on Feb. 4, 2023.

•    Saturday will be the sixth meeting in the series against UT Tyler and the Rattlers hold a 4-1 advantage. Last year, the Rattlers won a 58-54 thriller in San Antonio where Teanna Huggins stole the inbounds pass as time was winding down to secure the victory.

•    Junior Stina Svilberg became the second Rattler to tally a double-double this season with 10 points and 10 rebounds - both highs at StMU - at Texas A&M Kingsville on Thursday. She joins freshman Taylor Haggan, who has two.

•    The Pioneers and Patriots are the fifth and sixth teams this season StMU has faced that are either receiving votes or ranked in the WBCA national poll. The Rattlers also dropped the season opener to Colorado School of Mines, which was not ranked at the time, but is currently #8 in the country.

•    Eight of the 11 players on the team who have scored 10 or more points this season have scored at least 10 points in one contest. Stina Svilberg became the latest to join the ranks, tallying 10 at Texas A&M Kingsville on Thursday.

•    The Rattlers shooters seem to have found their range, recording back-to-back season highs in three-pointers made. StMU sank seven in Kingsville and then two days later made eight in Laredo.

•    The four freshmen on the team are responsible for 45.8 percent (324 points) of the team's scoring this season, while the six in the senior class are scoring another 42.4 percent (300 points). 

•    St. Mary's ranks first in the Lone Star Conference, and 47th in the nation, in three-point field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to connect on just 26.8 percent from deep. 

•    The Rattlers recorded a season-high 12 steals at Texas A&M International on Saturday, hitting double digits for just the second time all year. The previous high was 11 against Missouri Western back on Nov. 24.

•    St. Mary's is outscoring Lone Star Conference opponents in three of the four quarters this season, but is -41 in the second quarter. The Rattlers are +3 in the first, +14 in the third and +2 in the fourth quarter.

•    Freshman Taylor Haggan currently ranks seventh in the Lone Star Conference in scoring, averaging 15.4 points per game. She is also 10th in rebounds, averaging 7.2 a contest and fifth in field goal percentage, shooting 51%.

•    The win at Eastern New Mexico on Dec. 2 marked the 50th in the career of head coach Valerie Huizar. It is her fourth season as a head coach, and second at St. Mary's.

•    St. Mary's shot 52.6 percent in the win against Midwestern State, the highest shooting percentage in a game since the team shot 56.0 in a win over UAFS on Feb. 17, 2018.

•    Taylor Haggan has scored 20 or more points three times already this season, which is tied for the third-most 20-point games by a freshman in the school's Division II history. Erin Griffin did so seven times in 2000-01, while Soteria Banks accomplished the feat five times in 2017-18 and Briley Perkins did so three times in 2019-20.

•    The Rattlers beat a Division I foe in an exhibition game for the second-straight year, winning 70-64 at UTRGV on Nov 4. A season ago, the Gold and Blue won a thrilling 66-65 decision at Sam Houston State on a last second three-pointer.

•    Freshman forward Taylor Haggan has already put herself among the elite at St. Mary's. She became the first-ever freshman to record double-doubles in her first two collegiate games.

•    Several Rattlers are closing in on career milestones or recently achieved one:

    Taylor Haggan: 15 points from 200; 14 rebounds from 100

    Teanna Huggins: 100th assist at Texas A&M International (104); 3 defensive rebounds shy of 100

    Michaela Kucera: 13 rebounds shy of 100; 17 points shy of 100

    Ariah Powell: 300th point at Texas A&M International (300); 2 rebounds shy of 100 at StMU

    Ramsey Robledo: 19 points shy 100

•    The Rattlers have half the team returning from the 2022-23 season and welcome eight newcomers for a total of 15 players on the roster. Of the eight newcomers, four are freshmen and four are transfers.

•    The Rattlers are now 7-45 since joining the Division II ranks against nationally-ranked foes. The Rattlers fell 71-54 at #25 Texas A&M International last week. The last win against a team in the top-25 came on Nov. 23, 2018 against #1 Central Missouri in double overtime, 101-97. 

•    All seven returners on the team were named to the Lone Star Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll for the spring semester, carrying a minimum GPA of 3.30 for the semester. Michaela Kucera, Alexis Robinson and Natalia Ryng also earned D2 ADA Academic Achievement Awards for having a 3.5 minimum cumulative GPA.