Women's Basketball Leaves Texas for a Pair

Thursday, February 15 • at Oklahoma Christian • 5:30 p.m.
St. Mary's (4-18, 4-12)
Head Coach: Valerie Huizar (53-59)
at Oklahoma Christian (3-18, 2-15)
Head Coach: Markeith Brown (11-36)
Arena: Payne Athletic Center

Saturday, February 17 • at UAFS • 1 p.m.
St. Mary's (4-18, 4-12)
Head Coach: Valerie Huizar (53-59)
at UAFS (8-15, 6-11)
Head Coach: Ryan McAdams (25-51) 
Arena: Gayle Kaundart Arena at Stubblefield Center

Opening Tip

•    The St. Mary's Women's Basketball team remains on the road for another pair, playing at Oklahoma Christian on Thursday and at UAFS on Saturday afternoon.

•    Last week, the Rattlers played their ninth game of the season against a team either ranked or receiving votes in the WBCA poll, falling to ninth-ranked Texas Woman's after starting the week with a loss at UT Tyler. TWU is the highest-ranked team on the docket this season.

•    In the first meeting with Oklahoma Christian, the Rattlers dropped a close, 75-71 decision. StMU jumped out to a 10-point lead after the first quarter, but the Eagles outscored them in the final three quarters. Senior Ariah Powell hit the 20-point milestone to lead the Rattlers, while Stina Svilberg scored 12. Teanna Huggins scored nine, had seven rebounds, seven assists and one steal. OC was led by Brooklin Bain with 24 points, 15 rebounds and three steals.

•    That victory in January pulled OC within one in the all-time series, 13-12. The Eagles have won the last five games in the series, including back-to-back wins at the Payne Athletic Center.

•    On Jan. 18, the Rattlers pulled off a thrilling comeback win over UAFS after trailing by 13 at halftime. A big reason for the comeback was Taylor Haggan, who scored 16 of her game-high 20 points in the second half and brought down nine of her 10 rebounds after the break. Ariah Powell also scored in double figures with 11. Teanna Huggins led the game with four assists and Haggan tied for game-high honors with three blocks – including one in the final minute to help secure the victory.

•    The win over UAFS brought the Rattlers within one in the all-time series, 13-14. St. Mary's won the last time the two teams met in Fort Smith, a 75-56 victory on Jan. 12, 2023.

•    The Rattlers have made a marked improvement from last season at the free throw line. A year ago, StMU shot just .652 at the charity stripe (337-517), ranking 250th out of 294 teams. This year the Rattlers are making .723 of their free throw attempts (248-343), an increase of 7.1 percent and a jump to 108th in the county out of 291 teams.

•    Freshman Taylor Haggan scored the 300th point of her career at TWU on Saturday, becoming the fifth freshman in the school's Division II history to score 300 points in their first season. The record for points by a freshman is held by both Erin Griffin (2000-01) and Gabby Elliott (2022-23). Haggan is 61 shy of tying the mark of 365 with six games remaining.

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

    Reyelle Frazier: 9 rebounds from 100

    Taylor Haggan: 300th point at TWU (304)

    Teanna Huggins: 12 points from 400 

    Michaela Kucera: 8 rebounds shy of 100; 12 points shy of 100

    Ariah Powell: 14 points shy of 400; 5 assists shy of 100

    Ramsey Robledo: 25th triple at TWU (25); 15 rebounds shy of 100

    Natalia Ryng: 15 points shy of 400

    Stina Svilberg: 23 rebounds shy 100

•    Freshman Taylor Haggan recorded the fifth double-double of her career in the win over Texas A&M Kingsville with 19 points and 13 rebounds, both of which led the game.

•    For the first time since Dec. 8, 2018, the Rattlers had two players hit the 20-point scoring milestone in the same game when both Taylor Haggan and Ariah Powell tallied 21 at Angelo State on Jan. 25. The last contest was also against Angelo State as Kaitlin Walla scored 23 and Soteria Banks scored 20 in a 70-64 win.

•    Taylor Haggan has scored 20 or more points six times this season, which is the second-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.

•    The four freshmen on the team are responsible for 45.9 percent (583 points) of the team's scoring this season, while the six in the senior class are scoring another 39.4 percent (500 points). 

•    Senior Teanna Huggins ranks ninth in the Lone Star Conference averaging 3.2 assists per game. Six times this year she's recorded five or more assists in a game.

•    Freshman Taylor Haggan currently ranks 14th in the Lone Star Conference in scoring, averaging 13.8 points per game, which is good for second among freshmen. She is also 10th in rebounds, averaging 7.1 a contest and eighth in field goal percentage, shooting 47.2%.

•    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.

•    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.

•    The Rattlers are now 7-47 since joining the Division II ranks against nationally-ranked foes. The last win against a team in the top-25 came on Nov. 23, 2018 against #1 Central Missouri in double overtime, 101-97.