Women's Basketball Looks to Rebound in Oklahoma

This Week in Rattlers Basketball

at Cameron • Thursday, January 16 • 5:30 p.m.
St. Mary's (7-7, 3-5)
Head Coach: Valerie Huizar (62-70)
at Cameron (2-11, 0-9)
Head Coach: Jeff Mahoney (26-44) 
Broadcast: FloCollege. 

at Oklahoma Christian • Saturday, January 18 • 1 p.m.
St. Mary's (7-7, 3-5)
Head Coach: Valerie Huizar (62-70)
at Oklahoma Christian (6-7, 3-6)
Head Coach: Markeith Brown (20-45) 
Broadcast: FloCollege. 

 

Hitting the Panhandle State: St. Mary's wraps up a four-game road swing in Oklahoma this week, playing at Cameron on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. before facing Oklahoma Christian on Saturday afternoon. This is the first road trip in Lone Star Conference play this season that hasn't featured at least one nationally-ranked team.

Series History with Cameron: The Rattlers hold a 10-6 advantage in the all-time series with the Aggies, but Cameron has won the last three, dating back to the 2022-23 season. All three losses have been by single digits, including a two-point, 62-60 the last time the team's played in Lawton on Dec. 10, 2022.

Scouting the Aggies: Cameron features one of the top players in the Lone Star Conference in Shamica Smith. The senior ranks in the top 10 in the league in scoring (14.8), rebounds (9.3), double-doubles (6), field goal percentage (51.7), and free throw percentage (84.1). Kennedy Cummings leads the Aggies in assists (3.9), while Mercedes Mancha leads with 1.1 steals per game. The Aggies are 2-11 overall and searching for their first win in league action.

Series History with Oklahoma Christian: Saturday marks the 27th game in the series between the Eagles and the Rattlers and each team has won 13 games, though OC has won the last six in a series that dates back to 1982. The Eagles have won seven of the 11 games at Oklahoma Christian, including the last three.

Scouting the Eagles: Oklahoma Christian is 6-7 on the season with a 3-6 mark against Lone Star foes, and both teams are 1-3 against common opponents. Taylor Jackson leads the team with 14.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, though she hasn't played since Jan. 3. Kate Bradley is second on the team with 13.7 points per game and leads the team with 2.7 assists, while Ciara Harris leads in steals (1.5).

In the Record Books: The 67 combined points on Saturday at UT Tyler (31-37) are the fewest points scored in St. Mary's Women's Basketball history, breaking the previous record of 75 (27-48) at Texas A&M-Kingsville on Jan. 24, 1978. The old mark for a Division II contest was 78 (40-38) at Newman on Jan. 28, 2010. Four times this season the Rattlers have scored more than the two teams managed on Saturday.

Crashing the Boards: In each of the last three games, one of the St. Mary's freshman forwards has recorded double digits in rebounds. Raynne Malik brought down 13 in the win over Texas A&M International on Jan. 5 and followed it up with a career-best 15 at Texas Woman's on Thursday. Christin Callens posted a career-high 10 at UT Tyler on Saturday. The pair are combining to average over 13 boards per game, and 14 per contest against LSC foes.

Seeing I's: Junior guard Imani Ivery was the only Rattler to score in double figures last week, leading the game with 14 points at #14 UT Tyler. Ivery nailed four three-pointers, including a 3-for-3 performance in the third quarter as she tallied nine of the team's 16 points. 

Doubled Up: For the first time this season a Rattler recorded a double-double as freshman Raynne Malik scored 13 and grabbed 13 rebounds in the win over Texas A&M International on Jan. 5. She scored six of her points in OT, hitting all four of her free throw tries, and blocked a shot with 2:10 left that led to a pair of free throws and the lead, which the Rattlers never relinquished.

Magic Number=40: St. Mary's is a perfect 7-0 this season when shooting 40 percent or better for the game and 0-7 when connecting on less than 40 percent. 

Double or Nothing: St. Mary's has recorded double figure offensive rebounds in 13 of the 14 games this season. The lone game without was Thursday at #2 Texas Woman's, where the Pioneers limited the Rattlers to seven. StMU ranks seventh in the LSC stats with 11.1 offensive boards per game, while both Raynne Malik (6th, 2.7) and Christin Callens (10th, 2.3) rank in the top 10 in the league.

Stop, Thief: Junior Brooke Kleinig tied the season-high for steals in a game with four at #2 Texas Woman's on Thursday. She knotted Christin Callens, who swiped four at Sul Ross State on Nov. 15. Kleinig is tied for the team lead this season with 14 steals with Quezia Bertoni. The pair have combined for 34.6 percent of the thefts this year.

Getting a Charge from Charges: Sophomore Andrea Montesinos has drawn 17 offensive fouls this season and has taken at least one charge in 11 of the 14 games. No one else on the team has more than two charges, though the Rattlers have taken 30 through 14 games, and 10 players have drawn at least one.

Raynne Around the Block: Raynne Malik has made her presence felt underneath the basket early in her career. She has three or more rebounds in all 14 games and has blocked 24 shots, altering multiple shots six times. Malik ranks second in the Lone Star Conference and ranks 29th nationally with 1.85 blocks per game.

Block Party: St. Mary's broke the school's single game record for blocked shots in a game with 12 against Sul Ross State on Dec. 7. Both freshman Raynne Malik and Lena Newby blocked three each, while six others had one swat in the lopsided victory.