Women's Basketball Makes the Trek to the Sooner State

This Week in Rattlers Basketball
Game #16 • Road Game #6 • at Oklahoma Christian • Thursday, January 22 • 3 p.m.
Notes & Connections
•    Both Oklahoma Christian and St. Mary's have head coaches who are in their fourth season at the school with Markeith Brown and Valerie Huizar.
•    The all-time series between the teams is knotted at 14-14, though the Eagles have a slight 7-5 edge at The Nest.
•    The Eagles rank second in the nation in free throw attempts/game (27.41) and fourth in free throw makes (17.76), both which lead the LSC, while St. Mary's leads the league in blocks/game (4.5).
•    The Rattlers and Eagles did not play any common opponents in the non-conference season. OC is 3-3, while StMU is 4-2 against common league foes (ENMU, LCU, MSU, SRS, WT, WNMU).
•    The last meeting between the two clubs went overtime, a 74-71 win for OC on Feb. 13, 2025.
On This Date: Jan. 22
•    StMU is 7-6 in games played on Jan. 22 and 2-2 in road games.
•    The Rattlers are 1-1 against teams from Oklahoma on this date but have never faced OC.
•    StMU is 2-3 on Jan. 22 against current LSC teams.

Game #17 • Road Game #7 • at Cameron • Friday, January 23 • 3 p.m.
Notes & Connections
•    St. Mary's holds an 11-7 lead in the all-time series that began in 1982.
•    The Rattlers are 5-1 all-time in Lawton, including a 56-51 victory a season ago.
•    Cameron leading scorer Madison Griggs played at the same high school as StMU MBB senior guard Wayne Wiggins (Mansfield Legacy HS).
•    CU Head Coach Jeff Mahoney and StMU HC Valerie Huizar are both in their fourth season at current school.
•    The Aggies make a league-high 8.1 three-pointers per game, and Madison Griggs leads the LSC in scoring with 18.8 per game, which ranks 25th nationally. 
•    Not surprisingly, CU ranks 14th in the league in bench points, as three starters rank in the top eight in the LSC in minutes played.

STORYLINES

Headed to the Sooner State: The St. Mary's Women's Basketball team heads to Oklahoma to face Oklahoma Christian on Thursday and Cameron on Friday. Both teams are riding a two-game winning streak after defeating Sul Ross State and Western New Mexico last week.

Tough Slate: This week marks the first time in five weeks that the Rattlers will not face a team ranked in the top-10 of the WBCA Coaches Poll. The Rattlers are looking to snap a four-game losing skid, the longest streak of the season.

Pair of Streaks End: Both sophomore forwards Christin Callens and Raynne Malik had a pair of impressive streaks come to an end in last week's games. Callens was held to four points against UT Tyler on Saturday, snapping a 13-game streak of scoring in double figures, while Malik had blocked at least one shot in 15 straight games end against the Patriots.

Take Your Turn: No Rattler has led the team in scoring more than twice in a row this season. Christin Callens (twice) and Quezia Bertoni have each led in back-to-back games. Six different Rattlers have posted the highest in the scoring column this season, as Callens leads with six, Aina Maynou has led four times, Allie Garcia and Bertoni have done so three times, and Imani Ivery and Brianna Vargas have done so once each.

Helping Hand: Senior Quezia Bertoni recorded a career-high six assists on Saturday against UT Tyler. It is the most in a game by a Rattler this season, and betters her previous high of five from Jan. 16, 2025 against Cameron, almost exactly one year apart.

They're Smart Too: The Lone Star Commissioner's Honor Roll for the fall semester was released on Tuesday, and the Rattlers WBB team had 10 named to the list in Quezia Bertoni, Emily Buitron, Allie Garcia, Imani Ivery, Brooke Kleinig, Raynne Malik, Aina Maynou, Andrea Montesinos, Cornelia Petersson, and Peyton Stellato. Both Bertoni and Montesinos had 4.00 GPA's in the fall.

Starting Strong: Since moving to the starting lineup eight games ago, senior Quezia Bertoni has scored in double figures five times and is averaging 10.0 points per game, well above her 5.8 average in her first four games off the bench. The Brazilian is only 26 points from matching last season's total of 129 points (7.2/game).

Crashing the Boards: Sophomore Raynne Malik ranks second in the Lone Star in defensive rebounds per game with 5.4 and fifth in total rebounds with 7.3 per game. She also ranks second in blocks per game with 2.33, though her total of 35 for the season leads the league. She needs two more swats to move into the top-10 in StMU single-season history, as Hannah Wilson (2019-20) currently sits 10th with 37.

On Pace: Last season, the Rattlers tied the school record with seven players connecting on 10 or more three-pointers during the season. This season's team already has three with 10 or more, and has five others with five or more. All 15 players on the roster have attempted at least one triple, and the team has made (103) nine more than their opponents (94) through the first 15 games.

League Leaders: St. Mary's leads the Lone Star Conference in blocked shots (4.5), ranking 23rd in all of Division II. The Rattlers also ranks second in the LSC in defensive rebounds per game (26.9).

Best Start Ever: The 7-0 start for the Rattlers was the best in school history, breaking the previous record of six wins by the 1997-98 team. 

Take Two, They're Free: Sophomore Christin Callens currently ranks fourth in the Lone Star Conference and 84th in NCAA Division II in free throw percentage, shooting 82.6%. Nine times this season, Callens has been perfect at the charity stripe and has made 38-of-46 attempts. 

Malik Magic: Sophomore forward Raynne Malik earned her second Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week award after the Rattlers won the StMU Thanksgiving Classic. Malik blocked seven shots and grabbed 19 rebounds in the two Rattlers wins. Malik added six points per game and fueled a unit that allowed just 27.4 percent shooting over the two contests.

First to Twenty: Junior guard Allie Garcia became the first Rattler this season to top the 20-point scoring milestone, leading the team with 21 points in the one-point win against Western Colorado on Nov. 22. Garcia scored 12 of her 21 points in the fourth quarter, including back-to-back deep three-pointers to regain the lead with 4:17 remaining, and the Rattlers held on for the victory.

Middle of the Pack: St. Mary's has been selected to finish in the middle of the pack in the Lone Star Conference this season, getting voted 10th in the 17-team league. The usual suspects topped the poll in Texas Woman's (20 first-place votes, 810 points), Lubbock Christian (14, 776), UT Tyler (8, 761) and West Texas A&M (6, 663). Eastern New Mexico rounded out the top five with two first-place nods and 657 points. The Rattlers grabbed 438 points for 10th in the poll.