Pivotal Games on Tap for Women's Basketball This Week

This Week in Rattlers Basketball
Game #21 • Home Game #12 • UT Permian Basin • Thursday, February 12 • 5:30 p.m.
Notes & Connections
•    The Rattlers are looking to snap a five-game losing skid to the Falcons and win their first-ever against UTPB since joining the Lone Star Conference.
•    Only three games among the 33 in the series have not been conference or conference tournament games, and all three were in Lubbock at the Arbor Hotels Classic from 2016-18.
•    The Thursday game features two of the top four field goal percentage defensive teams in the LSC with StMU 2nd (.356) and UTPB 4th (.365). Both rank in the top 50 in NCAA Division II.
•    The Falcons are a well-balanced team as only Madison Walters ranks among the top 250 in the DII stats in steals per game with 1.91.
•    UT Permian Basin is one spot ahead of the Rattlers in the LSC standings in eighth, holding the final LSC Playoff spot.
On This Date: Feb. 12
•    StMU is 13-5 all-time in games played on Feb. 12.
•    The Rattlers and Falcons have never met on this date.
•    StMU is 2-2 against current LSC teams on the 12th, and all four are against St. Edward's.

Game #22 • Home Game #13 • Angelo State • Saturday, February 14 • 1 p.m.
Notes & Connections
•    Saturday marks the 60th meeting between the Rattlers and Rambelles, dating back to the first season of women's basketball at StMU (1977-78).
•    Sophomore Peyton Stellato transferred to StMU from Angelo State.
•    Angelo State sophomore Taylor Grona hails from nearby Fredericksburg.
•    The game will feature the top two shot blockers in the Lone Star Conference in ASU senior Keniah Williams and StMU sophmore Raynne Malik. Williams averages 2.56/game, while Malik is at 2.30/game.
•    ASU sophomore guard Majik Esquivel has taken more shots this season than any other player in the Lone Star with 296 attempts, almost 100 more than anyone on the StMU roster.
On This Date: Feb. 14
•    StMU is 7-9 on Valentine's Day, and is looking for its first win at home (0-5).
•    In 2022, Angelo State won 89-65 against St. Mary's at Bill Greehey Arena.
•    StMU is 1-3 against current LSC teams on the 14th.

 

Busy Stretch: After playing three games in five days, the St. Mary's Women's Basketball team has two days off before hosting UT Permian Basin on Thursday at Angelo State on Saturday, the two teams directly above them in the playoff hunt in the Lone Star Conference (UT Dallas is not eligible for postseason play). Thursday will be Faculty Appreciation Night, while Saturday will be Senior Day, with the five seniors on the roster being honored prior to tip.

Oh, So Close: The Rattlers went 1-2 during the busy start to February, and the two losses came by a combined three points. Sandwiched between was a 20-point blowout at Texas A&M-Kingsville. The 39 points are the fewest scored by TAMUK against a Lone Star opponent this season and the fewest scored by a St. Mary's opponent this year.

Tough Defense: St. Mary's has limited its last two opponents to only 45 field goal attempts in 40 minutes. It is the lowest total shots for any StMU foe in 2025-26. The Rattlers rank second in the Lone Star Conference and 27th nationally in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to 35.6 percent. 

Surpassing 600: Both senior Aina Maynou and sophomore Christin Callens notched the 600th points of their respective careers last week. Maynou hit the milestone at St. Edward's on Monday with her sixth point, and went on to score a career-best 20 points, while Callens surpassed 600 at Texas A&M International on Thursday and now has 627 after scoring in double figures in each of the three games.

Sultana of Swats: With her blocked shot at Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday, sophomore Raynne Malik became the fifth player in St. Mary's history with 100 blocks in a career, and she now stands with 102 after swatting two at St. Edward's on Monday. Malik currently ranks second in the Lone Star Conference and 10th in the nation with 2.30 blocks per game. Her 46 blocked shots this season are already tied for sixth in school history with Morgan Pullins (2014-15) and Hannah Wilson (2021-22).

Triple or Nothing: Junior Allie Garcia has quietly amassed a streak of 15 straight games with at least one three-pointer. The Australian has scored in double figures in seven straight and in eight of the last nine games for the Rattlers. Garcia ranks second on the team, averaging 10.3 points per game, while Christin Callens leads the squad with 11.3 a night.

Doubled Up: Sophomore Raynne Malik became the first Rattler this season to record a double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in the win over UT Dallas. It is the sixth double-double of her career and the 11 points are a season high, while she tied her season high with the 13 boards.

Helping Hand: St. Mary's recorded a season-high tying 18 assists in the team's 66-43 win at Oklahoma Christian on Thursday. Twelve of the 13 Rattlers recorded at least one dime in the game, led by a team-high three from senior Quezia Bertoni. 

For the Highlight Reel: Twice this season, senior Aina Maynou has drained long three-pointers at the buzzer to end the first quarter. Maynou nailed a half-court shot in the team's 79-67 win over Western New Mexico on Dec. 4, and then pulled up well behind the arc to drain a shot as time expired in the first period at Oklahoma Christian on Jan. 22. Maynou is tied for the team lead with 24 triples this season, knotting Allie Garcia.

Getting to the Line: Senior Quezia Bertoni has made at least one free throw in nine of the last 10 games, and is 27-for-29 (.931) over that stretch. For the season, Bertoni is shooting 86.7 percent from the charity stripe, making 39 of her 45 attempts. She doesn't meet the minimum requirements (2.5 makes/game) to rank in the LSC statistics.

They're Smart Too: The Lone Star Commissioner's Honor Roll for the fall semester was released on Jan. 20, 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.

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 six with 10 or more, and has three others with five or more. All 15 players on the roster have attempted at least one triple, and the team has made 140, 19 more than their opponents (121) through the first 20 games. The school record for triples in a season is 211 by the 2019-20 team.

League Leaders: St. Mary's leads the Lone Star Conference in blocked shots (4.4), ranking 24th in all of Division II. The Rattlers also ranks second in the LSC in defensive rebounds per game (27.0) and field goal percentage defense (35.6), and are third in scoring defense (57.2).

Middle of the Pack: St. Mary's was selected to finish in the middle of the pack in the LSC 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. 

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.