FRISCO, Texas — After being outscored 34-15 through the first 14 minutes by No. 6 West Texas A&M University, the St. Mary's University Women's Basketball team went on a 31-6 run of its own through the next 13 minutes in the quarterfinals of the Lone Star Conference Tournament on Friday afternoon at the Comerica Center to take a 46-40 lead with 2:50 left in the third quarter, however WT senior Kailey Motschenbacher took over for the Lady Buffs (27-3) in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 of the team's 20 points as they held on for a 66-62 win over the seventh-seeded Rattlers.
Senior
Aina Maynou (Cabrera de Mar, Spain) led a quartet of Rattlers (16-11) in double-figure scoring with a game-high 19 points, while junior
Brianna Vargas (El Paso, Texas) provided a massive spark off the bench with 13 points on the strength of three triples. Senior
Quezia Bertoni (Sao Paulo, Brazil) scored 11 and led the team with five assists, and sophomore
Raynne Malik (London, Ontario) chipped in 11 points and recorded a team-high six rebounds. Sophomore forward
Christin Callens (Houston) led the team with three steals.
Vargas sparked the comeback in the second quarter for the Rattlers, scoring eight straight points in a 70-second span from 5:17 to 4:07. Malik scored buckets on either end of Vargas' streak to cut a 19-point deficit to seven. Vargas' 13 points are the most for the junior since she tallied 15 in the season-opener.
Motschenbacher and Taylor Haggan paced the Lady Buffs with 15 points each, while Randi Harding scored 13 and Kyla Kane added 12. Haggan also scored the 1,000th point of her career in the contest. Motschenbacher and Claire Graham tied for game-high honors with seven rebounds each. The Lady Buffs will face third-seeded UT Tyler in the semifinals after the Patriots defeated Angelo State, 64-57, in the first game on Friday.
The Rattlers end the 2025-26 campaign with a 16-11 record and say goodbye to Bertoni,
Imani Ivery (Houston),
Brooke Kleinig (Adelaide, South Australia), Maynou and
Sian Phipps (Houston).
