PUTTING IN THE WORK

The Lady Rattlers have put in the work this offseason, hoping to improve from last season.

With a number of players working out during the offseason, Junior guard Ezra Tobias said she is happy with the team’s progress.

“It’s going pretty good for the girls that are here,” Tobias said. “We are just practicing our defense. Our height is at a minimum, but if we can work on our defense and communication, we should be good.”

Sophomore guard and forward Azariah Fennell is already seeing improvements.

“We are definitely going to be better,” Fennell said. “Last year we were known as a ‘young team,’ but this year, having all played and developed, it’s more of working on the IQ part. We are learning more offensively, defensively, communicating and understanding both the plays and how we are developing.”

While the returning starters from last year’s team have been working on improving skills, many of the incoming freshman players from both Miller and Goodnight Middle schools are getting their first taste of varsity basketball.

Despite the leap in competition, sophomore Melayna Perkins is seeing the young players handle the adjustment quite well.

“The upcoming freshmen have been coming up here, trying to learn how we do things,” Perkins said. “They are realizing how different high school basketball is, compared to middle school basketball. But they are adjusting to the change and growing to our level of basketball.”

For the varsity players, one of the areas of improvement the Lady Rattlers are working on is improving their knowledge of the game.

“We need to grow our basketball IQ,” Tobias said. “We were young last year but now that we are working on our defense and gelling together, we understand how each other plays. The more we communicate through the offseason and figure out how each of us works offensively and defensively, will benefit our IQ.”

By working on their basketball IQ, the Lady Rattlers will look to expand their game.

“It’s all about finding angles and talking with each other,” Tobias said. “We need to be aware of where the ball is. Some people need to develop their IQ, but playing the game of basketball you can find out the angles and think quickly on your feet during certain situations.”

Another important element the Lady Rattlers have been improving on is communication.

With San Marcos struggling with communicating with each other last season, the Lady Rattlers hope the improvement will pay dividends, especially on defense.

“Being a defensive player, communication is key,” Fennell said. “If no one is talking to me on defense and I get caught up in a screen, I could get hurt, or the player I’m defending ends up scoring. Communication keeps us on the same page and in the game.”

On the offensive side of the ball, San Marcos is working on shooting the ball as well.

“Shooting has been a big thing I’ve been working on,” Tobias said. “I’m one of the smaller players so when I go into the hole, it can be hard. I just want to be able to drive and shoot.”

Fennell has also been working on her offensive prowess being one of the guards on the team.

“Definitely shooting and ball handling,” Fennell said. “Being one of the taller point guards who handles and plays a lot more minutes, I’ve been working on my shooting and my offensive game plan.”

As for Perkins, the upcoming sophomore has been working on dribbling the ball when working in the paint.

“I’ve been working on my ball handling skills,” Perkins said. “I’m a taller guard, but I also play down low a lot. I’ve been working on my ball handling skills because I’ll be playing more up court this year. I want to be able to make moves and go to the basket, while racking up points.”

San Marcos will take the court this November with the team’s schedule yet to be released.

cmcwilliams@sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc