Lady Rattlers fall in thrilling game against Liberty Hill

SMHS GIRLS BASKETBALL

In a playoff-like game, San Marcos dropped a thriller to the No. 13ranked Liberty Hill Panthers 56-54. The Lady Rattlers fall to 10-6 for the season while the Panthers improve to 11-2. “I’m proud of the way the girls fought,” Harlason said. “We had some foul trouble from some girls but I thought other girls were able to step in there, execute, continue to execute and keep us in the game. At the end of the day, the ball bounced late in the fourth quarter a couple more times in their [favor]. There were a couple of and-ones that were able to get up on the glass where they just bounced and went in.”

The thriller saw both teams take leads no larger than six points with 10 lead changes in the game while playing furious basketball.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Lady Rattlers trailed 51-46 but a 6-1 run by San Marcos tied the game at 52-52 with just minutes to go.

But the Panthers were able to get to the free throw line with less than a minute left in the game, making four free throw attempts to seal the win at 56-54.

“At the end of the day, I told the girls when you’re in a game like that, and it’s so tight and you really feel like you should have won the game,” Haralson said. “It was deflating, you know what I mean? But I told them they have tonight to be frustrated about it, get over it, because we have to continue.

“We have another game on Friday and you never want one loss to lead the two because you’re still thinking about the last one. ... It’s back to work tomorrow, prepare for Pieper and continue to work our tails off.”

But the game did see some positives as senior Melayna Perkins surpassed over 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds.

“She’s absolutely earned it,” Harlason said. “She is an absolute gamer. When the lights come on, she’s ready to play and she’s continued to grow as a player since her freshman year. She has not allowed herself to get so frustrated when things aren’t necessarily going her way. She’s gotten better at being able to turn over that next page quicker.

“She’s playing some of the best basketball I’ve seen her play in her career. I think the biggest reason for that is confidence but also the ability to overcome that adversity when things aren’t going her way. She’s able to come out better on the other side. So I’m extremely proud of her. She’s earned it.”

The Lady Rattlers will look to get back in the win column as San Marcos goes on the road Friday night against San Antonio Pieper. The Warriors are coming off a district-opening loss to the New Braunfels Unicorns 40-36. The Lady Rattlers defeated the Unicorns in the season opener 66-39.

Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday at Pieper High School.