SMHS GIRLS BASKETBALL
Playing their first home game in a month, the Lady Rattlers gave the hometown crowd a show as San Marcos defeated the Schertz Clemens Buffaloes 63-30.
The Lady Rattlers improve to 15-7 overall and 3-0 in district play. Clemens falls to 7-17 overall and 0-4 in district play. “Being on the road for so long, to being able to come back home and be able to string together another home win tonight, it’s great to be back home,” Head Coach Cooper Haralson said. “It’s been over a month and you get accustomed to playing on the road. Truthfully we hadn’t been playing our best basketball so it’s good to come back and feel the excitement, especially with Junior High, all the cheerleaders and everybody in the crowd being here for the girls.
“It was great to get back home and be on our court and hear that in the stands and everything like that. We played much better basketball tonight.”
The Lady Rattlers dominated the Buffaloes on defense, holding Clemens to just one made field goal in the first half.
At halftime, San Marcos led Clemens 22-5.
The key for San Marcos’ success on defense against Clemens was the Lady Rattlers’ ability to prepare off the court through game film and practice .
“We studied them before they stepped on the court,” senior Melayna Perkins said. “Being able to learn their plays and learn what they’re trying to do so that defensively we can stop that.”
For senior Rianna Garcia, identifying the Buffaloes best shooters and ball handlers helped the Lady Rattlers shut down the Clemens offense.
“We had a lot of good stops,” Garcia said. “We learned some of their weaknesses, who’s a shooter and who’s the ball handler.”
San Marcos continued their domination over Clemens into the second half as the Lady Rattlers coasted to the win 6330.
Junior Rileigh Good led the team in scoring with 19 points followed by senior Azariah Fennell with 11 points. Perkins was third in scoring with 10 points.
The Lady Rattlers boast one of the best defenses in District 29, holding district opponents to an average of 37.6 points per game, the second-lowest in the district behind stateranked Converse Judson.
With San Marcos beginning the back half of their district schedule with East Central, Judson and Cibolo Steele on the horizon, being consistent on defense will be important for the Lady Rattlers, who are trying to win their first district championship in over a decade.
“For us, it’s all about consistency with our communication,” Haralson said. “When the consistency is there with the communication, everybody’s talking to each other, and we know where we’re at on the court, it becomes a lot easier to play great defense. It’s committing to that and committing to each other that you’re gonna talk., “It’s one of the things we haven’t been as consistent with. It was great to see us be more consistent tonight, and obviously led to a pretty good defensive performance so I’m proud of the girls.”
Senior guard Rianna Garcia takes the ball down the court in the Lady Rattlers win over Schertz Clemens. San Marcos held the Buffaloes to just one field goal in the first half. Daily Record photo by Gerald Castillo
San Marcos goes back on the road Friday night as the Lady Rattlers take on the San Antonio East Central Hornets. The Hornets are coming off a 56-36 loss to Cibolo Steele last Tuesday, entering the game with a 16-10 overall record and a 1-2 district record.
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Friday at East Central High School.
DISTRICT STANDINGS
Cibolo Steele 4-0 [310] Converse Judson 3-0 [21-4] San Marcos 3-0 [15-7] East Central 1-2 [1610] Johnson 1-3 [5-17] NB Canyon 0-3 [16-8] Schertz Clemens 0-4 [7-17]
Junior Rileigh Good knocks down the threepointer in the Lady Rattlers win over Schertz Clemens. Good led the team in scoring with 19 points. Daily Record photo by Gerald Castillo
\\Senior forward Melayna Perkins makes the layup despite the contact in the Lady Rattlers win over Clemens. Perkins was third in scoring with 10 points. Daily Record photo by Gerald Castillo
