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The pick-and-roll couldn’t be stopped.
The connection between junior guard Kayla Presley and Second Team all-district returner Grace Latham worked to perfection all night long as the two completed several pick-and-rolls on the night for easy layups. Latham took full advantage of her opportunities at the rim with a game-high 14 points, all coming from inside the paint. The execution in the half-court offense with the addition of stifling defense in the first half allowed the Lady Rattlers to get ahead early in the game and secure the 53-30 home win over Floresville on Tuesday.
San Marcos held the visitors scoreless until the final minute of the first quarter. Presley, who made her debut with the Lady Rattlers after transferring from Kyle Lehman, recorded two of her four steals on the night leading to transition baskets at the rim. The defense allowed the team to open up the quarter on a 13-0 run that was ended by a foul, sending the visitors to the free throw line.
“We want to be good defensively,” head coach Veronda Kendall said. “We feel like we’re moving in the right direction. I think where we have to get better is not settling and keeping the pressure on throughout the game. I feel like we’re kind of where we want to be defensively. Those are the kind of starts we work to have.”
Floresville (1-1) turned up the defense forcing three-straight turnovers in the first two minutes of the following quarter cutting into the Lady Rattler lead. Presley responded with four unanswered points, driving to the basket using her left hand for nifty finishes. The guard drove to the basket again but this time the layup was off and rebounded by junior forward Fatih Phillips for the putback. San Marcos walked into halftime with a 13-point lead.
The Lady Rattlers continued to employ their defensive strategy following intermission. A 14-0 run to start the half extended their lead to the largest of the night, 40-13. Sophomore guard Vivian Hernandez splashed a three from the wing to start the half. Latham scored on back-to-back pick-and-rolls from Presley that got the offense flowing before Floresville forward Karen Lopez hit a fadeaway to halt the run with 4:05 left in the quarter. Still, the defense only allowed six points, marking the second time in the game it held the opponent under double digits in a quarter.
The half-court execution separated the two teams on Tuesday night. Presley and Latham controlled the tempo in the two-man game.
“(The connection) started in the offseason,” Latham said about Presley’s leadership as a point guard. “She came in, new school, new everything and immediately was just like, ‘I’m a guard, you’re a post let’s do this thing. You come set a screen and roll and I’m gonna hand it to you.’ She’s really good at controlling the court and making sure everything gets done right.”
In the final eight minutes, the show was stolen by Angelina Sotelo, who won the team’s Sixth Man of the Year award last season as a freshman and continued to provide energy off of the bench for her team. First, the guard used her quickness to beat her defender off the dribble for a layup. The following play, Sotelo sprinted the full length of the court to record a block from behind, sending the ball out of bounds as the bench wildly celebrated the shortest player on the court’s hustle and defense. The play by the sophomore helped close out the first win at home for the Lady Rattlers.
“(Sotelo) was a spark plug like that last year,” Kendall said. “We expect that from her. She’s a gamer. She’s got heart, she loves it and she’s a great teammate. What she did coming off the bench was no surprise. It took her a couple of minutes to get going but that’s what she does, she can create.”
The basketball IQ and all-around energy from Presley helped her finish the night with nine points and four assists. The junior also had a team-high four steals to go with her offensive workload. Phillips matched Presley’s total of nine points, shooting 5-5 from the free throw line with six rebounds. Latham, along with her game-high 14 points, recorded five rebounds and two blocks.
San Marcos (2-0) takes on Hendrickson (1-2) inside the Snake Pit this Friday at 7 p.m. with intentions of extending its win streak to three. Latham knows this is a long season but she believes this year is different from seasons past.
“I love this team. We put in a lot of effort,” Latham said. “I know we’ve had not-so-great seasons in the past but this season I know we’re gonna get it. It’s most of our senior years here. There’s like five seniors and I think we’re gonna be really dominant this year.”
