San Marcos snaps skid against Lytle

The San Marcos girls basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak Tuesday as the Lady Rattlers held off the Lytle Lady Pirates in a 54-41 win.

It was an important win for head coach Jermaine Ervin as the team wanted to end non-district play on a high note.

“It was crucial.” Ervin said. “We were on a three game losing streak and you don’t want to enter district play on a four-game losing streak…this gave us a confidence boost that we can use come Friday.

Senior center and team captain Amiya Moore was a big contributor to the team’s success scoring seven points in the win as the Rattlers look to use the win going forward as they start district play.

“Coming into the game, we were prepared and ready,” Moore said. “Coach [Ervin] told us what we needed to do and how we needed to look come our district game on Friday. We were using this game as a springboard for Friday so we are excited to be opening district play.”

As the Rattlers held the lead for the majority of the game, one of the keys in the victory was slowing the pace of the game down, especially when San Marcos had the ball.

“We were slowing down on offense,” Moore said. “Coach [Ervin] talked to us about how we needed to slow down on offense so we could see all of our options. It was a big key for us.”

Another key aspect of the game was the Rattlers fast start which Ervin wanted the team to focus on.

“Our last two games we had slow starts that cost us,” Ervin said. “So our emphasis was to start fast which we did. It made me proud of our team that they were able to take what we were telling them and apply it to the court.

Being a team captain, Moore understands the importance of not only understanding what her coaches want her to do but also helping her teammates understand what the coaches what from them.

“I usually try to communicate with Coach Ervin film wise and everything else to see what he needs from the team,” Moore said. “I’m trying to relay that message to the team as a team captain and I tell them what coach is looking for from a different point of view.”

Moore’s leadership on the court has been transformed from the last three seasons into this year where she credits the leadership of last year’s team to give her the confidence to be in that role.

“The girls here are pretty positive,” Moore said. “Throughout my high school experience, I had a lot of leaders to look up to. Last year’s team, our leaders helped me to be more confident in my leadership so I know I’m putting that on our younger players to continue throughout the season.”

Ervin credits Moore’s leadership skills to her being a junior on a heavy upperclassmen team.

“Last year, she had to play a specific role on a senior-led team,” Ervin said. “She was learning to play significant minutes for the first time in her career which led to her being 2nd team all district in a tough Austin district. She has seen how the seniors led from both good and bad with the bad being that Covid year.”

With San Marcos being placed in a six team district with the San Antonio schools after spending two years with the Austin Area schools, the race for the playoffs will be a challenge for the Rattlers each night in a wide open race.

“We are going to see a lot of competition,” Moore said. “We are going to do a lot of traveling which is a bit harder but we are going to see how that goes.”

The Rattlers open district play at home against rival New Braunfels on Friday at 7 p.m. from the “Snake Pit.”