Lady Rattlers finish as runners-up in Hays Tournament

It’s simple. Defense equals easy offense.

No. 24 San Marcos (14-3) competed in the Hays CISD Classic over the weekend, finishing as the runner-up after losing a heartbreaker in the championship game against Kerrville Tivy (9-2), 31-30. The Lady Rattlers were hot, winning 10 of their last 11 games and had not lost before the tournament since the Champions Classic, dating back to Nov. 21.

The weekend tipped off with two wins on Thursday evening versus Baytown Sterling and Austin High, in which the purple and white won both games by double-figures. The Lady Rattlers continued to slide through the winner’s side of the bracket when it took on San Antonio Johnson on Friday, holding them to 36 points — the most any team scored against them during the tournament. Head coach Veronda Kendall singled out the team’s 44-33 win against Mansfield Summit because she felt her players came together and played solid on both ends of the floor the whole game in order to pull out the win.  

“The tournament this week, we played some really good basketball and we took on some really good teams,” Kendall said. “We played really good defensively there. We kept our composure, putting it together for four quarters, so we had a great day on Thursday, came back and did it again on Friday against a really good Johnson team. The girls just put together what we needed to do for four quarters to win. So, we were happy with the first two days. And the championship game we just let it slip away.”

As San Marcos continues to improve in each phase of the game, it keeps using its stifling defense to cause havoc for the opposing team’s ball-handlers. Junior forward Faith Phillips acts as the anchor, communicating with the rest of the defense in front of her, as the Rattlers only allowed their opponents 30.6 points per game throughout the duration of the tournament. 

“I think defense is what makes us score on offense,” Phillips said. “Whenever we start getting our defense going, that’s when our offense goes. Getting those steals with our guards up top, super fast, good hands. (Senior wing) Miranda (Lamb) makes great reads. She’s a smart player and (junior guard) Kayla (Presley) up there, with that intensity, and as a team, we just feed off of each other.”

Presley and Phillips were selected to the All-Tournament Team for their play. Phillips averaged 12 points and 9 rebounds throughout the tournament, while Presley received All-Tournament honors for the second time this season.

The Rattlers have three games left before starting district play and won’t let this loss define their season.

“Just keep our heads up. We had that one loss but we’re gonna bounce back real quick,” Presley said. “We just need to work on our offensive execution and other than that we are good. We’re looking for a playoff spot.”