San Marcos comeback falls short against Cibolo Steele

A fourth quarter comeback wasn’t enough as the San Marcos Lady Rattlers fell to the Cibolo Steele Lady Knights 62-44 on Senior Night.

Despite the loss and being an emotional night, head coach Jermaine Ervin was happy for the future of his team.

“I was excited about the young girls,” Ervin said. “I wanted my seniors to play tonight and to celebrate them but I also wanted to see what our future looked like as we tried to get a win against the No. 2 team in the district. It was 18-8 in the first quarter but we spotted them 10 points. We came all the way back in the fourth quarter and we were right there until the last three or four minutes where five of our girls fouled out. But I was excited to see how hard they played because it made me finally see the long term picture this year.”

One of the defining traits for the Lady Rattlers this year has been their fight.

For a team that has suffered so many injuries, starting lineups filled with underclassmen playing their first season on the varsity level, and suffering some agonizing defeats, San Marcos refused to bow down to the adversity and was determined to fight back until they couldn’t no more.

“That’s what this team is about,” Ervin said. “I don’t want people to think this team is an easy out. We are going to play as hard as we can until somebody says they can’t no more. For us to play the way we played, I was so excited about that and the opportunity for us to show who we were.”

That attitude continues to show to many of the local coaches that the Lady Rattlers will become a problem in the future, including Cibolo Steele head coach Jeff Chatman.

“I’ve known Coach Chatman for a while,” Ervin said. “I really respect him. When I started coaching girls basketball, he reached out to me and we had some great conversations. He told my girls to stick with me and y’all will be great. He told them about how he didn’t want to play us next year because we are so tough. Now it’s about getting that consistency which we are starting to get.”

Ervin was also proud of the senior group of Felicity Calderon, Jade Hernandez, Amiya Moore and Saylor Upshaw for their leadership this year of helping the younger players out and being the role models for the younger generation.

“They are passing the torch,” Ervin said. “They are teaching them how it’s done and what San Marcos basketball is all about. A lot of these girls haven’t played at the varsity level … I’m excited about how they took that role and leadership to give to the next girl in line.”

San Marcos returns to play Saturday against Schertz Clemens inside the Snake Pit. The game began after press time.