San Marcos opens Champions Classic with win against San Antonio Jefferson

Head coach Veronda Kendall wants her team to improve each game.

The Lady Rattlers have a lot of games coming up, as they began the Champions Classic tournament inside the Snake Pit on Thursday morning. Kendall made sure her team knew that wasn’t an exception. San Marcos responded by winning its first pool play match, 62-19, over San Antonio Jefferson.

“What we’ve talked about is trying to be consistent regardless of who we play and getting better every game,” Kendall said. “I thought there was a little bit of improvement in terms of offensive execution. We’re pretty steady defensively. Boxing out and rebounding is something that we have to get better at. So, we’re just taking it one game at a time.”

Kendall ran a 2-3 zone on defense for most of the match, keeping the Lady Mustangs restricted from the paint and forcing them to swing the ball up top. The Lady Rattlers’ guards kept their hands active, cutting off passing lanes for easy steals and transition baskets.

Freshman guard Vivian Hernandez often led the charge, either pawing the ball away herself or zooming down the court for an outlet pass. She racked up six points and two steals during the second quarter as San Marcos coasted into halftime with a 32-14 lead.

“(Hernandez) is a very talented point guard, a natural,” Kendall said. “And so, we hope to see her continue to get better. She’s still learning and going. But she loves the game. She’s passionate, she’s fun and she’s going to be good down the road.”

The teams traded baskets to start the third quarter as Jefferson waltzed into the lane on consecutive trips for a pair of layups. But once the Lady Rattlers found their focus again on defense, the Lady Mustangs couldn’t buy a basket.

San Marcos closed the game out on a 22-0 run.

“I want to see that out of our defense,” Kendall said. “I want to see that off of our rebounding. We have some good guard play, so when we are able to, we want to push the basketball.”

Hernandez finished the game with 14 points, followed by junior wing JoAnna Galvan with 10.

San Marcos had one more game Thursday night against Richland, who also beat Jefferson, 50-33. The match ended after press time. The Lady Rattlers will return to action at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Friday. The location and opponents will be determined by the results of pool play.

Kendall is excited to see how her team progresses through the tournament.

“It’s going to take a lot of energy and a willingness to continue to make sacrifices,” Kendall said. “Because, you know, it’s not easy being undefeated. And we’re going to see some tougher competition. So, are we ready to continue to make that sacrifice to be where we are? I feel like we’ll find out during this tournament.”