San Marcos struggles in road loss to New Braunfels

San Marcos wasn’t ready.

The Lady Rattlers started district play with a solid 3-3 record, good for fourth place. They had just defeated Schertz Clemens at home on Tuesday, 51-29, and looked to close out the first cycle of their league schedule Friday night in a road match with New Braunfels.

But the Lady Unicorns brought a level of aggression that the visitors weren’t prepared for, and the hosts came out with the 69-47 victory.

“A tough night for us,” head coach Veronda Kendall said. “(We had a) lack of offensive execution. I don’t know, I thought (the Lady Unicorns) were a little scrappier.”

New Braunfels played up-tempo all night long. San Marcos could never seem to match their pace. After taking a 5-3 lead in the first two minutes of the game, the Lady Rattlers gave up an 8-0 run and never recovered.

The first half was filled with missed opportunities on offense for the team. On one possession in the first quarter, junior center Grace Latham spun her way into an open post look on the right block, but the ball slipped out of her hands before she could put up the shot. Senior forward Andrea Flores dove out of bounds and saved the ball, finding Abigail Pena. The senior guard pulled up for a floater, but couldn’t find the bottom of the net either as New Braunfels secured the defensive rebound.

The visitors also couldn’t find stops on defense. The Lady Unicorns canned seven 3-pointers in the first half, forcing San Marcos to spread out and open more gaps. Three of the Lady Rattlers’ starters -- Pena, junior guard Beth Gutierrez and sophomore forward Faith Phillips -- sat the majority of the second quarter with foul trouble. Many of the team’s reserves played more minutes than they were accustomed to.

“They played good minutes for us coming off the bench,” Kendall said. “But our problems began much earlier in the game. So they filled their role.”

The Lady Rattlers’ struggles crescendoed in the third quarter. The visitors only mustered up two points to New Braunfels’ 22, falling behind 64-29. The hosts went on to win the game, 69-47.

San Marcos (19-11, 3-4 district) still sits in fourth place after the loss. The Lady Rattlers will look to stay there as they begin the second cycle, beginning Tuesday inside the Snake Pit at 7 p.m against Smithson Valley.

“We need to kind of clear our minds, kind of get rejuvenated and get ready for the fight,” Kendall said. “Because anything can happen any given night. We just weren’t ready. I don’t think we were ready tonight.”