After finishing the first round of District 25-5A play with a 1-4 record, the San Marcos Lady Rattlers’ shot at one of the district’s four playoff berth seemed like a pipe dream.
But after scoring consecutive wins over New Braunfels-Canyon and Smithson Valley, that far-fetched fantasy is very close to becoming reality for SMHS. The Lady Rattlers, tied with Smithson Valley for fourth place, are in control of their postseason destiny and can claim fourth place outright with a win tonight at New Braunfels.
Lose, and San Marcos will either need to beat first-place Converse-Judson Tuesday’s district finale, or hope that Smithson Valley loses its final district games against Converse-Judson and New Braunfels-Canyon to force a playoff for the fourth spot.
“They know it’s still not over and that they have to bring it in the last two games against New Braunfels and Judson,” SMHS head coach Christina Jamerson said. “But we’d like to take care of things against New Braunfels and make we have a nice solid spot and not have to go into a district playoff.”
San Marcos (8-23, 3-5) got the upper hand with Tuesday’s 50-48 win over Smithson Valley, a game won by sophomore Madison Miles’ short, last-second shot. San Marcos had trailed by as many as 10 points in the third quarter before battling back for last-second victory.
It was the Lady Rattlers’ second straight dramatic win after beating New Braunfels-Canyon in overtime last Friday. New Braunfels (5-18, 0-8) remains winless in district play after suffering a 41-36 loss to New Braunfels-Canyon Tuesday night. San Marcos beat the Lady Unicorns, 55-46 in the initial meeting on Jan. 15.
“The girls have fought hard in the last two games and will need the same sort of effort tonight,” Jamerson said. “Just because they haven’t won a district game, we can’t afford to take them lightly.”
Sophomore guard Bailey Hill and Miles led San Marcos with 14 points against Smithson Valley. Both are averaging more than eight points per game.
New Braunfels is led by junior forward Amy Fuquay and junior guard Jasmine Sauceda, each averaging more than nine points per game.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Unicorn Gymnasium.