San Marcos and Cibolo Steele battled early in the first quarter. But the Lady Knights took over to take Friday night’s game inside the Snake Pit, 73-17.
Lady Rattler head coach Veronda Kendall said San Marcos struggled to match up with Steele throughout Friday’s game.
“What gave us trouble was the difficulty we had in matching up,” Kendall said. “Even our zone play was not aggressive. It wasn’t aggressive and it wasn’t intense and not even for one quarter let alone four, and then matching up was a tough task. Their athleticism, their size, their speed that was a tough task.”
San Marcos (18-10, 2-3 26-6A) got on the board first against Steele (15-8, 3-1) with a free throw from sophomore forward Faith Phillips. The Lady Knights responded with a 3-pointer from senior center Sydney Cajero to give them their first lead of the night at 3-1.
But the Lady Rattlers answered with a bucket from junior forward Miranda Lamb to even the score.
The two teams went back and forth until the game was tied at 7-7 midway through the opening period. Steele finished the first quarter on a 7-0 run to grab a 14-7 advantage.
The Lady Knights seized control of the game by going on a strong run to take a 42-7 lead. Cibolo Steele took a 45-8 advantage into halftime and took the game 73-17.
Following the loss, Kendall said the team needs to improve defensively going forward.
“Actually, we’ve got to play a higher level defensively because we’re in district play,” Kendall said. “It’s at a higher notch than the preseason. It’s a much higher notch than the preseason and I’m not sure we’ve made that adjustment yet.”
Lamb led the Lady Rattlers with five points, while Phillips added four points.
San Marcos looks to bounce back from Friday’s loss on Tuesday against Schertz Clemens at 7 p.m. inside the Snake Pit.
“We fight our way out by recognizing how valuable every possession is when we have the ball on the offensive end and working for good shots,” Kendall said. “And then, like I mentioned, the intensity on defense has to be there every possession and then it has to be there for four quarters.”
