Every game means more than the last during the second half of district play.
Riding the high of completing the sweep of school rival Buda Hays last time out, San Marcos kept its momentum going Tuesday by shooting 4-4 from the field to start the game and establishing a 10-0 run over Austin High as the Lady Rattlers returned to their home floor for the first time since Jan. 12. Their 3-2 zone held the district’s No. 1 team scoreless for the first three minutes of the first and second quarters but the visitors found success utilizing their 1-2-2 full-court press to speed the guards up and force turnovers, leaving the first quarter tied at 15-15 by the end of it.
“They’ve got nice post play inside with Jade Clark. So we wanted to make sure and contain her, but we know they also have shooters on the outside,” head coach Veronda Kendall said. “And so that was just something we looked at as far as in-game adjusting, trying to contain their inside game but we knew that they had some girls who can knock down some outside shots.”
The defense got even tighter in the second frame when both teams failed to find the net until 4:07 was sitting on the clock. However, San Marcos did eventually figure out how to break the Maroons’ press as the game progressed by moving the ball around, resulting in scoring 24 points in the fourth quarter.
But it wasn't enough to take down the only remaining undefeated team in 26-6A and the Rattlers fell 59-56 in a wire-to-wire competition.
“We see the press often,” Kendall said. “It wasn't anything new to us. It was just trying to keep our composure throughout the game and that's what I think was all we needed to do was keep our composure and attack the basket more.”
San Marcos (9-5, 4-5 district) knows how important it is to win each night as it only holds a two-game lead over the next team in the standings. It was especially obvious to senior guard Kayla Presley. who fought through an eye injury after getting smacked in the face on a drive with two minutes left in the first half, forcing Presley to exit the floor with an apparent injury. Losing one of only two Rattlers to score during the period put Austin High (13-1, 8-0) at a 26-20 advantage heading into the break.
Presley returned to start the third. Junior guard Angeline Sotelo ignited a 7-0 run with a shot from the elbow after the Maroons scored the first four points of the quarter. Junior guard Adelia Pierson scored or assisted on the next five points for her team, tying the game at 30-30. The run didn’t faze the Maroons when they followed that up with a 7-0 run of their own, taking the lead back in the fourth.
Similar to the third, San Marcos was forced to put together another run, ending with Presley’s drive as she hit the mat on the wall and came up limping on the same ankle she had injured during the summer. The senior was forced to exit again after tying the game at 39-39 with 5:34 left in the game after visibly being in pain. She knew how important it was to push through and she did.
When she came back in, it seemed as if the injury sparked even more aggressiveness.
“I think when she started attacking a little bit more and getting into the flow of the game. She was much more effective,” Kendall said. “For her to come back after the injury, she was tremendous. To fight through what we thought was possibly some type of eye injury, fighting through that and coming back, and then twisting her ankle and coming back. I mean that's just impressive.”
Down six, the Rattlers needed a bucket and none other than the hobbling senior would make it happen by driving through the 2-3 zone, cutting the Maroon lead to three with 55 seconds left. The visitors hit their free throws and Presley was forced to score again after another steal by the defense. This time Austin High would split a pair and give the Rattlers a chance down three.
With no timeouts left, Pierson inbounded the ball to Sotelo, who stunned her defender with a shifty in-and-out, and let it fly with two seconds left but the shot hit the rim and rang out, signifying Austin High's undefeated district run would still be intact.
In the 59-56 loss, Presley exemplified what every time on the floor means to this team, scoring nine of her 16 total points in the fourth quarter on an injured ankle. Sotelo finished with 13 points and four steals in the loss. Pierson and Junior forward Chelsea Williams played their roles exceptionally well contributing 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists between them.
San Marcos has a chance to split the week with a quick turnaround Wednesday against Austin Bowie (2-10, 2-5) on the road at 7 p.m. It's crunch time for every team with playoff aspirations and that is the driving motivator to push past fatigue with the Rattlers having to play three games in a week for the first time this season.
“I don't think (fatigue) will have an effect. I think our kids understand the time of the season we’re in. And I think they understand preparation and so I think that we'll be ready to play tomorrow when we step on the court,” Kendall said.
