Tears rolled down the eyes of the San Marcos Lady Rattlers after falling 42-37 to Cedar Park Vista Ridge in the bi-district round of the playoffs Friday inside the Snake Pit.
Coming out of the locker room, the tears slowly disappeared as this group remembered it was the team to end a five-year playoff drought, added two 1,000-point scorers to its history and set the tone for the underclassmen following in their seniors’ footsteps. In an uncommon season, this team was able to make leaps and bounds compared to previous San Marcos teams and the connection the players built over 20 games this season pushed them over the playoff hump.
“I think we're just close. We have a bond that we've been building since we were in the fifth grade so being all the way in high school now with everybody here it's just, it's the connection,” senior forward Faith Phillips explained. “Like, you see those small-town teams, they always do really well. It's basically like a small-town team in a big town here because we have that bond. So I think that's what really helps us get to this level.”
In action, it was the seniors who completely dominated for the Lady Rattlers. Phillips and senior guard Kayla Presley combined for 18 of the Lady Rattlers’ 22 first half points. The first bucket scored by a non-senior came by junior guard Adelia Pierson with 1:32 left in the half. Defensively, the intensity turned up for the hosts in the second quarter, holding Vista Ridge to one field goal by their senior anchor AJ Marotte from beyond the arc. San Marcos’ zone conflicted with the visitors’ offense, forcing them into six straight turnovers. The inspired run left both teams knotted at 22 heading into halftime.
“I think we both just recognize it,” Presley said. “We’re the leaders on the team and when it's our time to score, it's our time to score and when it's our time to play-make, we play-make. And we've just accepted that we're the two seniors, two leaders on the team and we gotta do what we got to do to score.”
The Lady Rattlers held Marotte to just seven points and they liked the position they were in heading into halftime.
“We've watched her. We got a chance to watch her play two nights in a row earlier in the week, and she's a tremendous scorer,” head coach Veronda Kendall said. “And so we knew that we wanted to limit her touches, and just make it really tough for her to get comfortable. And we were feeling really good about our defensive side of the ball tonight.”
Phillips continued to lead her team with the first points of the second half. Vista Ridge Head coach Keith Allen yelled out ‘watch the spin move’ the next time Phillips touched the ball but it didn’t matter as she scored her 16th point doing exactly what she wanted, spinning around her defender for a layup.
“That's my go-to move on the post. I mean, I like teaching it to all the other younger girls on the team, too. So I've always thought that if you teach something, you learn it better,” Phillips said. “That’s whether it be in school or in basketball. So I think that's really what helps me do better in the game.”
Presley followed the lead of her longtime friend with consecutive old-fashioned three-point plays that gave San Marcos a 33-30 advantage. Marotte wouldn’t go down without a fight. She left her defender in the wind with a pump fake that led to a pull-up. A pair of free throws gave the Lady Rangers their first lead since the 3:23 mark of the second quarter.
But the Lady Rattlers fell behind again in the fourth quarter. Down 39-35, Phillips wasn’t done trying to rally her team together as she took the ball the length of the court, used another spin move and scored — her final bucket in San Marcos. But the hosts were forced to play the foul game down the stretch and Vista Ridge hit 3-6 free throws to close out the win, moving them to the area round of playoffs.
Phillips capped off her final two games as a San Marcos varsity member averaging 20.5 points and six rebounds. Presley contributed 13 points and five steals in her Lady Rattler finale.
San Marcos finishes with a 14-6 overall record. The team will lose two All-District performers in Phillips and Presley but there are returners who are set to make an impact in an expanded role next season.
“Overall, we're pleased with our season,” Kendall said. “We'll take some time to reflect and we'll get ready for the offseason. We have some bright young spots in this program. That junior class with (Adelia) Pearson, Chelsea Williams, Angelina Sotelo, Vivian Hernandez, those guys will all be seniors next year. Then sophomores with Amiya Moore and Saylor Upshaw. Of course, Bailey Guzman is a freshman. So we'll just keep building and adding kids that are going to compliment and make us better.”
