OP/ED
The chase for the postseason has begun in San Marcos as both the Rattlers and the Bobcats look to close out their seasons strong.
Here we will take a closer look at all four basketball teams, how they have done this season and what they need to do to secure a postseason berth.
By far the most successful team this season has been the San Marcos Lady Rattlers. The Lady Rattlers are coming off a massive win against Cibolo Steele for their first win over the Knights since the 2014-2015 season and have secured sole possession of second place in District 29.
Along with an undefeated home record at the Snake Pit, the Lady Rattlers are setting themselves up for a massive run in the second round in district play and into the postseason.
But to reach those goals and a share of the district championship, the Lady Rattlers must continue to lock during this stretch of district play, especially with many of the teams wanting another shot at topping San Marcos.
The win over Cibolo Steele proves the Lady Rattlers are capable of competing against anyone in the state. The key will be using that momentum moving forward to propel the Lady Rattlers to even further heights.
The Rattlers find themselves fighting for a spot in the playoffs after a rough first round of district play. After beating Buda Johnson in the district opener, the Rattlers fell victim to being on the wrong side of close games in district play and will look to get back in the win column against New Braunfels Canyon at home.
District 29 in boys basketball has become a war of attrition with many district games coming down to one possession that end up deciding many playoff spots.
In order to stay in contention for the playoffs, the Rattlers must stick together as a group especially being in a topsy turvy district like District 29. The Rattlers are a very talented group with the record not being indicative of what San Marcos is capable of.
By learning from the district losses and staying together through this rough patch, the Rattlers can easily find themselves back in postseason contention.
Texas State Men’s Basketball finds themselves in a similar situation. The Bobcats were 8-4, following a dominating win over Georgia Southern in the conference opener, and looked to be one of the frontrunners for the Sun Belt title.
Then Texas State dropped four out of their last five games. To give credit to the Bobcats, Texas State pulled off an amazing comeback in their road win over Troy and handed the Trojans their first conference loss. The Bobcats almost pulled off another comeback against Southern Miss last weekend but fell short in overtime.
Being back from for the next two games will be good for the Bobcats, and having students back on campus will give the team much needed boost and put life back in Strahan Arena.
With the Bobcats still in the early stretches of conference play, the team still has a chance to regroup and make a deep run towards the top of the conference.
Texas State Women’s Basketball has also faced their share of challenges. Beating Marshall in their conference opener, the Bobcats then lost three straight three games before snapping their losing skid to South Alabama last Saturday.
The win puts Texas State in the middle of the pack in the conference standings and are only three games behind first place in conference as the Bobcats go back on the road following the four-game home stand.
With a new roster on hand for the 2024-2025 season that is also filled with a young roster, the Bobcats have shown glimpses of their potential. cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
Colton McWilliams Sports Editor
