SMHS GIRLS BASKETBALL
The Lady Rattlers are coming off their biggest win of the season, defeating the No. 11 Steele Knights to claim sole possession of second place in District 29.
Though he is proud of his team on the program defining win, Head Coach Cooper Haralson is still focused on the road ahead.
“This is a huge win for our girls,” Haralson said. “Steele is obviously a very good team, and we know the momentum this gives us and the significance of this win. But again, we have a whole another rounded district to play, and our goal is still to win the district.
“It’s still there. Yeah we lost the game to Judson, but … we have to handle this game by game.”
San Marcos, who recently cracked the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 poll at No. 22, is in the middle of a historic season and looking to capture their first district championship in over a decade.
The win over Steele was the first for the Lady Rattlers since the 2014-2015 season, which also marks the last district championship and playoff win for the program. Since then, San Marcos has qualified for the playoffs only three times with no wins in the Bi-District round of the playoffs.
With the momentum building up for San Marcos, junior forward Melayna Perkins looks to build off it.
“This one was super important for us because it gives us so much energy going into the second round,” Perkins said. “We’re gonna keep continuing to do what we are doing, watch film, study plays, just keep doing that, keep doing what we’re doing and keep the streak alive.”
The Lady Rattler defense has been the key to their recent success. Daily Record photo by Gerald Castillo
Junior small forward Azariah Fennell agreed with her teammate, adding how the team is motivated to finish out the season strong and stay in contention for the district championship.
“Getting this win and then going into a bye before we start our second round is definitely big for us,” Fennell said. “We understand that we’re number two right now in our district, especially after winning this game.
“We know what we’re capable of; everybody else should see it.”
San Marcos starts the second round of district play tonight on the road against the New Braunfels Canyon Cougarettes.
In their last game, the Cougarettes gave the Lady Rattlers their best shot before San Marcos pulled away for a 61-52 win.
For Haralson, refocusing after the Steele win and learning from their mistakes against Canyon will be the key for San Marcos.
“We just gotta make sure we refocus,” Haralson said. “Canyon was a pretty tight game the last time.
They caught us a little awkward coming in here. They played really well, they made shots when we made mistakes. We just have to make sure that we’re not allowing those same things, taking care of the basketball, getting out and running in transition, rebounding and just communicating defensively.
“That’s some of the things that we may have struggled with last time, so it’s just [about] refocusing and understanding we have to start this thing back over.”
Tip-off for San Marcos- Canyon is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Canyon High School.
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
Left, The Lady Rattlers start district play back up tonight, going on the road to New Braunfels Canyon in a showdown with the Cougarettes. Below, San Marcos is coming off a massive win against No. 11 Cibolo Steele. Despite the massive win, the Lady Rattlers are looking to refocus for the second round of district play and compete for a district title. Daily Record photos by Gerald Castillo
