Kioa Sparks Lady Rattlers to Blowout Win

The Lady Rattlers raced past Harding in the second half. (File Photo/Antonio Morano Photography)

SAN ANTONIO — It didn’t take long for newcomer Lia Kioa to fit comfortably in a Rattler uniform as she led St. Mary’s in its 20-point victory over Harding University on Saturday.

Kioa (Jr., Phoenix) was lights out against the Bisons, hitting 50 percent from the floor with two 3-pointers for a season-high 18 points in St. Mary’s 78-58 victory.

Kioa was one of four Rattlers to break double-digits as Morgan Pullins (So., Franklin, Mich.) brought in 16 points and four steals, and Felicia Jacobs (Sr., San Antonio) and Dezirae Ellis (Fr., Chandler, Ariz.) both added 12 apiece.

“These girls are definitely easy to love,” said Kioa, who shot 8 of 16, of her transition onto the Rattlers. “Once we really click our team is going to be amazing. I love St. Mary’s and I love the chemistry I know we are about to build.”

In a game of contrasting halves, the Rattlers (4-2) were down two at the half to Harding (1-2), 33-31, before a guard-game took hold in the second as the Rattlers went on a non-stop run to bump their lead to 20 points 11 minutes in at 60-40. Shooting hot for the Rattlers was Kioa, who scored 13 of her 18 points in the second half alone, becoming the spark for the Rattlers’ victory.

“Second half we just really came together and started playing as a team,” said Kioa of the heavy lead picked up after halftime. “We started making the extra passes that we weren’t doing (in the first) and we were really just having fun and playing together.”

Although she tallied plenty of points, Kioa’s play is all but selfish as she also tied for the team-lead with five assists for the night.

“I don’t ever want to force anything,” said Kioa, who has 15 assists so far on the season, the second-most on the team. “I’m looking for my shot but if I see an open teammate with a better shot or a higher-percentage shot then I’m looking to dish it out.”

Adding another playmaker and sharp shooter in Kioa to the roster has fared well so far for the Rattlers to an already stacked team. Liz Boyd (Sr., San Antonio) was the other five-assister Friday and also added eight points. Boyd and Jacobs led at the boards, with each pulling down seven rebounds apiece.

The Rattlers play their third straight home game against Tarleton State University at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Bill Greehey Arena.

St. Mary’s University, as a Catholic Marianist University, fosters the formation of people in faith and educates leaders for the common good through community service, integrated liberal arts and professional education, and academic excellence. The University has six athletic national titles: men’s basketball (1989–NAIA), baseball (2001–NCAA Div. II), softball (1986–NAIA and 2002–NCAA Div. II) and an individual national champion in men’s golf (2006–NCAA Div. II) and a national academic championship in men’s golf (2009–NCAA Div. II). St. Mary’s also had more than 40 percent of its athletes named to conference, regional and/or national honor rolls this past year. St. Mary’s student–athletes graduation rate is 65 percent, higher than the NCAA Division II average of 55 percent. To learn more about St. Mary's, visit www.stmarytx.edu/athletics.

    

Coaching Staff

Head Coach Jason Martens

Jason Martens is in his seventh season as the head coach and 10th year overall with the St. Mary's women's basketball program. And last season, he became the winningest coach in school history.

With a career mark of 111-63, Martens surpassed Tom Weeaks, who held the top spot with a 101-47 record.

Last season, Martins turned a young team that included three, and sometimes four, new players in the regular rotation into a Heartland Conference contender. After losing nine of their first 10 games of the 2011-12 season, the Lady Rattlers charged back as the team Martens envisioned, turning around to go undefeated in the first four games of Heartland Conference play to temporarily hold the top spot in the league. St. Mary's ended up advancing to the quarterfinals of the Heartland Conference Tournament with a 13-16 overall record, paving the way for a seemingly bright future to come.

Newcomer Jackie Edwards, who returns this upcoming season, was the breakout talent, being selected to the All-Conference First Team as well as being named the league's Newcomer of the Year. The guard averaged a team-high 12.4 points per game and led the team in assists with a total of 84 on the season. Alongside Edwards was freshman Morgan Pullins, who made strong waves by averaging 9.8 points per game with team-highs in blocks (25) and steals (47). Reaching the 6-foot ruler, the post was selected to the All-Conference Second Team and received the league's Freshman of the Year award. Senior DeAnna Patterson was the last of the Lady Rattlers to receive honors, earning All-Conference Honorable Mention.

Breaking through a rocky start, Martens' Lady Rattlers quickly gelled to become a team to watch. And with their new faces suddenly experienced, this season has potential to make statements right from the start.

In 2010-11, Martens had another winning year with an overall record of 15-12. The Rattlers and Martens had an even better Heartland Conference season, with a record of 7-3 and finishing as the No. 3 seed in the conference. Martens has two returning seniors to his squad this year, along with several veterans and a few new fresh legs that hope to bring home another winning season for the Rattlers.

In 2009-10, the Rattlers went 22-8, earning their third straight 20-plus-win season under Martens. They also won the Heartland Conference and advanced to the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament for the third straight year.

In 2007-08, the Rattlers rocketed into the top-25 nationally, posting a 25-5 record, a 24-game win streak, and won the Heartland Conference regular season and postseason championships. The Rattlers earned an at-large berth in the NCAA South Central Region Tournament. Martens was named Heartland Conference Coach of Year, while Natalie Gamez was named Heartland Conference Player of the Year and Mallory Moeller earned Heartland Conference Freshman of the Year.

In his first season as head coach, Martens led the Rattlers to 12 wins and a berth in the Heartland Conference Tournament semifinals. St. Mary's overcame a slow start to win 11 of its last 18 games and qualify for the HC Tournament. Two Rattlers were named All-Heartland Conference: Natalie Gamez and Charlena Rodez.

Martens was with the Rattler women's basketball program for the previous three years as an assistant coach. He helped the program produce 46 wins, a Heartland Conference Championship and a berth into the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament. Nine Rattlers were named All-Heartland Conference over those three seasons. Martens oversaw recruiting, assisted with scheduling and assisted with scouting while serving as an assistant coach for two years at St. Mary's.

Prior to his arrival in San Antonio, Martens served as assistant women's basketball coach at Lamar University in Beaumont for two seasons. He also was an assistant men's basketball coach at Bethel College in North Newton, Kan., for two years.

Martens graduated from Bethel College in 2000 with two bachelor's of science degrees, one in business administration and one in accounting. He received his master's of public administration degree from Lamar University in 2003. As an athlete, he earned all-conference and academic all-conference honors in football at Bethel. He also competed in basketball and track and field at the school. Before transferring to Bethel, he was a junior college All-American in track and field at Hutchison (Kan.) Community College.

Martens is married to the former DonLouise Meyer and they have two children, Jaden and Alexis.

Assistant Coach Chanlee Bottoms

Chanlee Bottoms' coaching style directly mirrors her old playing style -- fast-paced.

So, as the newest addition to St. Mary's coaching staff, the one-time run-and-gun point guard has quickly discovered she should fit right in working alongside head women's basketball coach Jason Martens.

Bottoms, a former student assistant at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, will enter her second season as St. Mary's new assistant women's basketball coach. She is the Lady Rattlers' recruiting coordinator in addition to overseeing the squad's strength and conditioning, coaching guard play and monitoring academics. In her first year working with Martens, Bottoms saw quick success as the Lady Rattlers enjoyed a trip to the Heartland Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

Bottoms spent the previous two seasons as the student assistant coach at UA Fort Smith, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in organizational leadership in May. With the Lady Lions, she was in charge of many of the areas she will oversee at St. Mary's, monitoring academics, managing the strength and conditioning program and preparing practices. UA Fort Smith went 21-5 and posted an 11-1 record against Heartland Conference opponents last season.

Bottoms, who plans to pursue her master's degree at St. Mary's, averaged 13 points, four assists and two steals as a sophomore before transferring to Henderson State to finish her career. She helped lead the Lady Lions, with whom she played two seasons, to the 2006 NJCAA Region II tournament title and to the NJCAA national tournament.

At Henderson State, she averaged 12.1 points, 2.2 assists and 2.2 steals per game. In high school, she helped lead Alma High School to the Class 5A state championship as a senior, when she averaged 18 points per contest.

At St. Mary's, Bottoms is with yet another program with winning expectations, as the Lady Rattlers have won 20-plus games in three of Martens' seven seasons at the helm. St. Mary's went 13-16 last season, advancing to the Heartland Conference quarterfinals.

2012-13 Women's Basketball Roster

2002, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 Heartland Conference Champs