San Antonio – One night after allowing the most points in regulation this season, St. Mary’s University bounced back with a strong defensive effort, rolling past Texas A&M University-Commerce, 55-42,  in women’s basketball action Wednesday night at Bill Greehey Arena.

The defensive domination started early and never let up in the win. The Rattlers trailed just once in the game, 6-5, with 16:32 left in the first half. After Ashley Murphy tied the game at 8-8 with 16:01 left in the first period, the Rattlers held the Lions scoreless for the next 7:57, going on a 13-0 run to take a commanding 21-8 lead with 8:04 left to play in the first half. The Rattlers forced 15 turnovers in the first half and held the Lions to just 33.3 percent (8-24) shooting from the field.

In the second half the Rattlers would increase their lead to as much as 16 points in rolling to the victory. Three Rattlers scored in double figures, led by DeAnna Patterson (So., San Antonio), who came off the bench to score a game-high 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Kristin Williams (Jr., Kansas City, Mo.) picked up a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. She had a strong all-around game, adding 4 steals, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Liz Boyd (Fr., San Antonio) had 11 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

With the win St. Mary’s improved to 8-5 this season and broke a two-game losing streak. TAMUC fell to 3-7 this season with the loss. The Rattlers will return to action on Saturday, when they host Lincoln University in a Heartland Conference matchup starting at 2 p.m. The University of Central Oklahoma defeated the University of the Incarnate Word, 83-73 in the other game Wednesday.

St. Mary’s (Texas) 55, Texas A&M-Commerce 42
12/30/09 4:15 p.m. at Bill Greehey Arena, San Antonio, TX
Game #3 of St. Mary’s New Year’s Classic
UCO wins classic with 2-0 record

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