December 3, 2010
MONTICELLO, Ark. – A back-and-forth game got away from the Lady Rattlers late in the first half Friday night, resulting in a 70-55 defeat against the University of Arkansas-Monticello on Friday night.
Mareta Bailey led the St. Mary’s women’s basketball team with 16 points and Mallory Moeller added 13 off the bench in the opener of Arkansas-Monticello’s 3rd Annual Holiday Inn Express Classic at the Steelman Field House.
St. Mary’s (5-4) led early, as the teams battled through four lead changes and five ties. But Arkansas-Monticello pulled away to close the first half on a 14-3 run over the final four minutes, creating a deficit large enough to keep the hard-fighting Rattlers at bay.
Dominique Crawford (Jr., San Antonio) capped off a 6-0 run with a jumper that cut the deficit to 40-36 with 12:11 remaining, but St. Mary’s couldn’t draw any closer.
The Rattlers (5-4) will wrap up the tournament with a 12 p.m. contest against Southern Arkansas University.
St. Mary’s outrebounded Arkansas-Monticello 42-37, but lost the shooting battle with a 35.1-percent clip that included 2-for-12 from 3-point range.
DeAnna Patterson (Jr., Converse, Texas) hit both of the Rattlers’ 3 in what was a 10-point performance for the Roosevelt High School graduate.