November 25, 2011
CANYON, Texas – For six games this season, the Lady Rattlers have been on the brink of breaking through, only to have it prove not to be their time quite yet.
But on Friday, behind a spirited effort that included a season-best performance from senior DeAnna Patterson, the St. Mary’s women’s basketball indeed broke through.
Patterson scored 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while Jackie Edwards scored 11 and Liz Boyd added 10 off the bench to fuel a 58-47 victory over Angelo State on the opening day of the 2011 Lady Buffs Thanksgiving Classic, presented by Roberts Ditching at West Texas A&M’s First United Bank Center.
Erasing an early 6-0 hole, the Lady Rattlers led by as many as 21 points in the second half, storming to their first victory of the season.
St. Mary’s (1-6) will wrap up the tournament by playing host school West Texas A&M at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Shooting 5 of 17 from 3-point range and 11 of 15 from the foul stripe, the Lady Rattlers opened up a game in which they trailed only once, 16-15, after erasing the early 6-0 deficit.
Patterson (Sr., Converse, Texas) connected on a pair of 3-pointers, while a red-hot Boyd (Jr., San Antonio) shot 4 of 6 from the field and hauled in a team-high eight rebounds and four assists. Morgan Pullins, a freshman from Franklin, Mich., grabbed six boards in the game.
The Rattlers committed just 17 turnovers.
With the victory, St. Mary’s coach Jason Martens moved two wins away from becoming the program’s all-time wins leader, a mark currently held by Tom Weeaks at 101 wins. Martens is 99-53 at St. Mary’s.