January 12, 2012
GOODWELL, Okla. – The Lady Rattlers will go racing – and we mean racing – into Saturday’s clash with Newman, where first place in the Heartland Conference will be at stake.
St. Mary’s outlasted Oklahoma Panhandle State in a barnburner Thursday, running away 101-87 on a night they scored the third-most points on record in the program’s history.
One of five Lady Rattlers to score in double figures, sophomore standout Jackie Edwards (San Antonio) topped 20 points for the second straight game with 20 to lead the Lady Rattlers to their fifth straight win.
DeAnna Patterson also poured in 17 points, while Morgan Pullins (Fr., Franklin, Mich.) scored in double digits for the fifth straight game with 13. Meanwhile, a pair of freshmen – Kyra Littlejohn (Southfield, Mich.) and Chesney Neely (Goldthwaite, Texas) – each scored a career-high 13 points off the bench. Neely also hauled in a career-high 10 rebounds for her first double-double.
The victory sets up an enticing road game in Wichita, Kan., on Saturday, when the Lady Rattlers (8-10, 3-0 in Heartland Conference) will take on the fellow-unbeaten Newman Jets.
In a pair of statistical anomalies, the Rattlers broke the century mark despite scoring just a single 3-point basket, which was turned in by Rebecca Cantu (Sr., San Antonio), while both teams shot an identical 26 of 36 at the free-throw line.
St. Mary’s never trailed in the game and led by as many as 15 points. They needed all of seven minutes to open up a double-digit lead at 18-8, a margin they essentially maintained the rest of the way.
Bria Bell (So., Mesquite, Texas) neared double-double territory in the game, scoring seven points and adding eight rebounds. OPSU dropped to 3-12 overall.
The Lady Rattlers’ 101 points was the most points they’ve scored since Nov. 20, 1990, when they scored 107 against the University of Southern Indiana.