January 26, 2013
EDMOND, Okla. – A career night for Jackie Woods wasn’t enough to lift the Lady Rattlers out of the Eagles’ Nest victorious, as they fell to Oklahoma Christian University Saturday in a five-point loss.
The Oklahoma Christian Eagles (10-9) snapped St. Mary’s (14-4, 6-0 in conference) six-game winning streak on its home court in an 83-78 upset. As a provisional Heartland Conference member, the Rattlers’ loss to the Eagles will not tarnish their undefeated league record and St. Mary’s will remain at the top in league standings.
Clearly on her game, Woods (Jr., San Antonio) tallied a career-high 32 points in the loss, tying the guard for fifth place in the St. Mary’s record books for the most points scored in a single game, going 12 for 21 from the floor and hitting all six of her free throws. Woods also recorded three steals and three assists in 38 minutes played.
The jab for the Rattlers was the Eagles’ Roz Hamilton, who recorded a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out of the game. St. Mary’s also experienced forced bench time as leading scorers Felicia Jacobs (Sr., San Antonio) and Lia Kioa (Jr., Phoenix) both fouled out of the game.
Tied at the half, 40-40, the Eagles went on a run in the second half to gain a 13-point lead with nine minutes remaining in the game. But six points from Morgan Pullins (So., Franklin, Mich.) in the final minutes helped chisel the gap to within five by the final buzzer.
Dominating off the pine, Pullins and Mariah Lee (Jr., Houston) scored 24 of the Rattlers’ 30 bench points. Pullins totaled 14 points and nine rebounds, and Lee added 10 points, the bulk of which were scored in the second half for Pullins.
Saturday marked St. Mary’s fourth loss on the season.
The Rattlers will stay on the road to start the second round of conference play as they face the No. 2-ranked team in the league, the University of Texas-Permian Basin, whose only conference loss was dealt by the Rattlers.
St. Mary’s will play the Falcons Thursday in Odessa, Texas at 5:30 p.m.