Lady Rattlers cruise to victory against Schertz Clemons behind Fennell’s 22 points

By: Sparti Locklin

KTSW Reporter

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Lady Rattlers controlled the game from start to finish on the way to an 80-33 victory against the Schertz-Clemens Buffaloes on Jan. 24  

San Marcos had five players score in double figures. Junior Azariah Fennell led the way, scoring 22 points and collecting five steals. Junior Rileigh Good was second in scoring with 19 points, also snatching two steals. 

Lady Rattler head coach Cooper Haralson spoke about the effectiveness of the full court pressure used against the Buffaloes.  

“We are really good at opportunistic traps, [a] girl turns their back [and] we are right on top of them and we trap them in the backcourt. Other girls kind of leave her [and] think we’re not going to come and that’s when we come.”  

Coach Haralson also spoke about how important it is to be able to play both press and half-court defense at a high level.  

“You have to be able to play the full court game. You have to be able to play transition back and you have to be able to play the half court, which I think we did really well tonight.”  

Haralson concluded by talking about the Lady Rattlers’ upcoming road game against East Central High School. 

“[Playing] East Central at their place is different. They usually do a really good job at protecting their house and I feel like they play better when at home,” Haralson said. “Our girls are very confident and we are hoping we can get everyone healthy before the final stretch of the season.”  

The Rattlers started fast, getting out to an early lead and forcing Clemens to call a timeout after a 13-4 run to start the first quarter. San Marcos continued their first quarter control, holding the Buffaloes to only five first quarter points and leading 32-5 after the first.  

The Rattlers continued to fire on all cylinders in the second quarter. San Marcos ended the quarter outscoring the Buffaloes 12-8 and the Rattlers found themselves up by 31 points at the halftime break, leading with a score of 44-13. 

During halftime, Rattler nation celebrated senior guard Ezra Tobias. Tobias achieved the 1,000-point mark in the Rattlers’ previous game against the Buda Johnson Jaguars. 

The Rattlers picked up where they left off in the third quarter, quickly going on an 8-2 scoring run out of the gates. This run forced Clemens to call another timeout early in the second half. The Buffaloes were able to slightly pick up the pace on the offensive end but were not able to keep up with the Rattlers. The Buffaloes ultimately found themselves down 38 points at the end of three quarters. 

The Rattlers extended their lead through the fourth quarter, outscoring Schertz-Clemens 15-6 in the fourth quarter and cruising to an 80-33 victory.  

With this win, the Rattlers record improves to 22-6 overall and 8-1 in district play. The victory also extended the Rattlers’ current win streak to four games. San Marcos’ next game will be Tuesday, January 28th at 7:00 p.m. when they travel to take on the East Central Hornets.