The Steele Knights Crush The Lady Rattlers on Senior Night

By Solomon Nash

KTSW Sports Reporter

 SAN MARCOS, Texas –The San Marcos Lady Rattlers played their final game of the season, but this senior night would be a difficult test as the number one team in the district Cibolo Steele Knights would be coming to town. The lady rattlers would fall in a double digit 60-45 loss to end the season before district playoffs.  

From the opening tip the game had the intensity of a playoff contest, the place would erupt as the rattlers found the first bucket of the game early. The Knights offense arrived shortly after as they went on to score ten points unanswered to force the first timeout from Head Coach Cooper Haralson late in the first quarter.  

The Lady Rattlers struggled to contain the size of JR. Forward Jasmine Travis as she had her way inside the paint early on in the game. Then when they forced the ball out of her hands it would find SR. Guard Ne’talya Hurst who would use her speed and size to get multiple buckets in the quarter.  

The score would be 15-5 in favor of Cibolo heading into the second quarter. The Lady Rattlers wouldn’t roll over though as they started to create some turnovers and generate some offense and made it an 11-19 ballgame in a blink of an eye.  

Guard Rileigh Good did not have the best night but she knocked down some important threes to keep the Lady Rattlers within reaching distance. Towards the back half of the second quarter the Knight offense became scorching hot as Travis and Hurst lit up the scoreboard once again both having double digits at half.  

The Knights would lead the Lady Rattlers at half with a score of 32-20. Lady Rattlers had shown flashes of hope but needed more if they wanted to win this contest.  

The third quarter was where the Snake Pit was at its loudest as the Lady Rattlers came out strong out the locker room and cut into the lead very quickly. They would get the score to 38-31 before forcing Cibolo to call timeout.  

Coming out the timeout the Knights offense would come to life once again this time with the intention of putting the game away. Travis would put on a clinic on both sides of the ball as she was unstoppable scoring inside the paint while simultaneously being a defensive force of nature at the rim.  

The third quarter would conclude with the Knights in control with a 45–32 lead over the Lady Rattlers. Unfortunately for the rattlers the early fourth quarter would resemble a lot of the late third as the Knights would continue their scoring onslaught.  

The Lady Rattlers would create some momentum late with some tough buckets from FR F Kourtney Blakemore. They also had a special moment as Melyna Perkins would score in the last seconds of the game with her arm in a sling and all. The Lady Rattlers concluded their senior night with a 60-45 loss to the top seeded Knights of Steele. 

After the game, Coach Haralson gave us insight on today’s matchup and outlook for the playoffs.  

“This team never stopped fighting and that’s what we gotta carry in the playoffs, there were times where it felt like they (Steele) couldn’t miss and we kept out fire going and that’s what we gotta carry with us in these playoffs,” said Coach Haralson.

He then gave us the breakdown on trying to contain Jasmine Travis on her big scoring night.

“Yeah we’re a little hurt we didn’t have out big guys the ones who kept her quiet last time and now it’s a lot harder to match up with her but I’m just proud with how the girls fought.”

We then concluded the conversation with a question: how does the team bounce back after these tough back to back losses? “We just gotta show up to practice every day and we gotta prepare for any opponent we play and fight our tails off.”  

The regular season has concluded for the San Marcos Lady Rattlers. Now they will look and see what opponent awaits them in the District Playoffs.