SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Angelo State Belles fought hard against the St. Mary's Rattlers, but could not overcome a late start in the third quarter, where the Rattlers defeated Angelo State on their home court, 69-52.
 
Both teams would remain scoreless for the first two and a half minutes of the first quarter, until St. Mary's would make a layup to bring the Rattlers to a 2-0 lead over ASU. Sawyer Lloyd would soon respond with a made jump of her own, tying the game up at 2-2.
 
The Rattlers would quickly take the lead over ASU, making multiple jump shots and several three pointers to jump to a 17-9 lead over the Belles, but a made last second three pointer made by Lana Marov would end the quarter for Angelo State, 19-12.
 
With a made three pointer and two made free throws, St. Mary's would jump to a 12 point over Angelo State, but two three pointers from Lloyd and Marov, plus a layup from Marov, would cut the Rattlers lead to only four points, 24-20. A made jump shot from Lloyd and another made three pointer from Marov would bring Angelo State within one point of the Rattlers lead with three minutes left in the half.
 
St. Mary's would extend their lead to nine points throughout the rest of the half, keeping the Belles from scoring for the rest of the first half, ending the second quarter with the Belles trailing the Rattlers, 34-25.
 
A three pointer from Marov would start the second half for Angelo State, bringing the Rattlers lead to six over the Belles, 34-28. St. Mary's would find their second wind shortly after starting the quarter, scoring 17 unanswered points over the Belles, keeping Angelo State from scoring for over five minutes, until a made free throw from Jade Mbam cut the Rattlers lead to 22 points, 51-29.
 
With another three pointer made by Marov, plus two free throws from Sadie Misner, ASU would finish the third quarter trailing the Rattlers by 19, 53-34.
 
St. Mary's would score several jumpers inside the paint, extending their lead to 25 over Angelo State, but a free throw from Aleesha Orange cut the Belles deficit to 24, 59-35. A three point shot from Marov, a layup from Madeline Stephens, and a jump shot over Lloyd cut into the Rattlers lead to bring the deficit down to 22 over the Belles over the course of two minutes, 64-45.
 
Two three pointers from Lloyd, two free throws from Samantha Rocha, and a layup from Rocha would cut the Rattlers lead even further to just 14, but one last three pointer from the Rattlers would end game in favor of the Rattlers, 69-52.
 
Marov would lead the Belles offense against the Rattlers, scoring 20 points for the Belles and shooting 7-14 from the field and 6-10 from beyond the three point line. Marov grabbed nine rebounds against St. Mary's, one offensive and eight defensive, registering a steal as well.
 
Lloyd scored 12 points against St. Mary's, grabbing three defensive rebounds, along with five assists and three steals.
 
Madeline Stephens led the Belles defensively against the Rattlers, grabbing 12 total rebounds, four on offense and eight on defense, adding four blocks against St. Mary's. Stephens made four points for Angelo State as well.
 
Up Next:
The Belles return to the Stephens Arena as they face the Texas A&M-Commerce Lions in a two-game series on Friday, January 29, and Saturday, January 30. The first game will begin on Friday at 5:30 p.m., with the second game beginning at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.