- Box Score

SAN ANTONIO – The Tarleton women's basketball team ended 2010 in style with a come-from-behind 64-57 victory over St. Mary's in San Antonio Thursday night.

After a ten day layoff, the TexAnns (8-1) stumbled out of the gate, relinquishing an 8-0 St. Mary's (7-6) advantage. Tarleton did not get on the board until the 16:29 mark when Brittnie Haley scored a contested basket in the paint.

The slow start did not last long though, with the TexAnns fighting back to 13-13 with 11:48 remaining in the first half. Tarleton held the Rattlers to a 2:14 drought, while scoring four unanswered points entering the second media time out.

For the rest of the half, the two teams exchanged baskets, with Tarleton matching St. Mary's attempts to pull away. The Rattlers were able to jump out to six-point leads on a few different occasions, but the TexAnns would respond with short runs of their own.

A three-pointer by Lisa Parker and a converted free throw by Kiara Wright pulled Tarleton within three as the half ended, with the Rattlers leading the TexAnns 27-24.

St. Mary's benefited from their home court advantage, shooting 47.4 percent compared to Tarleton's 20.8 percent from the floor. The main reason the TexAnns were able to stay in the ball game was their ability to get to the charity stripe, hitting 12-of-18 from the line.

It was a sloppy first 20 minutes with Tarleton and St. Mary's committing 14 and 15 turnovers respectively, while the TexAnns out-rebounded the Rattlers 16-14.

Tarleton had a balanced scoring attack in the first half, with eight different players contributing points. Wright led the way with seven points and five rebounds, while Parker hit a pair of clutch three-pointers.

Tarleton trailed by eight at the 17:14 mark, their biggest deficit through the opening 20 minutes, but held a one-point lead at the 11:46 mark, their only lead of the half.

The second half began similar to how the first half ended. Tarleton was able to score an early basket, but it was St. Mary's for the next few minutes. The Rattlers pushed their lead to the largest difference of the night, nine points, on a 7-0 stretch going into the first media break of the second half.

After a St. Mary's basket made it an 11-point game, the TexAnns responded with a seven-point run that brought Tarleton to within four again with just a minute ticking off the clock. The visiting TexAnns continued with their offensive assault, knocking the deficit to just two points with 10 minutes remaining in the game.

The Rattlers pushed their lead back to seven, but yet another Tarleton rally was capped by a Lisa Parker three, tying the game at 48-48. Moments later at the 7:12 mark, Parker gave the TexAnns their first lead of the second half, 51-50, with another crucial three-pointer.

Over the last seven minutes of the game, Tarleton and St. Mary's exchanged leads in what was a rollercoaster finish. The TexAnns and the Rattlers traded brief leads until Parker hit her fifth three-pointer of the game to give Tarleton a two-point lead with 55 seconds left in the contest.

With the momentum in their favor and their foot on the throttle, the TexAnns dominated the last minute of the game, scoring five unanswered points to end the game. Tarleton happily ended 2010 with a 64-57 victory over the Rattlers of St. Mary's.

As a team, the TexAnns shot 40.4 percent from the field after shooting just over 20 percent in the first half. Their six three-pointers and 20 free throws helped establish an advantage in the second half and hang on for the win.

Parker was easily the standout player of the game, hitting 5-of-7 from behind the arc, and making the baskets late in the game when trailing.  Parker finished with 15 points to go along with two assists.

Shelby Adamson hit a couple of clutch free throws late in the game to seal St. Mary's fate, and finished with 14 points on the night. Kelsey Benford contributed 10 points and six boards, as well as three steals defensively.

For St. Mary's, Nicole James led the way with 11 points, while DeAnna Patterson and Kirsten Williams both added 10 points for the Rattlers. Overall, St. Mary's shot 45.5 percent from the field, but committed 24 turnovers in the contest.

Tarleton will return home to start 2011 in the Lone Star Conference South Division, hosting Texas A&M-Commerce on Monday, Jan. 3 in Wisdom Gym.