Last second basket sends Lady Miners to defeat in Texas

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Twice in the final 23 seconds, Katie Bunge gave the Lady Miners a lead, but St. Mary's was able to answer both of Bunge's late baskets and came away with a 57-56 win over UMR Thursday in the Lady Rattler Christmas Classic.

The Rattlers' Juanita Merchant wrapped up a wild finish -- one where there were five lead changes in the final 36 seconds alone -- by getting behind the UMR defense for a game-winning lay-up with 2.2 seconds to play. That basket came after Bunge had given the Lady Miners the lead with seven seconds remaining, but Rachel Jones took the inbounds pass to the frontcourt and hit an open Merchant under the basket for the game-winner just seconds later.

UMR led for most of the night, building a 26-20 lead at the intermission and holding a six-point lead of 51-45 with 3:38 remaining. However, back-to-back three-point plays by Jones and Mallory Moeller allowed the Rattlers to tie the game at the 2:47 mark.

Bunge gave the Lady Miners lead back when she made the first of two at the line with 57 seconds remaining, but a turnover by UMR gave the ball back to the Rattlers, allowing Ashton Benford to go to the line and make a pair of free throws to give the Rattlers a 53-52 lead with 32 seconds to play.

However, Bunge scored on UMR's next trip down the floor on a lefthanded lay-in with 23 seconds left, only to see Melanie Gamez knock down a short jumper eight seconds later to put St. Mary's back in front 55-54.

UMR went back to Bunge after a timeout and she scored with seven seconds on the clock to put UMR ahead once again. But Jones went quickly up the floor and hit Merchant on the low block for an easy lay-in to produce the winning points. Jaime Forsberg's shot from just inside midcourt was off the mark at the buzzer.

The Lady Miners, who shot 61 percent in Wednesday's win over Texas A&M International, made just 40.4 percent of their shots Thursday and six-of-21 from three-point range. UMR had a 43-32 advantage on the boards over the Rattlers, but also turned the ball over 23 times. St. Mary's shot 33.3 percent for the game both from the field and from three-point land.

UMR (5-2) got 11 points from Tamara McCaskill and 10 from Katie McElrath, while Bunge and Jennifer Pena had nine points apiece in the loss.

The Lady Miners will return to action with their home opener Dec. 29 against Ouachita Baptist at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building. Game time will be at 2 p.m.