SAN ANTONIO – The St. Mary´s Lady Rattlers had just gotten used to battling conference opponents without leading scorer Flavia Azinheira, but the sophomore post´s presence proved luxurious Wednesday night.

Azinheira, totaling 15 points and eight rebounds, helped the Lady Rattlers storm past Western New Mexico University 83-49 to sweep the season series before a crowd of 479 at Bill Greehey Arena.

St. Mary´s junior post Charlena Rodez led all scorers with 17, while sophomore guard Whitney Card paved the way for the Mustangs with 12 points to along with the 10 points and nine boards posted by junior guard/forward Tannesia Manley. Rattlers senior forward Juliett Williams approached triple-double territory, finishing with nine points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

The Lady Rattlers (12-9, 5-3 in Heartland Conference play) entered halftime with a 43-33 lead. St. Mary´s opened up a 23-0 run late in the second half, though, to separate from Western New Mexico (2-18, 1-7).

St. Mary´s, which earlier this season defeated the Mustangs 76-60 in Silver City, New Mexico, moves 1.5 games ahead of the University of the Incarnate Word (3-4) for fourth place in the conference and only half a game back from St. Edward´s University (5-2).

St. Mary´s plays host to Western New Mexico University again on Thursday in a rare doubleheader at Greehey Arena, with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

ST. MARY'S 83, WESTERN N.M. UNIVERSITY 49
WESTERN N.M. UNIVERSITY (2-18 (1-7)) Whitney Card 4-6 2-6 12; Tannesia Manley 4-10 2-6 10; Stefani Vallejos 3-7 0-0 6; Antonia Caffey 1-2 3-6 6; Nicole Ruegsegger 2-6 1-3 5; Sarah Bennetts 2-7 0-0 4; Crystal Smith 2-8 0-1 4; Natalie Lara 1-8 0-0 2; Tiffany Bass 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-55 8-22 49.
ST. MARY'S (12-9 (5-3)) Charlena Rodez 7-10 3-4 17; Flavia Azinheira 7-18 1-2 15; Ashton Benford 4-7 1-1 9; Juliett Williams 4-7 1-4 9; Dawn Killian 3-5 0-0 8; Natalie Gamez 3-3 0-0 7; Juanita Merchant 2-2 0-0 6; Stephanie Rayos 2-5 2-2 6; Lori Ripper 1-2 0-0 3; Becca Herbst 1-3 1-2 3; Jessie Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-62 9-15 83.

Western N.M. University....... 33 16 - 49 
St. Mary's.................... 43 40 - 83 

3-point goals-Western N.M. University 3-15 (Whitney Card 2-3; Antonia Caffey 1-1; Nicole Ruegsegger 0-1; Sarah Bennetts 0-4; Natalie Lara 0-5; Tannesia Manley 0-1), St. Mary's 6-13 (Juanita Merchant 2-2; Dawn Killian 2-3; Lori Ripper 1-1; Natalie Gamez 1-1; Stephanie Rayos 0-1; Becca Herbst 0-1; Juliett Williams 0-1; Flavia Azinheira 0-3). Fouled out--Western N.M. University-None, St. Mary's-None. Rebounds-Western N.M. University 27 (Tannesia Manley 9), St. Mary's 47 (Ashton Benford 8; Flavia Azinheira 8). Assists-Western N.M. University 12 (Tannesia Manley 4), St. Mary's 20 (Juliett Williams 8). Total fouls-Western N.M. University 12, St. Mary's 15. A-479