Everyone deserves a place that they can call home. For San Marcos senior Faith Phillips, she found one for our future college basketball career at St. Mary's University.
"Someone once told me to go to a school where you know you are really wanted," said Phillips. "As soon as I talked to Coach [Jason] Martens, I felt he really wanted me to be a part of his program, so that really excited me. He really gave my family and I the comfort we needed to feel like St. Mary's is the right place for me."
Phillips received the offer a few months ago and announced her commitment on Tuesday night. She's looking forward to experiencing San Antonio and having family nearby.
"San Antonio is such a fun city with so many opportunities, but I think one of my favorite parts is the variety of food," said Phillips. "I was mainly looking for a program where I felt like I could make myself at home. Most of my family does live in San Marcos, so it definitely is a plus that they will get to see me play."
Phillips has enjoyed great success against South Texas high school girls basketball teams in her career, so her future move to the Alamo City makes a lot of sense. She helped San Marcos win 20 games during the 2019-2020 girls basketball season and her play against region teams earned her a UIL 26-6A first-team all-district honor. The team did miss the postseason, so she and her teammates and coaches are chasing a 2020-2021 appearance. The athletes have stayed on track during the offseason by participating in their high school strength and conditioning program this summer and playing for their respective AAU teams.
"I think last season has ignited a fire in every single member of the Lady Rattler program," said Phillips. "We saw what we could have had, which was a spot in the playoffs, but we just couldn't quite clinch it. So, our goal this year is to take that playoff spot. To do so, we are going to take it game by game and one team at a time."
San Marcos remains a UIL 26-6A member for the next two school years, but faces a new Austin area slate of district opponents. Even with the change, Phillips feels last year's pool prepares her team for the new road ahead, as well as her personal collegiate challenges in future years.
"I think the competition level of our new district is about the same as our previous," said Phillips. "Both of the districts are very talented and very respected, but I believe our team has some very talented players on it as well. I think this coming year is going to prepare me for college by increasing my resiliency to not back down in any game and fight till the end."
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