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EL PASO, Texas — If this weekend’s exhibition action is any indicator, the St. Mary’s women’s basketball team could be in for a big year.

The Lady Rattlers gave UTEP a challenge on Saturday, falling 69-60 after trailing by three at the half to a team that won Conference USA and advanced to the NCAA Division I Tournament a year ago.

Jackie Woods (Jr., San Antonio), who played as Jackie Edwards last season, led the Lady Rattlers with 18 points and went 3 of 7 from 3-point range at the Don Haskins Center.

Morgan Pullins (So., Franklin, Mich.) fell one rebound short of a double-double, scoring 10 and pulling down nine boards. Newcomer Lia Kioa (Jr., Phoenix) filled the stat sheet with six points, seven rebounds and five assists, while fellow guard Felicia Jacobs (Sr., San Antonio) hauled in eight boards.

St. Mary’s led for a good portion of the first half, including by as many as four at 18-14 midway through the frame. A UTEP surge saw the Miners storm back to take a 31-23 advantage with 4:12 remaining, but a Bria Bell (Jr., Mesquite, Texas) layup with 46 seconds left helped slice the halftime deficit to 31-28.

UTEP pushed its lead to 18 midway through the second half.

St. Mary’s advanced to the Heartland Conference Tournament semifinals last season with a 13-16 record.

St. Mary’s University, as a Catholic Marianist University, fosters the formation of people in faith and educates leaders for the common good through community service, integrated liberal arts and professional education, and academic excellence. The University has six athletic national titles: men’s basketball (1989–NAIA), baseball (2001–NCAA Div. II), softball (1986–NAIA and 2002–NCAA Div. II) and an individual national champion in men’s golf (2006–NCAA Div. II) and a national academic championship in men’s golf (2009–NCAA Div. II). St. Mary’s also had more than 40 percent of its athletes named to conference, regional and/or national honor rolls this past year. St. Mary’s student–athletes graduation rate is 65 percent, higher than the NCAA Division II average of 55 percent. To learn more about St. Mary's, visit www.stmarytx.edu/athletics.