San Antonio – Rachel Jones has become the first St. Mary’s women’s basketball player on record to go on to play professional ball.

Jones, a point guard who last played for the Lady Rattlers in 2008-09, recently signed with the Hapoel Tel Aviv (Tel Aviv, Israel) of the Euroleague-Israeli League Division 1.

“This is such a blessing,” said Jones, a native of Little Rock, Ark., “and it’s definitely a dream come true. I’m very excited and I’m working hard to make the most of this opportunity.”

Jones has averaged 18.5 points, 2.5 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game so far through the early stages of this season.

Jones, who graduated from St. Mary’s in May 2010 with a business degree, played two seasons for the Rattlers after transferring from the University of Texas-Pan American following the 2006-07 school year.

She averaged 12.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists as a senior, helping lead the Rattlers to a 24-5 in 2008-09.

Jones ranks fifth on the Rattlers’ all-time career assists chart with an average of 3.5 over 58 games, and her 10 assists against Texas A&M International on Feb. 23, 2009 are still tied for the second-most in a game by a Rattler. She also averaged 10.7 points and 5.9 rebounds at St. Mary’s.

Her contract with Hapoel Tel Aviv runs through the end of this season, which goes from November-February.

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