ABILENE, Texas – The St. Mary’s Lady Rattlers rallied down the stretch Thursday night, closing an 11-point deficit to four with a minute remaining against Abilene Christian.

But a St. Mary’s turnover, paired with two ACU free throws on the other end, ensured the Wildcats prevailed 64-58 over the visiting Rattlers at Moody Coliseum.

Playing 37 minutes, guard DeAnna Patterson (Sr., Converse, Texas) led the Lady Rattlers with a season-high 20 points, while point guard Liz Boyd (Jr., San Antonio) added nine points in 34 minutes.

St. Mary’s (1-8) will return home Saturday, when it hosts Angelo State at 4 p.m. at Bill Greehey Arena.

After falling behind by as many as 16 points, including trailing 33-24 at the break, the Lady Rattlers fought back to give themselves a chance in the waning minutes.

Leading the way was Patterson, who in addition to scoring 20 added six rebounds and five assists, while going 7 for 7 at the free-throw line.

Defensively, St. Mary’s limited Abilene Christian (2-1) to just 16 field goals. But the Wildcats made up for that by dominating at the foul stripe, hitting on 28 of 37 attempts. They also outrebounded the Lady Rattlers 43-35.

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