SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The Newman women's basketball team rebounded from one of the worst first-half shooting performances in the program's history, and trailed by as little as two in the second half, but a late St. Mary's charge lifted the Rattlers to a 49-37 win over the Jets Monday night inside Bill Greehey Arena. Rainey Nickel's nine points led the Jets in the loss.

The Jets made the first move when Jessica Forshee laid in an Ellen Traylor pass to give the Jets a 2-0 lead just 56 seconds into the contest. Both teams struggled to score from that point forward, combining for just eight points in the game's first five minutes. A free throw by STMU's Mareta Bailey gave the hosting Rattlers a 5-4 lead at the 15:01 mark. That free throw ended up being the last point either team would score for the next four minutes, when the Rattlers' Kristen Williams drained a jumper to give St. Mary's a 7-4 lead with 10:58 to play. Williams' jumper was part of 10 unanswered points by St. Mary's, who held Newman scoreless until the 4:56 mark when Brea Teeter converted two free throws, pulling the Jets to within eight, 14-6, with 4:56 remaining. Newman's only other points in the half came on free throws, as the Jets converted just one of their 17 shots from the field for a meager 5.9 shooting percentage. Fortunately, the Jets went 7-for-8 from the charity stripe in the first half, but still trailed 23-9 at halftime; their lowest-scoring half of the season.

Newman's second field goal of the game didn't come until the 16:39 mark of the second half when Rainey Nickel drilled a lay-up to narrow the St. Mary's lead to 29-17. Two Rattler free throws gave St. Mary's a 31-17 lead with 16 minutes to play, but a Ladessa Nachbor lay-in started a 10-1 run by the Jets, who narrowed the gap to five, 32-27 with 10:31 to play. Five minutes later, Newman had drawn to within two, 37-35, but St. Mary's countered with a 12-2 run over the game's final five mintues, and picked up the 49-37 win.

Nickel's nine points was a team high for the Jets, while Monique Pitts grabbed six boards to lead Newman's rebounding effort. The two teams combined for 58 turnovers in the contest. Newman committed 30 turnovers, while the Rattlers gave it away 28 times.

Mareta Bailey and Nicole James each scored 12 points to pace the Rattlers.

With the loss, the Jets fall to 3-11 on the season, and 1-3 in Heartland Conference play. They will return to action Saturday when they host the Lincoln Blue Tigers in a 2 p.m. contest inside Newman's Fugate Gymnasium.