EL PASO – The Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers started their Christmas break with a less-than-ideal end to the semester Saturday after falling 86-48 to the Miners of Texas–El Paso.

Five UTEP players scored in double figures as the Miners outscored Prairie View A&M 45-12 in the first half and rode that cushion to the victory.

Ebonee Tate (Fort Worth, Texas / Arkansas Baptist College) came off the Prairie View A&M bench to lead the Lady Panthers with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Tate finished a rebound shy of a double-double, pulling in nine caroms.

The Lady Panthers fell to 3-8 with the loss. UTEP snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 4-4 with the win.

A combination of turnovers and poor shooting sunk the Lady Panthers in the first half as PVAMU shot 19 percent (5 of 26) and committed 12 of their 17 turnovers before halftime. UTEP, meanwhile, turned those turnovers and missed shots into easy baskets; the Miners outscored UTEP 21-0 in points off turnovers before halftime, and enjoyed an 18-4 advantage in points in the paint.

The Miners opened the game with nine unanswered points and held a 16-2 lead less than seven minutes into the opening half. UTEP put the game even further out of reach when they stretched a 26-8 lead to 39-8 between the 8:44 and 5:02 marks of the first. The Miners led by as many 41 midway through the second half.

Part of the home team's game plan was to slow down Prairie View A&M's leading scorer, Jeanette Jackson (Las Vegas, Nev. / Sierra Vista HS). Jackson was held to a season-low eight points – the first time this season she has been held to single digits in scoring. Alexus Parker (Savannah, Ga. / Calvary Day School) added nine points and eight rebounds for the Lady Panthers.

Lulu McKinney led the Miners with 14 points. Cameasha Turner and Lawna Kennedy added 13 points and 12 points, respectively, for UTEP.

The Lady Panthers will return to action Monday, Dec. 29, when they visit Baylor, currently ranked No. 9 in both the Associated Press Top 25 poll and the USA Today Coaches poll. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Following the game at Baylor, the Lady Panthers will open the 2015 portion of their schedule when they open Southwestern Athletic Conference play Saturday, Jan. 3, when they visit Southern.