Jan. 12, 2008
Final Stats
Box Score in PDF Format 
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Behind a school-record 13 three pointers, the UTEP women's basketball team rolled to an impressive 81-66 win at Tulane Saturday afternoon.
The eighth straight triumph, including a program best fourth consecutive road win, improves the Miners to 12-2 and 3-0 in Conference USA play. Tulane, the defending league champion and preseason pick to win C-USA, falls to 11-5 and 1-2, respectively. It marks the second straight year that the Orange and Blue have christened league action with a trio of wins.
UTEP is now 5-2 on the road, which already equals the third-most single-season victories away from home in school history. The past three road wins for the Miners have all been by double-digits, marking the first time since 1980 that the Orange and Blue have achieved the feat.
UTEP shot the ball extremely well, connecting on 55.8 of its chances. Included among that was a sizzling 77.2 after the break, which helped the Miners turn a three-point game at the half into a comfortable victory. Aiding the offensive effort was an unselfish attitude, as UTEP notched a season-high 24 assists.
Jareica Hughes and Kasia Krezel led the offensive onslaught, pouring 23 and 19 points, respectively, on a combined 16-of-22 from the floor, including 10-of-14 on three balls. Hughes was particularly impressive, going 9-of-10 (5-of-6 on threes) to equal the second-best single-game percentage by a sophomore and sixth highest overall in the 34-year history of the program.
Izabela Piekarska notched her fourth double-double of the season with a 15-point, 11 board effort, while Natasha Lacy dished out a game-high eight assists to go along with eight points and four steals. Timika Williams had her usual steady performance (nine points and seven boards) while Claudia Porras and Brittany Jones combined for seven points and six boards off the bench.
The first half was tightly contested, with four ties and three lead changes. As the period wore on, though, UTEP started to assert itself, and that effort afforded the Miners a three-point lead at the break (35-32).
In the second stanza, Tulane tied things up quickly thanks to a triple by Nikki Luckhurst. UTEP had an answer, though, in the form of a 10-0 run. The effort presented UTEP with a 45-35 edge with 16:46 to play, and the Miners would never trail from that point on.
The Green Wave closed the gap to two (48-46) after a lay-up by Dominique Philpots, but Krezel silenced the crowd with a triple from the corner. Tulane then climbed back within three (55-52) with 10:31 left, but the Miners once again had a response. This time it was a Porras lay up.
UTEP then put the pedal to the medal, and the result was a dominating stretch over the next eight minutes to afford the Orange and Blue its biggest lead of the tilt (78-61) with 1:20 left.
The Miners will be back in action against UAB on Friday at 7:05 p.m. at the Don Haskins Center for the first of three straight C-USA home games. The promotion for the game is "Lace Up With Lacy Night", where the first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a free pair of authentic UTEP shoelaces.
