Jan. 4, 2008
Final Stats
Box Score in PDF Format 
Nothing could stop the UTEP women's basketball team on Friday night. The Houston Lady Cougars managed to slow the Miners for a half, but the effort was soon forgotten as UTEP bowled over UH in the second period en route to a convincing 79-61 win at Hofheinz Pavilion in the Conference USA opener for both squads.
UTEP shot a blistering 58 percent after the break, on the way to blitzing the Cougars to the tune of 48-31 in the period to turn a close game into a rout.
"It was a very, very good win. We were in a hard-fought battle in the first half," head coach Keitha Adams said. "We played with a passion and a purpose in the second half, and that is really exciting.
"We got some great play from our guards, who were extremely unselfish and played really well together," Adams concluded.
The victory is the sixth straight for UTEP, which improves to 10-2 on the year while the Lady Cougars fall to 6-9. Perhaps what is most impressive about the win is the fact that it came in hostile territory, something which has not occurred often in recent years for UTEP.
But that has slowly changed under Adams. After equaling the third-largest margin of victory in a road contest during her seven-year era, this year's squad now stands at 3-2 away from home.
In a season where the Miners have had different heroes each night, it was a three-headed scoring monster that did in the Lady Cougars. Jareica Hughes, Natasha Lacy and Kasia Krezel combined to score 55 points to spark the offense. Lacy also dished out a campaign-best nine assists. Hughes and Lacy were locked in defensively, as each registered five steals.
That is not to say the trio did not have help, as Tasha Marisett and Claudia Porras combined for 15 points and 16 boards to provide a huge boost from the bench.
Solid team defense also factored in, as the Miners shut down preseason C-USA Player of the Year Tye Jackson, who was limited to only two points on 1-of-9 from the floor. Jackson, who has been hindered with knee problems all year, was never able to get going.
UTEP will take aim at its seventh straight win at Rice at 1 p.m. MST on Sunday. The game will be carried live locally in El Paso on KHRO 1650 AM.
