Feb. 24, 2011
Final Stats |
Photo Gallery by Michael P. Reese 
Complete Game Book In PDF Format 
EL PASO, TEXAS- Five different players reached double figures in scoring to lead the UTEP women's basketball team to a 77-49 victory against Southern Miss inside the Don Haskins Center Thursday evening.
The Miners (14-12, 6-8 C-USA) never trailed in the tilt, and they enjoyed a double-digit advantage over the Lady Eagles (10-17, 5-9 C-USA) for the final 23 minutes of the game.
UTEP used an unselfish approach offensively to pick apart the visitors, racking up 21 assists on its 28 field-goals made. The Miners connected on 50 percent from the floor, while drilling seven three pointers. Dietra Caldwell nailed five of the triples on the way to a team-high 15 points, but she had ample support. Kelli Willingham (14 points), Kayla Thornton (11 points), Gloria Brown (10 points) and Ashley Milian (10 points) all joined her in double figures.
Brown grabbed a game-high 11 boards to record her fifth double-double of the campaign while Willingham fell just shy of her second, racking up nine assists. Junior guard Baiba Eglite also got in on the act with seven points off the bench, helping UTEP's reserves out-distance those of USM to the tune of 23-2.
At the other end of the court it was a very aggressive, trapping zone which gave the Lady Eagles fits. USM was forced into committing 24 turnovers, which were converted into 24 points. The Miners had only 16 giveaways, which resulted in six points for the visiting side.
Tanesha Washington tallied 15 points to pace USM's attack, but it was volume scoring. She connected on just 7-of-19 from the field. Jamierra Faulkner registered 11 points, but that fact was overshadowed by her game-high eight turnovers. Geneshia Dunbar (10 points) and Niesha Pierce (eight points) also had some success offensively, but no other Lady Eagle scored more than three points.
USM enjoyed a slight edge in rebounding, 34-33, but the Miners did out-score the Lady Eagles, 14-6, in second-chance opportunities. Points in the paint also went the way of the Orange and Blue, 28-18.
UTEP pushed out to an early 5-2 advantage following an old-fashioned three-point play from Willingham before USM tied the tilt with a long triple from Brittany Johnson. The two teams traded buckets over the next several minutes, and the game was all square for the seventh time at 15-15 with 10:30 to play.
Things would change in a hurry, though, thanks to Caldwell. The sharpshooter hit a trio of three-pointers over the next couple of minutes to help fuel a game-deciding 17-4 run. The sequence afforded the Orange and Blue a 32-19 advantage with 3:04 to play in the first half, and USM would never get closer than 10 from that point on.
The Miners carried a 12-point edge (38-26) into the locker room, but ensured that there would be no comeback by surging out of the gates in the second stanza. UTEP rattled off a 16-4 run early in the period to build a 23-point cushion (56-33) with 14:28 to play in regulation.
To its credit, Southern Miss continued to play hard but could only whittle the deficit down to 19 (58-39) at the 9:53 mark. UTEP put things on cruise control down the stretch, leading by at least 20 for the final nine minutes.
The Miners will return to action when they play host to rival SMU at 2:05 p.m. MST Sunday. It will be "Senior Day," and as part of the "Take A Kid To The Game" promotion, kids will receive free admission.
