Jan. 22, 2016
Game Notes In PDF Format 
THE OPENING ACT
- UTEP (15-1, 6-0 C-USA) will look for its second win in three days and eighth straight overall when it plays at FIU (2-15, 0-6 C-USA) at 12 p.m. MT/2 p.m. ET Saturday. Brandon Cohn will have the call on 600 ESPN El Paso, KROD-AM Radio. Fans can also get updates by following @UTEPWBB on Twitter.
- The Miners pushed their win streak to seven by storming back to beat FAU, 78-66, on Jan. 21. The Panthers were upended at home at UTSA, 63-52, on Jan. 21.
- UTEP's 15-1 overall record is the best through 16 games in program history; the `06-07 and `12-13 squads had bolted out off to 14-1 starts before falling in the 16th contest of the season.
- For the sixth straight week UTEP received votes for the Associated Press Top-25 poll. The Miners appeared on a pair of ballots to pick up seven points and climb to 33rd (Jan. 18). They're also 26th in the RPI (Jan. 22).
- The Panthers are 2-8 overall at home, including 0-3 in league play. UTEP is 4-1 on the road, including 3-0 within conference action.
- The Miners are 6-0 in league play for the third team in program history. In 2008 the Miners became the first C-USA women's program to run the gauntlet (16-0, 1st) while they won the first 14 in 2012 (15-1 finish, 1st C-USA).
- UTEP has claimed the first three league games for the first time since 2013.
- The Miners are one of seven teams in the country with one or fewer losses.
NEW FORMAT
- NCAA women's basketball games will be played in four 10-minute quarters for the 2015-16 season.
- Teams will now reach the bonus and shoot two free throws on the fifth team foul in each quarter. In the four-quarter format, team fouls reset to zero at the start of each quarter.
- Teams now have four timeouts (three 30s, one 60), three which carry over to the second half. They will be able to advance the ball to the frontcourt after a timeout with less than 59.9 seconds in 4Q.
- There are seven media timeouts (four under five minutes in quarter/first called), two intermission media timeouts (after first and third quarters) and the first team-called timeout during the second half.
- Bands or amplified music may now play during any dead ball.
THIS AND THAT ON C-USA
- (RV) UTEP (6-0) and (RV) WKU (6-0) are lone teams without a league loss; FIU (0-6) is only without a league win.
- Middle Tennessee (4-2) is alone in third place while Southern Miss and LA Tech share fourth at 3-2.
- Charlotte, UAB and Old Dominion are 3-3 to tie for sixth while Marshall, FAU, north Texas, UTSA and Rice all sport 2-4 records while FIU rounds things out at 0-6.
INSIDE THE SERIES
- The Miners lead the series, 2-1, including 2-0 since FIU joined Conference USA.
- This is the first meeting between the programs in Miami, with the Miners having picked up victories in El Paso the past two seasons.
- FIU downed UTEP, 82-38, in a neutral-site tilt back on Nov. 27, 1998.
GETTING TO KNOW FIU
Overall: 2-15 Home: 2-8 Road 0-7 Neutral 0-0
- FIU blasted Florida A&M, 81-65, in its season opener before dropping the next four games.
- The Panthers halted the surge with a 71-68 home victory vs. UMASS Lowell.
- FIU has been saddled with 11 straight losses since, with nearly half (five) of them by single digits.
- The Panthers led UTSA at the half by three but was plagued by poor shooting after the break to fall, 63-52, last time out on Jan. 21.
- FIU is under the direction of first-year head coach Marlin Chinn.
- Taylor Shade (15.1), Tianah Alvarado (13.1), Janka Hegedus (12.5), Kristian Hudson (9.8) and Destini Feagin (7.6) have been consistent scorers for FIU. No one else on the squad contributes more than 4.0 ppg.
- Hudson (35.9), Shade (34.5), Hegedus (33.4) and Feagin (30.8) all log more than 30 minutes/game.
- Only nine players have seen action on the year for the Panthers.
- Ranks in top half of the league for free-throw percentage (2nd, .740), three pointers made (5th-108), three-point percentage (6th-33.2), fewest turnovers/game (4th-15.8) and fewest fouls/game (18.2-7th).
- Had some problems with field-goal percentage defense (45.8-14th C-USA/339th nation), rebounding (-9.4 margin-14th C-USA/307th nation), scoring defense (75.1-14th C-USA/330th nation), scoring margin (-12.7-14th C-USA/322nd nation) and three-point field goal defense (35.1-14th C-USA/322nd nation)
- Notable alumni include Andy Garcia (actor) and Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River.
GOING BACK IN TIME
(UTEP 78, at FAU 66, 1/22/16)
- Trailing 30-18 with 7:57 to play in the second quarter, UTEP outscored high-flying FAU, 60-36, the rest of the way to come away with a 78-66 road victory on Jan. 21.
- The Miners' seventh consecutive win moves them to 15-1 overall on the year, marking the best start in program history. UTEP also improves to 6-0 in Conference USA play, including 3-0 on the road.
- Jenzel Nash (17 points, eight boards, four steals), Cameasha Turner (16 points, five rebounds, three assists) and Starr Breedlove (15 points, five assists, five steals) all logged 30+ minutes to lead the way for the Orange and Blue.
- Sparkle Taylor came off the bench to tally 14 points and grab three rebounds in an efficient 21 minutes of action while veteran Chrishauna Parker showed tremendous poise with six points and seven boards. RS-sophomore post Tamara Seda matched her career high for both points (eight) and rebounds (seven) in a career-high 25 minutes.
- FAU opened up on fire, bolting out to a 7-0 lead just 1:30 into the contest. The Owls pushed the cushion out to 23-14 through 10 minutes. The margin swelled to 12 (30-18) with 7:57 left, before the Miners started to kick things into gear.
- UTEP ripped off 11 straight points, with Nash, Breedlove and Turner doing the heavy lifting before FAU's Ali Gorrell, who put up 20 points, 12 boards and five assists, halted the sequence with a pair of free throws.
- To its credit, UTEP struck back and managed to pull even at 39 heading to halftime.
- The Miners continued to have the momentum in the third quarter, using a 24-13 10-minute sequence to grab control for good. FAU refused to go away quietly, getting within seven (67-60) with 5:54 to play before back-to-back lay-ups by Parker and Turner reinstated order.
THE RUNDOWN ON UTEP'S 2015-16 SEASON
Overall: 15-1 Home: 10-0 Road 4-1 Neutral 1-0
- Bolted out to the third-best start (8-0) in program history before falling, 47-40, at Long Beach on Dec. 18.
- Bounced back 22 hours later to topple UNLV, 60-52, to conclude non-conference play at 9-1.
- It marked the fourth time in program history to wrap up non-league play with just one loss. The Miners were 12-1 in 2012-13, 11-1 in 2006-07 and 8-1 in 1996-97. It was also the 14th straight year to head into conference action at .500 or better, including 11 consecutive outright winning marks.
- Downed Rice (60-54) on Jan. 1 to notch their seventh straight win in a Conference USA opener and improve to 9-2 in league lidlifters since joining the league in `05-06.
- Two days later bested North Texas, 75-67, on Jan. 3 to make it a clean sweep to start the week.
- Knocked off preseason favorite Middle Tennessee, 84-73, to win its league home opener on Jan. 7, which was followed by 62-54 come-from-behind victory against UAB on Jan. 10 and a grind-out 62-55 win vs. UTSA on Jan. 17.
- Opened up stretch of playing four of the next six on the road by roaring back to beat FAU, 78-66, on Jan. 21.
- The record of 15-1 is the best in program history through 16 contests.
- UTEP is 6-0 on the year when facing teams (FAU, Houston Baptist, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico, UAB and UTSA) that defeated them last season.
- UTEP is among the C-USA and national leaders for field-goal percentage defense (35.6- 1st C-USA/34th nation), free throws attempted (345-2nd C-USA/76th nation), free-throws made (238-2nd C-USA/74th nation), rebounds/game (40.3-3rd C-USA/98th nation), scoring defense (57.6-2nd C-USA/53rd nation), scoring offense (71.0-4th C-USA/75th nation), steals/game (12.0-1st C-USA/6th nation), turnover margin (5.2-1st C-USA/13th nation) and turnovers forced/game (1st C-USA/7th nation).
- Five players (all guards) score between 6.0-14.5 ppg, with Jenzel Nash (14.1-10th C-USA/247th nation) tops the list. She's followed by Cameasha Turner (11.9-23rd C-USA), Sparkle Taylor (11.2-29th), Starr Breedlove (11.4) and Lulu McKinney (6.3).
- Team effort on the glass with five Miners grabbing between 3.0-5.6 boards/game. Nash tops the list at 5.6 rpg, aided by a team-high 39 total offensive boards. Turner follows at 4.9 rpg, which is helped by a squad-best 61 defensive rebounds. Chrishauna Parker-3.8 rpg Taylor-3.6 rpg, Tamara Seda-3.6 Chrishauna Parker-3.8 rpg round out the list.
- Breedlove (3.0-1st C-USA/32nd nation), Turner (2.4-5th C-USA/70th nation) and Nash (2.2-6th C-USA/106th nation) are among league and national leaders for steals/game.
- Breedlove is also in ratings for assist-to-turnover ratio (1.19-8th C-USA/228th nation) and assists/game (3.6-12th C-USA/199th nation).
- Turner (83.9-5th C-USA/53rd nation) and Nash (77.1-8th C-USA/157th nation) do so for free-throw percentage. Nash's 54 total free-throw makes is 7th in C-USA and 150th nationally.
- All 15 players earn at least 6.0 minutes/game, including 10 at +10.0 mpg. Turner tops the list at 29.8 mpg.
- Miner back-ups are outscoring the opposition by a count of 436-221 (27.2 ppg-13.9 ppg).
- Outscored opponents 328-187 (20.5 ppg-11.7 ppg) in points off turnovers.
WHAT'S TRENDING
TEAM DEFENSE
- Nine of past 10 foes held to lower than 40% from the floor; happened three times the first six games.
- NM State (11-26, 42.3 percent) and UAB (8-18, 44.4 percent) are the only opponents to make better than 40 percent of three-point tries against UTEP this year.
- NM State (11-26, 42.3 percent) is the only opponent to top 40 percent in three-point shooting.
- Every opponent except New Mexico at 11 (12/2/15) has made 17+ turnovers, with 13 committing 20+
- Kept six of past nine foes to less than 60 points.
- Given up 13 or fewer offensive boards in five of six league games, including 11 at FAU (1/21/16).
TEAM OFFENSE
- Shot 50.0 percent from the floor while putting up 78 points in the win at FAU (1/21/16).
- Had scored 62 points and shot a combined 36.2 percent (47-130) in wins vs. UAB and UTSA.
- Grabbed 18 offensive rebounds (tied second most on season) in victory vs. UTSA.
- Season lows for free throws made (three) and attempts (six) in the win at FAU (1/21/16).
- Was 7-21 (33.3 percent) from three point range at Rice (1/1/16); gone 10-65 (15.4 percent) since.
- Combined 35-90 (38.9 percent) on three pointers against Hampton, Idaho State, UNM and at Rice.
- UTEP is 36-172 (20.9 percent) from distance in the other 12 games on the year
INDIVIDUALS
- Jenzel Nash (13), Cameasha Turner (11), Starr Breedlove (10) and Sparkle Taylor (nine) have accounted for 43 of the 48 individual double-digit scoring efforts on the year; Lawna Kennedy (two), Lulu McKinney (two), Agata Dobrowolska (one) and Anete Kirsteine (one) are responsible for the other six.
- Breedlove dished out five assists at FAU (1/21/16), her highest total since a career-best eight at NM State (12/5/15).
- Breedlove has four offensive boards in C-USA play; she had a pair in non-conference action.
- Nash has 10+ points in six straight and nine of the past 10 games.
- Nash has played 30+ minutes in three straight games for the first time of her career. She had never played in even back-to-back contests with 30+ minutes prior to the stretch.
- Taylor has hit double figures in scoring in three straight and seven of the past nine games.
- Turner, who had five points in the C-USA opener, has 10+ points in five straight (15.6 ppg in stretch).
- Tamara Seda is averaging 5.5 points and 6.0 boards in 16.8 mpg the past four games; she was at 3.8 ppg and 2.8 rpg in 13.6 mpg in the first 12 games
- Wiktoria Zapart has blocked a team-high 14 shots despite ranking 12th in minutes/game (7.3).
THE BASIC FACTS ON UTEP
- UTEP is 525-621 in its 42nd season as a women's basketball program, including 15-1 this year.
- Five 20+ win seasons (all since 2006-07), including three straight (2012-14) for the first time at school.
- Two regular-season league championships (2008 & 2012) & one league tourney title (2012).
- Became first C-USA women's team to go 16-0 while claiming initial league title in 2008.
- Finished 15-1 in 2012 & won C-USA tournament.
- Own C-USA single-season record for winning streak at 23, which was set in 2007-08.
- Made three postseason appearances, including the 2014 WNIT where it earned runner-up honors.
- Appeared in 2008 (at-large bid, #7 seed) and 2012 NCAA Tournament (automatic bid, #13 seed).
- Faced #4 seed and #12 in polls Penn State in the 2012 NCAA First Round. The game was tied at the half (39-39) before Penn State pulled away for the 85-77 victory (3/18/12).
- Beat #10 seed Western Kentucky, 92-60 (3/22/08) in the first round of `08 "Big Dance."-
- Bowed out with 88-54 loss at two-seed & #4 seed and eventual national-runner up Stanford.
- The University of Texas at El Paso (founded in 1914) recently enjoyed a centennial celebration.
- Notable alumni include former ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Sam Donaldson, well-respected NFL referee Ed Hochuli, former NASA astronaut Danny Olivas engineer & Dennis Poon, who designed Taipei 101 & some of the tallest buildings in the world..
THE ADAMS FILE
- UTEP is under the direction of 15th-year head coach Keitha Adams.
- Adams is a two-time C- USA Coach of the Year ('08 and '12) is UTEP's all-time win leader at 263-182.
- Overall she stands at 390-219 in her 20th year as a collegiate head coach, making her one of two active C-USA coaches (Southern Miss' Joye Lee-McNelis is the other) with 300+ career collegiate wins
- All five 20+ win seasons and six of the seven with 18+ have been during her tenure.
- She is responsible for all three postseason bids (NCAA in 2008 and 2012; WNIT 2014) and all three league championships (2008 C-USA regular season; 2012 C-USA regular season and conference tournament) in school history.
- Twenty of the 23 major individual career records at the school are held by players from her era.
- Posted at least 16 wins in nine seasons; there were three such campaigns in program's first 27 years.
- More than 110 games above .500 (221-108) since joining Conference USA for the 2005-06 season.
- Earned votes in top-25 poll in seven seasons (2015-16, 2013-14, 2012-13, 2011-12, 2008-09 and 2007-08).
- Nationally ranked for final six weeks of `2007-08.
- Never achieved national ranking, let alone even earn points in a poll, before Adams's era.
- UTEP has compiled 50 separate months with a winning percentage of .500 or better under Adams compared to just 20 with a losing record. Eight of those 20 came in her first two years.
- Coached 20 players who have gone on to play professionally, including `08 WNBA draft picks Izabela Piekarska & Natasha Lacy.
- Impacted the international game at the highest level, with Noni Wharemate representing New Zealand at `08 Olympic Games.
- Every player who has exhausted her eligibility at UTEP during her tenure has graduated.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
- Last year UTEP was faced with the daunting task of replacing the most successful senior class (Kayla Thornton, Kristine Vitola and Kelli Willingham) in program history. That task was made even harder with anticipated leaders Jenzel Nash and Chrishauna Parker missing the 2014-15 season.
- The result was a young UTEP squad going through some growing pains on the way to finishing at 12-16, which marked the program's first losing season since 2005-06 (14-16).
- UTEP (15-1) has already surpassed last year's win total (12). It has 12 remaining regular-season games. In terms of league victories, the Miners (6-0) are one shy of last year's total (7-11).
- From a pure statistical standpoint, the Miners returned plenty of talent, evidenced by the chart below.
2015-16 RETURNING & LOST STAT BREAKDOWN
Category Returned Lost* `14-15 Totals % Returned For `15-16
Blocked Shots 77 13 90 85.6%
FT Made 308 79 387 79.6%
Steals 181 49 230 78.7%
Rebounds 827 257 1084 76.3%
Points 1360 479 1839 74.0%
FG Made 473 172 645 73.3%
Minutes Played 3953 1647 5600 70.6%
Assists 233 115 348 67.0%
3FG Made 106 56 162 65.4%
THIRD-BEST IN TEXAS SINCE `06-07
- The Miners have the third-most wins among all DI programs in Texas since 2006-07.
- Recent national champions & 2014 NCAA Elite 8 participants Baylor (298-45) and Texas A&M (253-81) lead the way while UTEP (207-93) has a firm grip on third. Texas (195-120) is fourth followed by Lamar (183-120). TCU (179-123-sixth), Stephen F. Austin (168-130-seventh), Prairie View A&M (168-138-eighth), SMU (164-133-ninth) and Texas Tech (161-146-10th) round out the top 10.
SPECIAL RUN
- 107-39 since the start of `11-12 season (15-1 this year), with 69 double-digit wins.
- Qualified for postseason play in two of the four campaigns. Posted 5-1 record en route to earning runner-up honors at the 2014 WNIT while landing an at-large bid to the 2012 NCAA Tournament after winning both the 2012 C-USA regular season and tournament title
- Enjoyed 14 separate winning streaks of at least three games.
- Contrast that with one three-game losing skid & one six-game setback streak.
WINNING NUMBERS
- 13-0 on season and 199-41 under Keitha Adams when leading at the break.
- 13-0 when leading after three quarters and 11-0 when doing so after the first quarter.
- 11-1 on year and 198-60 under Adams when keeping foes to less than 40 percent from the floor.
- 9-0 on year and 186-50 under Adams when making better than 40% from the floor.
- 9-0 on season and 175-58 under Adams when winning the rebounding battle.
- 7-1 on year and 138-35 under Adams when allowing less than 60 points.
- 6-1 on season and 87-13 under Adams when opposition has more turnovers than field goals.
- 1-0 on year and 84-21 under Adams when making 40% or better on 3 pointers (min. five 3PM).
- 3-0 on season and 73-4 under Adams with 80+ points.
- 2-0 on the year when trailing after the first quarter.
HOME SWEET HOME
- Perfect 6-0 mark during the second-longest homestand to start a season in program history.
- For the third time in the past four years and fourth time overall UTEP has won opened up at home with a start of at least 10-0. The 2007-08 squad is the only to finish unbeaten (14-0) at home. In both 2012-13 and 2013-14 the Miners won their first 10 home contests.
- 70-15 in El Paso since `11-12
- 171-51 at home since `02-03
- Already assured of the 14th straight season with a winning record at home.
ALL ABOUT THE FANS
- Ranked in the top-50 nationally for three of the past four years
- Placed 28th in 2013-14 (3,793 avg.), 42nd in 2012-13 (2,708 avg.) & 46th in 2011-12 (2,639 avg.)
- 20-2 under head coach Keitha Adams in home games with 4,000+ fans.
TRAVEL TIME
- 4-1 overall on the road to already surpass last year's (3-8) total amount of road victories.
- 3-0 in league road contests, which matches last year's (3-6) amount of road triumphs.
- Opened up `15-16 road slate with a 71-65 victory at NM State on Dec. 2, which snapped the Aggies' 17-game home winning streak.
- Fell, 47-40, at Long Beach State on Dec. 18 in only other non-conference road contest.
- Has won all three road contests since (all league play), including the 78-66 come-from-behind victory at FAU last time out on Jan. 21.
- 66-103 on the road under head coach Keitha Adams, hindered by 15-52 mark her first five
years.
- 52-51 since the start of the 2006-07
- 28-20 since the start of the 2011-12 season
- Posted three winning road records under Adams, a feat never achieved prior to Adams's tenure.
- Recorded five campaigns with a mark of .500 or better under Adams.
- That happened just twice in the first 27 years of the program.
CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS
- Redshirt-senior Chrishauna Parker is one win of tying for the most win by any Miner. She has helped UTEP pile up 95 victories (record is 96). Parker is also the lone player in program history to rank in the top 10 for career rebounds (751-4th) and assists (272-6th). She is sixth in double-doubles (15), eighth in free throws made (234) and attempts (373). Parker is a also a member of the 700-point club (745-28th), tied ninth for starts (81), tied 12th for games played (106), 12th for minutes (2,588), 22nd for steals (102) and 28th in field goals made (251).
- Senior Cameasha Turner is 20th all-time in scoring (847). She is seventh for starts (84), 11th for games played (107), wins during a career (78), tied 11th for free-throws made (217) and steals (131), 12th in three-pointers attempted (233), 13th in free-throws attempted (297),15th for minutes played (2,430), 16th for three-pointers made (70), 19th in assists (170), 26th in field goals made (280) and 28th in rebounds (376).
- Redshirt-junior Jenzel Nash is 23rd for scoring (780). She is also 14th for wins during her career (73), 16th in free throws made (201), 17th in steals (117), )18th for free throws attempted (278), 26th for three-pointers attempted (165), 27th for field-goals made (271) and 33rd in games played (82).
- Junior Sparkle Taylor (637-35th) joined the 500+ point club this year. She, along with seniors Agata Dobrowolska and Anete Kirsteine are tied for 20th for career wins (56).
- Sophomore Daeshianna McCants has blocked 13 shots this year to lift her career total to 36. The effort has allowed her to climb into a tie for 13th all time at UTEP. Overall 19 Miners have 30+ blocked shots.
LOOKING AHEAD
- The Miners return home for a pair of home games. They will play host to Southern Miss at 7:05 p.m. MT on Jan. 28 while welcoming Louisiana Tech to town on Jan. 30 at 2:05 p.m. MT.
CLIFFNOTES ON THE `15-16 SEASON
(at UTEP 62, UTSA 55, 1/17/16)
- Cameasha Turner (18 points), Sparkle Taylor (15 points) and Jenzel Nash (13 points) all hit double figures in scoring and UTEP forced 25 turnovers to extend its winning streak to six after downing UTSA, 62-55, at the Don Haskins Center on Jan. 17.
- The Miners led the upset-minded Roadrunners for 33:46 of action on the way to staying perfect at home (10-0) and in league play (5-0).
- The 14-1 record matches the best start in program history, with the 2012-13 and 2006-07 squads also achieving the feat.
- It was a defensive battle, with both the Miners (24-68, 35.3 percent) and Roadrunners (23-61, 37.7 percent) having to work extremely hard to get any clean looks on offense.
- The difference came down to ball security, with the 25 Roadrunner giveaways leading to 24 Miner points. UTEP made only 16 turnovers that resulted in 13 points for the visitors.
- Nash dished out a career-high eight assists to nearly record a double-double. She also had six boards.
- Taylor posted a team-high seven rebounds to go along with her 15 points.
(at UTEP 62, UAB 54, 1/10/16)
- Sparkle Taylor poured in a season-high 21 points off the bench and Cameasha Turner flirted with a triple-double (13 points, 11 rebounds and eight steals-tied 2nd most program history) to help lead UTEP to thrilling 62-54 come-from-behind win in a nationally-televised contest (FOX Sports Regional Networks) against UAB at the Don Haskins Center on Jan. 10.
- Trailing 42-36 through three quarters, the Miners found another gear to put together an incredible finish by outscoring UAB, 26-12, down the stretch.
- Defense was instrumental in the final period, with nine UAB turnovers leading to 12 points.
- The Miners ripped off a 16-3 run to grab a 51-45 lead (their first of the game) with 5:10 remaining in regulation. UAB regrouped long enough to get the deficit down to four (53-49) with 3:48 to play but the Orange and Blue blitzed the Blazers with seven straight points to put things out of reach.
- After shooting 28.5 percent (14-49) through three quarters, UTEP caught fire in the fourth. The
Miners nailed 69 percent (9-13) of their shots in the final frame, in addition to going 8-10 at the charity stripe.
- UAB never scored more than 15 points in a quarter and finished at 35.1 percent (20-57) from the floor.
- The Blazers were harassed into 25 giveaways, including nine alone during the wild fourth quarter.
- Jenzel Nash (14 points) buoyed the offensive efforts of Taylor and Turner while Tamara Seda posted seven points (one shy of career high).
- Turner led the charge on the glass with 11 boards for her first double-double this year. Nash pitched in six rebounds, including five alone at the defensive end.
(at UTEP 84, Middle Tennessee 73, 1/7/16)
- Fueled by big scoring nights from Jenzel Nash (career-high tying 26 points) and Cameasha Turner (season-high tying 20 points) and a tremendous team effort at the free-throw line and on defense, UTEP knocked off preseason Conference USA favorite Middle Tennessee, 84-73, at the Don Haskins Center Jan. 7
- The Miners jumped out to an early nine-point lead (12-3, 6:25 1Q) and never looked back on the way to picking up their third wire-to-wire victory of the season.
- The margin was 15 (40-25) at the break, and MT couldn't get closer than five the rest of the way.
- UTEP absolutely cashed in at the free-throw line. The 33 (out of 37) free throws made tied as the fifth most in program history. Nash (10-11), Turner (7-8) and Lulu McKinney (7-8) led charge at charity stripe.
- UTEP won the boards (42-34) and held MT to 35.7 percent (20-56).
- Tamara Seda set a career high for rebounds (seven) while Agata Dobrowolska did so in assists (four).
(UTEP 75, at North Texas 67, 1/3/16)
- UTEP shot 50 percent from the floor (28-56) while forcing 22 turnovers on the way to an exhilarating 75-67 road victory at North Texas on Jan. 3. The Miners led for 31:11 of the action but that doesn't accurately portray the effort required to down the Mean Green and pick up their second win in three days.
- Starr Breedlove set a career high for points (25) and rebounds (seven) while also grabbing four steals to give her a school-record-tying six straight contests with at least four thefts.
- Lawna Kennedy came off the bench to tally a career-high 13 points. Cameasha Turner (11 points), Jenzel Nash (11 points) and Sparkle Taylor (10 points) also hit double figures in scoring.
- There were three ties and eight lead changes (all in the second half), with the momentum switching for good when the Miners unleashed a full-court press.
- Trailing 61-60 with 2:43 to play, UTEP forced five turnovers down the stretch to help fuel a contest-closing 15-6 run. Breedlove tallied 11 of the 15 points in the decisive stretch.
- UTEP's reserves outscored the Mean Green back-ups, 16-6, while the Orange and Blue also had a 22-16 advantage in points off turnovers.
(UTEP 60, at Rice 54, 1/1/16)
- Starr Breedlove (15 points), Jenzel Nash (12 points) and Sparkle Taylor (10 points) all reached double figures in scoring, and UTEP defended with a vigor in dispatching Rice, 60-54, on the road in the Conference USA opener for both squads on Jan. 1.
- For just the second time this year, UTEP trailed (37-36) entering the fourth quarter. It stormed back down the stretch to pick up the win. The Miners opened up the final quarter on a 13-7 run on the way to outscoring the home side, 24-17, over the final 10 minutes.
- It was a defensive-minded contest, with both the Miners (21-60, 35.0%, 17 turnovers) and Owls (17-52, 32.7%, 17 turnovers) making offensive execution difficult with their pressure.
- But UTEP found some separation through its effort on the glass (44-35), in addition to holding a 16-6 advantage in points off turnovers and an 18-9 cushion for second-chance points.
- Agata Dobrowolska paced the squad with seven rebounds. She was particularly effective on the offensive end with four, including three in the final 2:07 of the game that led to five second-chance points.
- Breedlove also got after it on defense with a career-high tying five steals.
UTEP 60, vs. UNLV 52, 12/19/15)
- Sparkle Taylor came off the bench to pour in a season-high 19 points, and UTEP gave UNLV fits with its defense in 60-52 victory to close out play at the 2015 Long Beach Classic on Dec. 19
- The Miners won the rebounding battle (46-41), held the Lady Rebels to 31.7 percent (19-60) from the floor and forced 21 turnovers to pick up an impressive victory less than 24 hours after sustaining their first setback of the season (L, 47-40, at Long Beach State, Dec. 18).
- Lulu McKinney contributed 12 points from the pine to join Taylor in double figures while Tamara Seda equaled her career high (eight points) in her second career start.
- Cameasha Turner pitched in five points while pulling down eight boards to pace the Miners in that department. Jenzel Nash flirted with a double-double (seven points, seven boards). Taylor also got after it on the glass with six while freshman Najala Howell pitched in five points and five boards (career high) in 19 minutes of action.
- UTEP's benched outscored the Lady Rebels, 39-3.
- UNLV jumped out to an early 9-4 advantage (6:08 1Q) before the Orange and Blue took over. They peeled off 12 consecutive points to gain control. UTEP led by 12 (28-16) at the half.
- The Miners pushed the advantage out to 22 (60-38) with 5:04 to play, allowing them to win comfortably despite UNLV tallying 14 consecutive points to close out the contest.
(at Long Beach State 47, UTEP 40, 12/18/15)
- UTEP lost its first game of the year in a defensive struggle at Long Beach State, 47-40, on Dec. 18.
- The Miners, who trailed by 21 (47-26) with 6:16 to play in the contest, showed tremendous character by refusing to quit. They closed the game on a 14-0 surge before running out of time, allowing the 49ers to escape with the victory.
- UTEP held Long Beach to 29.5 percent (18-61) from the floor and forced 24 turnovers, but it was doomed by some issues of its own. The Miners committed a season-high 26 giveaways and shot 31.3 percent (15-48), in addition to enduring a 38.1 percent effort (8-21) at the charity stripe.
- Jenzel Nash tallied 13 points to pace the Miners, who slipped to 47-5 under head coach Keitha Adams when holding foes to less than 50 points. Sparkle Taylor pitched in seven points-all in the final 2:56 of the contest- to buoy Nash while Cameasha Turner added five.
(at UTEP 86, UTPB, 12/5/15)
- UTEP set a program record for field-goal percentage defense while also forcing 31 turnovers on the way to thumping Division II UTPB, 86-32, at home on Dec. 14.
- The Miners held the Falcons to 16.7 percent (8-48) from the floor, including 7.4 percent (2-27) in the second half, to help secure the third start of at least 8-0 to a year in program history.
- The Orange and Blue outscored UTPB, 65-17, over the final three quarters.
- UTEP wrapped a 28-1 run around halftime. The effort turned a precarious three-point lead (21-18, 9:15 2Q) into a comfortable 30-point cushion (49-19, 4:14 3Q).
- The 54-point margin of victory is the fifth largest at UTEP while the 32 points allowed tie as the 10th fewest in program annals. The Miners had no such difficulties, connected on 52.5 percent (32-61) while outscoring UTPB 65-17 over the final three quarters.
- All 14 players earned at least nine minutes of playing time while 13 individuals scored in the game.
- Starr Breedlove (13 points), Jenzel Nash (11 points), Anete Kirsteine (10 points) and Sparkle Taylor (10 points) all reached double figures in scoring. Breedlove also posted game highs for both assists (four) and steals (five). The five steals set a career high.
- Tamara Seda and Wiktoria Zapart each grabbed six rebounds (career high) to share for team lead. Zapart also established career-highs in blocked shots (four), steals (two) and minutes played (15).
(UTEP 71, at NM State 65, 12/5/15)
- Agata Dobrowolska posted her first career double-double (15 points, 14 rebounds) to lead UTEP to an
emotional 71-65 win at I-10 rival NM State on Dec. 5.
- The Miners won the boards (43-38), forced 20 Aggie (6-2) turnovers and made clutch shots late to snap NM State's 17-game home winning streak.
- Dobrowolska was joined in double digits for scoring by Jenzel Nash (16 points), Cameasha Turner (13 points) and Starr Breedlove (12 points). Lulu McKinney pitched in seven points, including a clutch three pointer with 47 seconds remaining to break the fourth and final tie of the tilt.
- NM State, which trailed by as many as 14 points (18-4, 5:50 1Q) did well to battle back behind 11 three pointers. The Aggies managed to pull ahead, 62-61, with 1:59 to play but Breedlove used a teardrop shot to make the Miners' first second-half deficit of the season short lived.
- Dobrowolska's previous career high for scoring was five (three times) while for boards it was eight. She also played 26 minutes to shatter prior career high (19).
(at UTEP 70, New Mexico 62, 12/2/15)
- Lulu McKinney poured in a career-high 22 points on her birthday to help keep the UTEP undefeated on the year following a 70-62 win against I-25 rival New Mexico on Dec. 2.
- The Miners led wire-to-wire, with a game-opening 14-2 run putting the Lobos in a big hole.
- UTEP hit 12-of-24 from three-point range (tied for sixth most all time at UTEP), with McKinney connecting on a ridiculous 6-of-8 (tied fourth all time at UTEP) from beyond-the-arc.
- Cameasha Turner (16 points) and Starr Breedlove (11 points) joined McKinney in double figures.
- UTEP made only seven turnovers (tied for sixth fewest in a game) and had 17 assists on 23 field goals.
- Daeshianna McCants quietly filled up the stat sheet, recording five points, six boards, three blocks (tied career high) and three assists (career high) in 33 minutes (career high) while starting for first time in `15-16.
(at UTEP 67, Idaho State 54)
- Junior Jenzel Nash poured in a career-high 26 points to help propel UTEP past Idaho State, 67-54, in the championship game of the Fifth-Annual UTEP Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 28.
- The Miners nailed 11 three pointers (tied eighth all time), including four by Nash-who was named the tournament's MVP- while also harassing the Bengals into 22 turnovers.
- UTEP committed a season-low nine turnovers and held a 17-8 advantage in points off giveaways.
- Cameasha Turner (12 points) and Starr Breedlove (11 points) joined Nash in double figures for scoring.
- Nash was 8-of-15 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from three-point range, while making all six free throws. She also grabbed seven rebounds, recorded five steals and dished out four assists in 29 minutes. Breedlove was named to the All-Tournament team, along with Nash.
(at UTEP 68, UCR 57, 11/27/15)
- UTEP flexed its defensive muscle while also showing off its depth in a 68-57 victory against visiting UC Riverside in its opening game of the Fifth-Annual Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 27.
- The Miners forced 22 turnovers, won the boards (46-33) and held the Highlanders to 34.5 percent.
- UTEP overcame a sluggish start to finish at 40.0 percent (26-of-65) from the floor.
- It featured a balanced attack, with six different players scoring at least nine points. Cameasha Turner led the way with 11 followed by 10 points from Starr Breedlove. Daeshianna McCants, Chrishauna Parker and Sparkle Taylor tallied nine points while Jenzel Nash pitched in eight.
- Breedlove also recorded a career-high six assists while Tamara Seda set a career high in boards (five).
- Points in the paint (40-20), points off turnovers (23-14) and second-chance points (15-4) all favored UTEP.
(at UTEP 78, Hampton 66, 11/22/15)
- UTEP used a huge second half to cruise past Hampton, 78-54, on Nov. 22. The Miners outscored the Lady Pirates 52-30 after the break with Jenzel Nash and Starr Breedlove leading the charge.
- Nash scored 21 of her game-high 23 points (two short of career high) in the second half while Breedlove followed suit by tallying 20 of her personal-best 22 points in the timeframe.
- Chrishauna Parker overcame early foul issues to add eight points, six of which were in the second half. Daeshianna McCants, Lulu McKinney and Cameasha Turner each pitched in five points.
- The Miners shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56) from the floor, aided significantly by a sizzling 64.1 percent (18-of-28) during the sensational second half. Hampton was limited to 31.1 percent (19-of-61).
- UTEP's 2-2-1 press gave Hampton fits, which committed 22 turnovers that led to 25 Miner points.
(at UTEP 77, Northern Arizona 66, 11/17/15)
- UTEP forced 22 turnovers while also taking care of business at the free-throw line to hold off upset-minded Northern Arizona, 77-66, on Nov. 17.
- UTEP relied on a balanced attack with four different players (Sparkle Taylor-15 points, Jenzel Nash-15 points, Starr Breedlove-13 points and Cameasha Turner-12 points) reaching double figures in scoring while junior Tamara Seda pitched in eight. The Miners overcame a slow shooting start to finish at 38.8 percent (26-of-67) from the floor, including 46.7 percent (14-of-30) over the final 20 minutes.
- Visiting NAU also had a balanced approach on offense with five players tallying 10 or more points.
- The Lumberjacks actually finished with a better overall shooting percentage than the Miners, nailing 41.7 percent (25-of-60) from the floor but they were doomed due to difficulties at the line. NAU was a paltry 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from the free-throw line, compared to UTEP's solid effort of 70.0 percent (21-of-30).
- The Miners' press also played a factor, converting the aforementioned 22 turnovers into 16 points. Second-chance points (18-8), points in the paint (42-30) and bench points (28-19) all favored UTEP as well.
(at UTEP 98, Houston Baptist 63, 11/15/15)
- UTEP bolted to a 28-4 lead over the first seven minutes and never looked back on the way to routing Houston Baptist, 98-63, in its season opener on Nov. 15.
- The 98 points are the most ever in a campaign lidlifter while ranking ninth all time at the school
- UTEP held HBU to 32.7 percent (17-of-52) from the floor.
- HBU committed 33 turnovers (which were converted into 33 points) and rank tied for the eighth most
in a tilt by an opposing team.
- UTEP won the boards, 36-34, with seven different players grabbing three or more.
- The Miners drained 54.7 percent (35-of-64) of their shots, with good ball movement (17 assists) and
unselfish play helping fuel the success
- Cameasha Turner poured in 20 points to pace a relentless, balanced attack which by game's end resulted in 14 of the 15 players suited up scoring at least one point. Juniors Sparkle Taylor came off the bench to score 15 points while fellow classmate Jenzel Nash (11 points) made a successful return to the court (redshirted last year) by joining them in double figures.
