UTEP Miners

GAME NOTES IN PDF FORMAT

THE OPENING TIP

The UTEP women's basketball team (2-0) will look to stay perfect on the young season when it plays host to Alcorn State (0-3) at 1 p.m. MT Saturday at the Don Haskins Center. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for kids, and may be bought by calling (915) 747-5234. The game will be streamed on CUSA.TV (subscription based) and listened to via the streaming network for 600 ESPN El Paso. The Miners are 2-0 on the year, including a 63-57 victory at I-10 rival NM State last time out on Nov. 13. Alcorn State is wrapping up a season-opening four-game roadswing. The Lady Braves dropped their first two contests by a combined 11 points before falling at C-USA member North Texas, 67-31, on Nov. 11. 

 

TALKING 2-0 STARTS

UTEP is off to a 2-0 start for the third time in as many seasons under head coach Kevin Baker. The Miners have scored 63 points in both of their victories while keeping each of the opponents to 57 points or less. A victory against Alcorn State would secure the Miners' second start of at least 3-0 in the past three years. They won their first four contests in 2017-18, Baker's first season on the sidelines. 

 

GAME FORMAT

NCAA women's basketball games are played in four 10-minute quarters. Teams 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 frame. Teams have four timeouts (three 30s, one 60), three of 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 play during any dead ball.

 

GET TO KNOW ALCORN STATE (0-3 OVERALL; 0-0 HOME; 0-3 ROAD)

Alcorn State is 0-3 on the year, with all three of the losses coming on the road. The Lady Braves dropped their first two contests by a combined 11 points before C-USA member North Texas blasted them, 61-37, last time out on Nov. 11. Alcorn State finished 4-26 a year ago, including 3-15 in SWAC action. They returned four starters and nine letter winners overall from that squad, while also adding a quartet of newcomers. Jada Hargrove (11.3 ppg) is the top scorer for the team, with three other players producing at least 6.5 ppg. Aysha Kirkland (5.3 rpg) paces the unit in rebounding. Turnovers (24.0 tpg) have been an issue, in addition to rebounding (-13.3 margin). They have tried to compensate by turning up the heat defensively, which has resulted in foes making 26.7 turnovers per contest (second SWAC/16th NCAA). Five different players are recording at least one steal per game. Alcorn State University is a public land grant university located in Lorman, Miss. It was founded in 1871 as the nation's first state supported higher education institution for African American students. Notable alumni include the late actor Michael Clarke Duncan, who gained notoriety for his leading role in the movie The Green Mile and the late famed author Alex Haley, who penned the novel Roots (later turned into the nation-sweeping TV miniseries).

 

HE SAID IT (COACH BAKER ON ALCORN STATE)

"Alcorn State is a much improved team from last season.  They play a very scrappy, hard-nosed, and scrambling style of defense that has given teams problems this season. They will play extremely hard for 40 minutes, and it will be up to us to take care of the ball and match their defensive energy. This will be a good match up between two very different styles of play."

 

THE SERIES (UTEP LEADS, 4-1 OVERALL; UTEP LEADS, 4-0 IN EL PASO)

UTEP is squaring off with Alcorn State for the second straight year in El Paso. The Miners lead the all-time series, 4-1. The Lady Braves won the first meeting between the programs, 68-47, in a neutral-site contest on Dec. 18, 1999. UTEP has won the past four meetings, including a 77-51 vanquishing last year (11/10/18). Those four victories have all been in El Paso.

 

LAST MEETING WITH ALCORN STATE: (AT UTEP 77, ALCORN STATE 51, 11/10/18)

Zuzanna Puc poured in 18 points to pace a quartet of players in double figures as the UTEP women's basketball team cruised to a 77-51 season-opening win vs. Alcorn State on Nov. 10, 2018. Ariona Gill (15 points), Jordan Jenkins (career-high 11 points, six assists) and Katarina Zec (11 points, personal-best tying nine rebounds) also got after it for the Miners. UTEP connected on 52.6 percent (30-57) from the floor, tied for the sixth-best rebounding margin (+27, 48-21) in program history and racked up 23 assists on 30 made field goals. They held ASU to 30.2 percent (16-53) shooting and forced 20 turnovers. Conchi Satorre pitched in five points and a trio of boards in 10 minutes of action to lead the reserves in scoring. The Lady Braves scored the first two points of the contest on a jumper, but UTEP punched back with a 12-0 surge over the next five minutes. The home side never trailed again.

 

GOING BACK IN TIME (UTEP 63, AT NM STATE 57, 11/13/19)

Senior Katarina Zec scored 17 points, including a go-ahead three pointer with two minutes to play in the game, to help lift UTEP to a 63-57 win at I-10 rival NM State on Nov. 9. The effort secured the Miners' third straight 2-0 start under head coach Kevin Baker. Furthermore, they picked up their first road win against the Aggies since 2015-16. Junior transfer Michelle Pruitt (14 points) and freshman Katia Gallegos (13 points) joined Zec in double figures for scoring, while senior Ariona Gill pitched in seven points to go along with a team-best eight rebounds.Ariana Taylor came off the bench to score nine points, in addition to setting up Zec's clutch trey. It was a back-and-forth game with 12 ties and 19 lead changes, with the final change coming down the stretch. NM State led by two (57-55) with 3:24 to play, but UTEP closed the game on a 6-0 push to stay perfect on the young season. Zec provided the go-ahead score with a knockdown triple off a cross-court pass by Taylor. 

 

SHARP SHOOTER

Katarina Zec has come out dialed in from 3-point range in 2019-20. She has drilled 7-9 (77.8 percent-first C-USA/13th NCAA) of her 3-point attempts, including going 4-4 against UCR (11/9). That effort marked the seventh game in program history that a Miner didn't miss (min. four attempts) on a 3-point toss. Her 3.5 triples per game is second in C-USA and 43rd in the nation.

 

THREE-HEADED ATTACK

Katarina Zec (17.5 ppg-fourth C-USA/147th NCAA), Katia Gallegos (11.0 ppg) and Michelle Pruitt (11.0 ppg) are all putting up double figures in scoring through two games. After Ariana Taylor (9.0 ppg), no other Miner is pitching in more than 5.0 ppg. 

 

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL

UTEP has done well with ball security thus far, committing 15 turnovers or fewer in both games of the year. It marks the first time since the 2006-07 campaign that the Miners made 15 turnovers or less in consecutive contests to open a season. Freshman Katia Gallegos (2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio-fourth C-USA/170th NCAA) has played her part in the area.

 

GETTING TO THE LINE

UTEP has done a good job of getting to the free-throw line. The Miners have taken 52 free throws (fourth C-USA/92nd NCAA), while the opposition has made 36 attempts from the charity stripe.

 

GETTING TO KNOW THE 2019-20 MINERS

The Miners returned three starters and seven letter winners from a year ago, including senior guard/forward Katarina Zec (10.1 ppg/4.4 rpg/1.9 apg), senior guard/forward Ariona Gill (8.7 ppg/4.4 rpg), sophomore forward Ariana Taylor (5.9 ppg), senior guard/forward Jade Rochelle (4.0 ppg/4.7 rpg), senior guard Neidy Ocuane (4.0 ppg/1.8 apg) and sophomore guard Sabine Lipe (3.2 ppg and 2.3 rpg). UTEP brought in seven newcomers (junior college transfers Tia Bradshaw, Michelle Pruitt and DejaNae Roebuck, and freshmen Avery Crouse, Katia Gallegos, Arina Khlopkova and Tatyana Modawar) to bolster the unit. The group features three top-100 JUCO players, including two All-Americans, and four high school standouts that produced a combined record of 105-27 at their respective schools. The squad is under the direction of third-year head coach Kevin Baker, who is assisted by Todd Buchanan, Anthony Anderson and Heather Karner.  

 

THE BAKER FILE (OVERALL: 372-167, COLLEGE: 150-66, UTEP: 28-36)

Kevin Baker is 28-36 in his third year at the helm of the UTEP women's basketball team, including 2-0 this year. He registered the most wins (26) by any Miner coach through their first two years in program history, including setting the school standard for victories (17) in a debut season in 2017-18. The Miners have also won a game in back-to-back C-USA tournaments for the first time since a five-year stretch (2010-14). He is in his 18th year overall (372-167) as a head coach, including his eighth season (150-66) as a college head coach. He has a unique background which has seen him rise through the coaching ranks from the high school level, to NCAA Division III, then NCAA Division II and now his NCAA Division I position at UTEP. He has set school records for wins at every previous stop of his career, and has taken every prior school to the postseason with a total of five district championships. He is an eight-time Coach of the Year. In his most-recent posts prior to UTEP, Baker's teams captured back-to-back conference championships at UT-Tyler and Angelo State. Baker led both a Division II (Angelo State) and Division III (UT-Tyler) school to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

 

WINNING NUMBERS UNDER BAKER

The Miners are 13-1 (0-0 this year) when scoring 70+ points under Kevin Baker. Other notable records in the Baker era include being 15-6 (2-0 this season) when allowing less than 60 points, 12-4 (0-0 this season) when drilling better than 40 percent from 3-point range (min. four makes), 11-4 (0-0 this year) when shooting at least 50 percent from the floor, 20-8 (1-0 this year) when holding the opponent to below 40.0 percent from the floor, 20-8 (2-0 this year) when leading after three quarters and 20-10 (2-0 this season) when up at the half.

 

BASIC FACTS ON UTEP

UTEP is 575-684 in its 46th season as a women's basketball program, including standing 2-0 this year. The Miners have made four postseason bids (2016,-WNIT quarterfinals; 2014-WNIT runner-up, 2012-NCAA first round and 2008-NCAA second round), sporting a combined record of 9-4 (8-2 WNIT, 1-2 NCAA). UTEP has claimed four league championships (2016 C-USA regular season, 2012 C-USA regular season and conference tournament and 2008 C-USA regular season). It has a 1-1 record all time in league tournament title games, cutting down the nets in 2012 and falling in 2008. There have been six 20+ win seasons (all since 2006-07), UTEP has cracked the top-25 poll in two seasons (2015-16, 2007-08), including being ranked in the final six weeks in '07-08, while receiving votes in seven campaigns total ('15-16, '13-14, '12-13, '11-12, '08-09, '07-08 and '06-07). The Miners have been mentioned in the AP Preseason Poll four times (most recent 2016-17). In 2008 UTEP became the first C-USA women's team to finish undefeated in league play (16-0) while claiming the program's initial league title. The Miners finished 15-1 in C-USA in 2012 in addition to also winning the program's first conference tournament championship. UTEP owns the C-USA single-season record for winning streak at 23, which was set in 2007-08. The University of Texas at El Paso was founded in 1914. Notable alumni include former ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Sam Donaldson, well-respected and former NFL referee Ed Hochuli, former NASA astronaut Danny Olivas engineer & Dennis Poon, who designed Taipei 101 & some of the tallest buildings in the world.

 

SPECIAL RUN

The Miners are 157-102 since the start of the 2011-12 season, including 2-0 this year. UTEP has played postseason basketball three times during the stretch, making two deep runs in the WNIT (2014 runner-up, 2016 quarterfinals) and earning the C-USA automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Tournament (lost, first round). The Orange and Blue have enjoyed 18 separate winning streaks of at least three games (nine such skids), and posted 91 double-digit victories (53 such losses) during that time frame.

 

HOME GAMES A PLENTY

UTEP will play a total of 18 home games in 2019-20 (1-0 thus far), which will be the most in the regular season for the Miners since also doing so in 2006-07. UTEP will be home for nine of its 11 non-conference games, the exceptions being matchups at I-10 rival NM State (Nov. 13) and SMU (Dec. 19).  The first nine games of the season will either be played in El Paso or within 40 miles of it, until the Miners board a plane for the first time to battle the Mustangs in the Metroplex. There will then be nine C-USA contests at the Don Haskins Center.

 

HOME SWEET HOME

UTEP has an all-time home record of 365-230, including standing 1-0 in the Don  Haskins Center this year. The Miners have amassed a record of 167-56 at home since 2006-07, including 100-39 since 2011-12. UTEP has been particularly strong in nonconference play, standing 83-17 in the Sun City in such contests since 2006-07. 

 

TRAVEL TIME

UTEP is 148-372 all time on the road, including finishing 1-0 in this year. When playing at a neutral site the Miners stand 62-82, including going 2-2 last season. Since the start of the 2006-07 season UTEP is 66-79 on the road, including 42-48 since 2011-12. 

 

ZEC IN THE CAREER RANKINGS

UTEP senior Katarina Zec has sprinkled her names throughout the UTEP career records. Zec is ninth for 3-pointers made (99), tied for ninth in games started (82), 10th in 3-pointers attempted (280), 17th for minutes played (2,489), 22nd in assists (166), 28th for points (776), tied 30th in field goals made (276) and tied 35th for games played (89).

 

QUICK REVIEW OF LAST YEAR

There were some ups and downs in 2018-19, but UTEP played its best basketball late in the season to punch a ticket to the C-USA Championships for the second straight year. Once there 11th-seed UTEP made some noise by rallying from a 10-point deficit late in the third quarter to upset sixth-seed Marshall, 64-56, in double overtime (3/13/19). UTEP delivered its first road sweep in league play in three years with two wins in three days (at FAU, 70-44, 2/7/19 and at FIU, 60-55, 2/9/19). The 26-point differential at FAU was the second-biggest margin of victory in a conference road game in program history. UTEP also dispatched North Texas (59-51, 3/7/19) to improve to 2-0 on "Senior Day" under Baker. 

 

CONNECT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Fans are encouraged to connect with the Miners on Facebook (UTEP Women's Basketball), Instagram (@utepwbb) and Twitter (@UTEPWBB). 

 

NEXT UP

UTEP continues its seven-game homestand by welcoming New Mexico to town. It will be a special 11 a.m. tip on Tuesday (Nov. 19) as part of the "Education Day" game.

 

CLIFF NOTES ON THE '19-20 SEASON

AT UTEP 63, UC RIVERSIDE 60, 11/9/19)

UTEP bolted out to a 19-point lead (33-14) at the half on the way to defeating UC Riverside, 63-50, at the Don Haskins Center on Nov. 9. The Miners led wire-to-wire against the Highlanders, who were playing for the third time in five days to start the season. UTEP took advantage of that fact, turning up the heat defensively with a pressing defense that forced 28 turnovers. Those giveaways led to 25 points. Katarina Zec tallied 18 points to lead a balanced offensive attack that featured six different players with at least six points. Freshman Katia Gallegos debuted with nine points, five assists, two steals and no turnovers in a squad-high 34 minutes of playing time. Junior transfer Michelle Pruitt (eight points, 10 rebounds) flirted with a double-double while fellow classmate and transfer DejaNae Roebuck came off the bench to score seven points. UTEP got to the free throw line 30 times and took 60 shots to the Highlanders' 41 attempts. The discrepancy came from UCR's 28 turnovers compared to only 15 by the Orange and Blue. 

 

STIFLING DEFENSE

UTEP locked down on UCR (11/9) from the onset, limiting the Highlanders to four points in the first quarter. It tied as the third-lowest points allowed in a frame by the Miners. Additionally, the 50 points allowed were the fewest in a season opener since 2006-07.

 

EXHIBITION REWIND

UTEP prepped for the 2019-20 season by posting a pair of victories against Division II opponents in exhibition contests. The Miners downed Eastern New Mexico, 84-64, (Oct. 26), while also besting St. Mary's (TX) (Nov. 2), 59-47. Katarina Zec averaged 20.5 points per game to lead the unit, with transfer Michelle Pruitt (10.5 ppg) also checking in for double figures. UTEP had a +9.0 rebounding margin (41.5-32.5) during the contests. The Miners also forced 24.0 turnovers per game, which made up for the opposition hitting 41.2 percent (42-102) from the floor in the two contests.