UTEP Miners

Game Notes In PDF Format
 

THE OPENING TIP

The UTEP women's basketball team (4-1) will play twice in as many days as part of the Eighth-Annual UTEP Thanksgiving Classic Friday and Saturday at the Don Haskins Center. The Miners will square off with Western Michigan (2-2) at 3:30 p.m. Friday and against Georgia State (0-4) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. NM State will face both Georgia State (1 p.m., Friday) and Western Michigan (5 p.m., Saturday) in the other contests in classic. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for kid, with one ticket gaining admission for both games of the day. They may be purchased by calling (915) 747-5234. The contests will be the fourth and fifth of seven straight at home (2-1 in stretch) for UTEP. The game will be streamed on CUSA.TV (subscription based).

 

HE SAID IT (COACH BAKER ON THE THANKSGIVING CLASSIC)

"This year's Thanksgiving Classic will be a great opportunity for our team to compete and improve. Western Michigan will bring in a very well-coached and talented team. They play a very fast, up-tempo style and like to shoot quickly each possession. They will try and speed up the game and push the ball to score.  They will also be difficult to keep off the boards. Their style of play is a little different than ours and we will need to play well to find success. Georgia State has a very athletic and fast team. Their team is athletic and scrappy and they can cause problems for you with their defensive energy. They are also great attackers off the dribble and will try to get to the rim. I consider them to be a very dangerous team.  If they can get their perimeter shooting going then they can compete with anyone. We will need to do a great job defending them."

 

WITH A WIN...

With a win against Western Michigan Friday, the Miners can match their best start (5-1) of theKevin Baker era. UTEP got out of the gates at 5-1 in 2017-18, Baker's first year on the sidelines. If UTEP can emerge victorious in each of its games at the Thanksgiving Classic, it will secure the best start to a season since 2015-16 (8-0).

 

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.

 

BRIEF RUNDOWN ON WESTERN MICHIGAN

Western Michigan is 2-2 on year, including being edged, 80-79, by Florida Atlantic (11/24/19). After being held to 55 points at Michigan (11/9), the Broncos have scored at least 79 points in three straight games. The effort has led to WMU putting up 74.0 ppg, with four of the five starters in double figures for scoring. They are in the form of Breanna Mobley (14.5 ppg), Jordan Walker (12.5 ppg), Kamrin Reed (12.3 ppg) and Leighah-Amori Wool (11.3 ppg). WMU enjoyed four straight winning seasons before slipping to 10-20 last year. It returned three starters and seven letter winners from that squad. 

 

BRIEF RUNDOWN ON GEORGIA STATE

Georgia State enters this weekend at 0-4 on the season, with three off the four losses by double digits. It is 0-3 at home and 0-1 on the road. Taylor Henderson (15.0 ppg) and Taylor Hosendove (10.0 ppg) pace the attack. Shaquanda Miller-McCray has controlled the boards (10.8 rpg). The squad has been hindered by shooting 29.2 percent (68-233) and a -15.2 rebounding margin (30.3-45.5). GSU returned its top two scorers from last season in redshirt junior Jada Lewis (13.6 ppg) and redshirt senior Allison Johnson (11.7 ppg). Lewis was second-team All-Sun Belt last year while Johnson was named to the third team and was the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year. Their efforts helped the Panthers forge a mark of 17-14. They advanced to the WBI, the program's first postseason appearance since 2003. 

 

THE SERIES WITH WMU (UTEP LEADS, 1-0; FIRST MEETING IN EL PASO)

UTEP won the only prior meeting with Western Michigan, 70-44, in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Jan. 3, 1993. The Miners have never squared off with Georgia State.

 

GOING BACK IN TIME (AT UTEP 65, NM STATE 45, 11/23/19)

Senior Ariona Gill posted a double-double (13 points, 11 rebounds), and UTEP defended with furor in a 65-45 vanquishing of I-10 rival NM State to complete the season sweep of the Aggies at the Don Haskins Center on Nov. 23. The Miners led wire-to-wire in the 20-point victory against the Aggies. UTEP held NM State to 33.9 percent (21-62) from the floor, including a paltry 6.7 percent (1-15) from 3-point range. The Miners also forced 19 turnovers, which led to 19 points, and crushed the Aggies on the boards, 51-30. Freshman Katia Gallegos turned in an outstanding all-around effort. She scored 10 points while setting career highs in rebounds (seven), assists (six) and steals (four) in 29 minutes of action. Senior Katarina Zec also hit double digits (11 points) in scoring for the fifth time in as many games on the year while freshman Avery Crouse netted eight points. UTEP shot 41.5 percent (27-65) from the floor, including 52.9 percent (9-17) during a second quarter where it outscored the visitors, 20-10. But the Miners' defense stole the show. UTEP set season bests for fewest points allowed (45) and 3-point percentage defense (6.7 percent). The Aggies had 25 points through three quarters before putting up 20 points in the final frame, when the outcome was already decided. 

 

SHARP SHOOTER

Katarina Zec has come out dialed in from 3-point range in 2019-20. She has drilled 12-20 (60.0 percent-second C-USA/seventh 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 2.4 triples per game is eighth in C-USA and 113th in the nation. Overall from the floor Zec has connected on 52.8 percent (fourth C-USA/107th NCAA) of her shots.

 

BALANCED SCORING

Katarina Zec (15.8 ppg-sixth C-USA/166th NCAA) is the lone Miner in double figures for scoring, but she is not the only capable scorer on the roster. Five other players are pitching in at least 5.0 ppg. They are in the form of Katia Gallegos (9.2 ppg), Ariona Gill (8.8 ppg), Michelle Pruitt (8.6 ppg), Ariana Taylor (7.3 ppg) and Avery Crouse (6.6 ppg). The effort has resulted in UTEP accounting for 72.2 points per game (fourth C-USA/109th NCAA).

 

SHARING THE ROCK

Freshman Katia Gallegos has settled into the role as starting point guard. She has dished out 18 assists while committing only 18 turnovers in 24.6 minutes per game. The assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3) leads C-USA and is 84th nationally. Her 3.6 assists per contest rates seventh in the league. 

 

TEAM EFFORT ON THE BOARDS

UTEP has a +5.8 rebounding margin (third C-USA/93rd NCAA), and it has been a team effort on the glass. Ariona Gill (8.0 ppg-ninth C-USA/154th NCAA) leads the way, followed by Katarina Zec (5.8 rpg) and Michelle Pruitt (4.8 rpg).

 

GIVE ME THAT BALL

UTEP's pressure defense has given the opposition fits, with foes making 20.4 turnovers per contest (third C-USA/65th NCAA). Both UC-Riverside (11/9) and Alcorn State (11/16) had 28 giveaways. Katia Gallegos (2.4 spg-eighth C-USA/111th NCAA) is leading the charge for the unit. 

 

LOVE ME SOME FREE THROWS

UTEP has done plenty of work at the charity stripe early on in the year. The Miners are among the league and national leaders for both free throws attempted (110-second C-USA/75th NCAA) and free throws made (73-fourth C-USA/81st NCAA). 

 

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: 374-168, COLLEGE: 152-67, UTEP: 30-37)

Kevin Baker is 30-37 in his third year at the helm of the UTEP women's basketball team, including 4-1 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 (374-168) as a head coach, including his eighth season (152-67) 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 14-2 (1-1 this year) when scoring 70+ points under Kevin Baker. Other notable records in the Baker era include being 17-6 (4-0 this season) when allowing less than 60 points, 12-5 (0-1 this season) when drilling better than 40 percent from 3-point range (min. four makes), 12-4 (1-0 this year) when shooting at least 50 percent from the floor, 22-8 (3-0 this year) when holding the opponent to below 40.0 percent from the floor, 22-8 (4-0 this year) when leading after three quarters and 22-10 (4-0 this season) when up at the half.

 

BASIC FACTS ON UTEP

UTEP is 577-685 in its 46th season as a women's basketball program, including standing 4-1 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 159-103 since the start of the 2011-12 season, including 4-1 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 19 separate winning streaks of at least three games (nine such skids), and posted 93 double-digit victories (54 such losses) during that time frame.

 

HOME GAMES A PLENTY

UTEP will play a total of 18 home games in 2019-20 (3-1 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 nonconference 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 367-231, including standing 3-1 in the Don  Haskins Center this year. The Miners have amassed a record of 169-57 at home since 2006-07, including 102-40 since 2011-12. UTEP has been particularly strong in nonconference play, standing 85-18 in the Sun City in such contests since 2006-07. 

 

TRAVEL TIME

UTEP is 149-372 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 (104), 3-pointers attempted (291) and games started (85), 14th in minutes played (2,579), 22nd for assists (172), 26th in points (820), tied 26th for field goals made (293) and tied 32nd in games played (92).

 

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

The Miners will wrap up the Eighth-Annual UTEP Thanksgiving Classic when they square off against Georgia State at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. NM State will lock up against Western Michigan at 5 p.m. Saturday in the day's first contest. 

 

CLIFF NOTES ON THE '19-20 SEASON

NEW MEXICO 93, AT UTEP 78, 11/19/19)

UTEP put up 78 points while shooting 49 percent from the floor, but it wasn't enough to keep up with high-octane New Mexico in a 93-78 setback at the Don Haskins Center on Nov. 19. Nearly 1,500 fans, most of them young students, made for an entertaining atmosphere on the Miners' "Education Day" game, but the Lobos emerged victorious in a battle of unbeatens. Katarina Zec (16 points), Tatyana Modawar (career-high 12 points) and Katia Gallegos (10 points) all hit double figures in scoring for UTEP. Ariona Gill flirted with a double-double (eight points, 10 rebounds) while Avery Crouse netted nine and Ariana Taylor chipped in seven points. UNM relied on a barrage of 3-pointers (12-29), an extremely good day at the line (17-19) and winning the boards (41-30) to outlast the Miners. The Lobos had a 24-14 margin on second-chance points while also holding advantages for points in the paint (38-28) and fastbreak points (34-12). UTEP lost for just the second time (14-2) of the Kevin Baker era when scoring at least 70 points.

 

AT UTEP 92, ALCORN STATE 47, 11/16/19)

UTEP raced out to an 18-point lead (28-10) after the first quarter and never looked back in a 92-47 win against Alcorn State at the Don Haskins Center on Nov. 16. Katarina Zec (17 points) led a quartet of Miners (3-0) in double figures for scoring in the wire-to-wire victory against the Lady Braves (0-4). Ariona Gill (14 points, game-high seven rebounds), Michelle Pruitt (13 points) and freshman Avery Crouse (career-high 10 points) buoyed fellow starter Zec. The bench did its part too by piling up 34 points, with Ariana Taylor (nine points) setting the tone for the reserves. DejaNae Roebuck (career-high tying seven points) nearly matched Taylor. UTEP registered 23 assists on 34 field goals, won the boards (44-26) and forced 28 turnovers that were converted into 27 points. The Miners shot 54.8 percent (34-62) from the floor, including 39.1 percent (9-23) from distance. Alcorn State was held to 32.0 percent (16-50) shooting. It marked the third 90+ point scoring contest under head coach Kevin Baker, who has his squad off to a 3-0 start for the second time in three seasons.  

 

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. 

 

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.