EL PASO, Texas – UTEP women's basketball (2-0, 0-0) rematches with New Mexico State (1-1, 0-0 WAC) Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Don Haskins Center after defeating the Aggies 80-76 in overtime last week. This marks the 91
st meeting between the two programs with the all-time series favoring NM State, 50-40.
The Miners swept the Aggies in last season's matchups and have the upper-hand recently, taking 11 out of the last 15 games with their cross-border rival.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Don Haskins Center
Tipoff Time: 6 p.m. MT
Stream: C-USA.TV
Radio: 600 ESPN El Paso
Radio Talent: Tim Hagerty
"This second match up with (NM State) will be even tougher than they first game," said UTEP
Head Coach Kevin Baker. "They now have more practices under their belt and even a solid win last week. For our team to be successful, we will need to do a much better job of staying in front of the ball and keeping our defense from rotating. They did a great job of attacking our team with the dribble last time we played."
UTEP's overtime victory last Wednesday over NM State came behind the heroics of sophomore guard
Katia Gallegos and senior forward
DejaNae Roebuck. Gallegos forced the game to extend another five minutes following a game-tying layup with 3.7 seconds left. In overtime, Roebuck scored six of her career-high 15 points including her only 3-pointer of the night. Gallegos iced the game at the free throw line which also marked a new career-high 25 points.
The Aggies had four players score in double-figures including one 20-point scorer in guard Sofia Inoussa. The four shot a combined 56 percent from the field on 25-of-44 shooting.
"Any time we play each other it's a competitive, fun, and exciting match up. This game will be no different. We expect another tough, gritty, and talented (NM State) team to show up at the Haskins Center. But these games always make us better. We always walk away from games like this a better team."
LAST TIME OUT (UTEP)
UTEP led for over 32 minutes against Incarnate Word until the Cardinals went on a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter. The Miners trailed by as much as five points with under five minutes to play. With the game knotted at 63-63, junior guard
Sabine Lipe drew her third charge of the game to give the Miners the ball with under 90 seconds left. Roebuck pulled down an offensive rebound on the next offensive possession, leading to two second chance points in the form of a Gallegos go-ahead layup. The Miners pulled down 13 offensive rebounds which translated into 15 second-chance points.
LAST TIME OUT (NM STATE)
The Aggies defeated Park Gilbert University in a landslide 92-38 victory last Saturday. All 14 players on the NM State roster scored, shooting a combined 52.9 percent from the field while holding the Buccaneers to a 26 percent clip.
LAYING IT ALL OUT THERE
Junior guard
Sabine Lipe has put her body on the line with the epitome of selfless play to open the young season. Through two games, Lipe has drawn five charges including one midway through the fourth quarter against Incarnate Word (11/28) which helped sway the momentum in the Miners' favor.
GALLEGOS' HOT START
Gallegos picked up right where she left off a season ago, needing just one game into the 2020-21 season to set a new career-high in points (25). The El Paso native is averaging 21 points, five rebounds and two steals per contest this year.
For complete coverage of UTEP women's basketball, be sure to follow the Miners on social media at @UTEPWBB (Twitter), @utepwbb (Instagram) and on Facebook or visit the official home of UTEP Athletics at UTEPMiners.com.
