EL PASO, Texas – UTEP women's basketball (5-4, 2-2 C-USA) returns home this weekend to host North Texas (7-2, 4-0 C-USA) in Conference USA play on Jan. 15-16 in El Paso. The Miners will open the weekend on Friday with tipoff set for 7 p.m. at the Don Haskins Center. The series between UTEP and North Texas concludes at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

The Miners are looking to get back on track after a pair of hard-fought road games at Rice last weekend. North Texas enters the weekend having won four straight games to start C-USA play with two wins each over UAB and UTSA.


GAME INFORMATION
Dates: Jan. 15-16, 2021
Venue: Don Haskins Center (El Paso, Texas)
Tipoff: 7 p.m. MT (Friday); 4 p.m. MT (Saturday)
Video Stream: ESPN+ (Friday) | CUSA.TV (Saturday)
ESPN+ Talent: Nate Ryan
Audio Stream: UTEP Miners App
Audio Talent: Tim Hagerty


FANS ALLOWED!
A limited number of fans will be permitted in the Don Haskins Center for UTEP basketball games until further notice, beginning with this weekend's women's matchups versus North Texas.

Tickets are still available for women's basketball and this includes both five-game flex plans and single-game options. For ticket information and sales, fans can call (915) 747-UTEP, email tickets@utep.edu or visit www.UTEPMiners.com/tickets.

Fans are reminded that masks/face coverings are required while in the Haskins Center and on the UTEP campus. Additional COVID-19 protocols for basketball can be found at www.utepminers.com/bbfanprotocols. All fans are highly encouraged to read and be aware of these policies to ensure a safe and enjoyable game day experience.


BAKER'S BREAKDOWN
"UNT is off to one of the best starts in school history. They have been led by a transfer, Quincy Noble, and she has been leading the team in scoring. This will be a tough test for our team. The only two losses they have come at the hands of Texas and Oklahoma State. This is, by far, the best UNT team I have coached against in my time at UTEP. They are athletic, fast, defend well, and they can score. They have a ton of talent. This will be another tough C-USA opponent."

"We are very excited to have fans back in the Haskins Center this week. We feed off of our home crowd's energy. This will be a big plus for us as we have a very tough opponent in UNT. We are so excited to be playing at home and we hope that this brings back a little sense of normalcy for us all. We have missed our fans and they will get to see our talented team play live for the first time since March of 2020."


MINER NOTABLES

• UTEP enters the weekend with a perfect 4-0 record at home this season.
• The Miners have a 5-game home winning streak dating back to the 2019-20 season.  
• Sophomore guard Katia Gallegos leads the charge offensively with a team-best 16.4 points per game and 40 assists on the season.
• Destiny Thurman and DejaNae Roebuck are scoring 9.7 and 9.1 points per game, respectively.
• Michelle Pruitt leads the team with 5.4 rebounds per game.

SCOUTING NORTH TEXAS
North Texas is undefeated in Conference USA play with sweeps over UAB and UTSA. Redshirt sophomore Quincy Noble leads the team in scoring at 20.0 points per game. Sophomore N'Yah Boyd averages 12.9 and dishes out team-best 4.2 assists. Redshirt senior Madison Townley posts 10.1 points along with a team-high 9.1 rebounds.


LAST TIME OUT
UTEP came up short in a pair of road games against back-to-back defending C-USA Champions Rice last weekend in Houston. In Friday's game, the Miners fell, 74-68, to the Owls at Tudor Fieldhouse. On Saturday, Rice once again came out on top by a score of 55-43 to close out the weekend.  

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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.