EL PASO, Texas – UTEP women's basketball (5-2, 2-0 C-USA) continues Conference USA play this weekend with the Miners in action on the road versus the Rice Owls (6-1, 2-0 C-USA) on Jan. 8-9 in Houston. Both games are set to tip off at 1 p.m. at Tudor Fieldhouse on Rice's campus.
 
The Miners have the opportunity to start Conference USA play 3-0 for the second straight season. UTEP opened league play last season with wins over FIU, Florida Atlantic and Southern Miss.
 

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GAME INFORMATION
Dates: Jan. 8-9, 2021
Venue: Tudor Fieldhouse (Houston, Texas)
Tipoff: 1 p.m. MT
Video Stream: CUSA.TV (Friday) | ESPN+ (Saturday)
Audio Stream: UTEP Miners App
Talent: Tim Hagerty
 

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BAKER'S BREAKDOWN OF THE OWLS
"Rice is one of the best teams in the country. They are extremely well-coached and talented. They will be a tough challenge for us. We hope to use these two games as a measuring stick to see where we are in C-USA play. We feel we can compete with anyone in our conference and this game will show us just how close we are to getting in the top four in league play."
 
"We have no pressure on us and I hope that will allow us to play well. We know that we will have to step up our level of play on the road. But, we feel like we have been practicing well this week and will be ready for the task at hand. As a coach, you love these kinds of games. I am excited to see our young team battle one of the better teams in college basketball this season."
 
 
SCOUTING RICE
Rice was slotted to finish second in the C-USA preseason poll after a 21-8 (16-2 C-USA) record in 2019-20. In March, the Owls became the first program in C-USA history to win the regular season championship outright in back-to-back years.
 
The Owls are receiving nine votes in this week's AP Top-25 Pool after garnering three votes in each of the prior two rankings. Rice was last ranked in the AP-Top 25 when they finished the season No. 21 in 2019 after finishing 28-3.  
 
The Owls have won 37 of their last 39 conference contests dating back to 2018. Last season, Rice pushed their conference winning streak to 30 straight wins over C-USA opponents before it was snapped, the longest in league history.
 
The Owls have won 13 straight at Tudor Fieldhouse, tied for the 9th-longest active streak in the NCAA. Rice went 13-1 at home last season. Over the last three-plus seasons, Rice is 41-2 at home and have won 18 consecutive C-USA games at Tudor.
 
 
LAST TIME OUT
UTEP completed a series sweep over Southern Miss at home last weekend to open Conference USA play. The Miners ran away with a 83-65 win over the Golden Eagles in the opening game of the weekend on New Year's Day. The second game on Saturday, UTEP led by as many as 14 late in the third quarter, and then held off a late push by Southern Miss to complete the sweep.

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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.