Ruben R. Ramirez

UTEP WBB to Play First Home Game in a Month, Hosts Air Force on Tuesday Morning

12/20/2021 2:18:00 PM

EL PASO – The UTEP women's basketball team (7-2) will close out its nonconference slate when the Miners host Air Force (6-4) on Tuesday at 11 a.m. in the Haskins Center.

The Miners are playing their first home game since Nov. 20 when they defeated NAU 72-62. UTEP's last three games were at Texas State, NM State and most recently New Mexico.

"We've had three tough road games and we knew they were going to be tough, but we won two out of three," UTEP Head Coach Kevin Baker said. "We're excited to return to the Don Haskins Center on Tuesday morning against a tough Air Force squad. Road games make you tough and we'll be a better team for this."

Fans can listen on Mando Medina call the action on "The Home of UTEP Basketball" 600 ESPN El Paso and the UTEP Miners App. The contest will also be streamed on CUSA.tv.

UTEP TO THIS POINT
UTEP fell in its last contest, 78-66, at New Mexico on Dec. 19 in The Pit. The Miners were without the services of their leading scorer Destiny Thurman (16.0 ppg) against the Lobos. Katia Gallegos led all scorers with 25 points and snagged a season-high tying four steals. But UNM shot over 53 percent, including 10-of-23 from 3-point range. The Miners are shooting 42.6 percent from the field, ranking third in Conference USA. UTEP also ranks third in scoring offense (72.4 ppg) UTEP's 146 turnovers rank fourth in C-USA for fewest. Gallegos is averaging 14.4 points per game (13^th in C-USA), while Thurman's 16.0 points per contest ranks seventh in the league. Gallegos also averages 33.8 minutes per game, ranking fourth in the conference. Gallegos ranks fifth in C-USA with 4.0 assists per game.

SERIES HISTORY
UTEP owns the all-time series 2-0 as the two programs met twice during the 1997-98 season when both were members of the Western Athletic Conference. UTEP won the last meeting 77-51 on Feb. 14, 1998 in El Paso.

ABOUT AIR FORCE
The Falcons are 6-4 after winning their last two contests – defeating Colorado Springs 70-49 on Dec. 8 and Dixie State 63-48 on Dec. 18. Riley Snyder leads Air Force in scoring (15.5 ppg) and averages 3.0 rebounds per game. Briana Autrey-Thompson (11.6 ppg) and Cierra Winters (11.3) also average double figures. Haley Jones leads the Falcons in rebounding (9.1 rpg), while Autrey-Thompson paces the squad with 28 assists. Winters is the team leader with 35 steals, while Haley Jones has tallied 23 steals. The Falcons average 60.3 points per game and is yielding 53.8 points per contest. Air Force is shooting 37.8 percent from the field and 28.2 from downtown. Air Forces averages 35.3 rebounds, 10.7 assists and 17.6 turnovers per game.

1,000 CAREER POINTS
Graduate transfer Teal Battle tallied 10 points at UNM on Dec. 19 and went over 1,000 points (1,006) for her collegiate career. She scored 917 at her alma mater Arkansas-Little Rock and has tallied 89 points in nine games as a Miner. Her 1,000^th point came at 7:58 mark of the third quarter on a layup.

KATIA'S HOT HAND
Katia Gallegos has had a hot hand the last two games, scoring 51 points (25.5 ppg). The El Paso product poured in a career-high 26 points in an 82-78 OT win at rival NM State. She followed that effort with a game-high 25 points at rival New Mexico.

KATIA'S CHARITY STRIPE SUCCESS AT NM STATE
Katia Gallegos scored a career-high 26 points at NM State on a career night at the free throw line. Gallegos sank a career-best 16 free throws on a career-most 20 attempts against the Aggies. Her previous best was a 9-for-10 effort at Southern Miss on Jan. 9, 2020.

DISHING DIMES
Katia Gallegos has dished out 36 assists this season (4.0 apg). The El Paso product, after recording four at UNM, now ranks fifth on the school's all-time list with 315 assists. Ana Valtierra (2002-07) ranks fourth with 324. Jareica Hughes (2006-10) leads the list with 599.

STEALING THE SHOW
Katia Gallegos leads UTEP with 2.1 steals per game and has 19 steals this season, including a four at UNM on Dec. 19. For her career, Gallegos has tallied 113 steals in her three years at UTEP. She needs 28 steals to crack the program's top-10 list. Jareica Hughes (2006-10) leads the list with 277.

ARIKE'S EFFORT AT UNM
Elina Arike had a nice all-around effort at New Mexico. She tallied 11 points with a team-high nine rebounds and tied her career highs in steals (three) and assists (four). Arike shot 5-of-10 from the floor.

CLEANING GLASS
Elina Arike leads the Miners in rebounding at 7.6 boards per game. She added a career-high 15 rebounds against North Dakota and muscled her way to 13 boards versus NAU. She ranks ninth in C-USA in rebounding.

PUTTING UP THOSE POINTS
UTEP is accounting for 72.4 points per game, helped by a pair of 80+ point efforts. Those scoring outbursts occurred in the first two games of the season, something that hadn't happened in two decades. The scoring average is third in C-USA and 80^th nationally. Individually Destiny Thurman sets the tone with 16.0 points per game (seventh C-USA), but she's got plenty of help. Katia Gallegos (14.4 ppg) is also in double figures on average while Teal Battle (9.9 ppg), Elina Arike (8.7), Avery Crouse (8.1) and Eliana Cabral (7.5) also get after it.

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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.

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