Ruben R. Ramirez

UTEP Heads to Southern Miss for MLK Day Game

1/16/2022 1:31:00 PM

UTEP Game Notes

EL PASO, Texas – After originally being scheduled for Jan. 8 in Hattiesburg, the Miners (10-4, 2-2 Conference USA) will finally meet up with Southern Miss (10-5, 2-2 Conference USA) for a Martin Luther King Jr. Day game on Monday at 12 p.m. MT/1 p.m. CT.

The two teams are tied for second in the C-USA West Division standings, with the winner claiming sole possession of second behind division leader UAB.

WHERE TO WATCH & LISTEN
The Miners and Golden Eagles can be heard on 600 ESPN El Paso with Mando Medina calling the action. The contest will also be streamed on ESPN+.

SERIES VS. SOUTHERN MISS
UTEP has won four straight in the head-to-head series with the Golden Eagles and has a 17-9 edge all-time.

SCOUTING SOUTHERN MISS
The Golden Eagles have won two straight entering the game against UTEP, claiming back-to-back contests over Louisiana Tech earlier this week. Since not playing on Dec. 13 against Blue Mountain, leading scorer Dominique Davis has racked up six straight games of 10 or more points, including going off for a season-high 27 at Louisiana Tech on Jan. 9. Davis averages 15.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.9 steals per game. She is a 40 percent shooter from beyond the 3-point line, connecting on 18-of-45 attempts to this point in the campaign. Melyia Grayson provides a nice one-two punch with Davis, averaging 12.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Grayson has some spurtability, having tallied three games with 20 or more points so far this season. The Golden Eagles have been strong at home this year, boasting a 6-1 record in Reed Green Coliseum. Richmond handed them their only home loss of the season by a final of 87-75 on Dec. 20. Southern Miss is efficient on the offensive side of the floor, leading C-USA with a 43.4 percent field goal percentage while moving the ball well to the tune of 14.8 assists per game. An opportunistic team on the boards, the Golden Eagles average 15.3 offensive rebounds per contest, a total that puts them second in C-USA and 25th in NCAA Division I.

DEFENSE STEPS UP
The Miners limited Old Dominion to just 48 points, the third time this season that UTEP has held an opponent below 50. In those games, the Miners are 3-0. The 15 points that the Monarchs were limited to in the first half on Saturday were the fewest scored in a half by the opposition this season.

FONTANA FINDS SUCCESS
Brenda Fontana started for the second game in a row on Saturday against Old Dominion and made the most of the opportunity, tallying a career-high 12 points to go along with seven rebounds. Fontana was a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor over the course of just under 22 minutes of action.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. SOUTHERN MISS
UTEP has won four straight in the head-to-head series with the Golden Eagles and has a 17-9 edge all-time.

LIMITING IGGY
The Miners forced Old Dominion leading scorer Iggy Allen into foul trouble early, as she picked up her second foul just 3:05 into the game. After being held to just two points over the first three quarters, Allen quickly brought the Monarchs back by scoring seven of the first eight points to start the fourth as part of an 8-0 run that brought the UTEP advantage down to one. She would not score again though the rest of the way as the Miners held on for the important conference win. Allen averaged just under 15 points per game entering Saturday.

ALVAREZ GETS A STEAL
Grace Alvarez picked up her first career steal in the win against ODU.

40 PERCENT EQUALS WINS
UTEP is 8-0 this season when hitting at a greater than 40 percent clip from the field.

ROAD TRIP TIME
The game at Southern Miss starts a stretch featuring four of the next five games on the road.

ON THE BOARDS
The Miners are 7-3 on the campaign when outrebounding the opposition.

GETTING TO THE LINE
With 307 free throws attempted this season, UTEP ranks second in C-USA and 28th in Division I. The Miners have made 71 percent of their attempts at the line, knocking down 218 at the stripe.

HISPANIC HERITAGE NIGHT
UTEP women's basketball will host Hispanic Heritage Day on Sunday, Jan. 23 with folklorico dancers, a mariachi band, $6 tacos and $6 margaritas. The Miners take on UTSA at 1 p.m.

SUCCESS OVER 70
The Miners are 6-1 this season when scoring 70 or more points in a game.

FOUR AVERAGING DOUBLE FIGURES
A balanced scoring attack has featured four players averaging double-digit point outputs this season, led by the 13 points per game of Destiny Thurman. Joining Thurman is the trio of Katia Gallegos (12.9 ppg), Teal Battle (11.6 ppg) and Elina Arike (10.2 ppg). The four players are combining to score 68 percent of the UTEP points this year.

SCORING STREAK
Elina Arike has contributed 10 or more points in five straight games she has played in dating back to tallying 16 in an 82-78 overtime win at New Mexico State on Dec. 15. Over that time period, Arike is averaging 13.6 points per game.

GALLEGOS GETS TEAMMATES INVOLVED
Katia Gallegos has dished out 51 assists this season (3.6 apg). The El Paso product moved into third on the school's all-time list with 330 assists after dishing out four in the win against Old Dominion on Saturday. Kellie Willingham (2010-14) ranks second with 373, and Jareica Hughes (2006-10) leads the list with 599.

REBOUND MARGIN
With a +5.1 rebound margin, UTEP ranks fourth in C-USA and 72nd in the nation.

BATTLE A SOURCE OF CONSISTENCY
Teal Battle has posted double-digit scoring outputs in 10 of the last 11 games, led by a season-high 20 in a 93-85 double-overtime win over Air Force on Dec. 21.

KATIA DRAINING TRIPLES
Katia Gallegos has hit 82 3-pointers in 67 career games. Gallegos ranks 14th on the school's all-time list, and needs 15 to crack the program's top-10 list.

SCORING UPDATE
UTEP is averaging 70.5 points per game, helped by a pair of 80+ point efforts and a 93-point outing. The 80+ point 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 82nd nationally. The 2013-14 Miners averaged a program-best 76.4 points per game.

ARIKE MAKING HER MARK
Elina Arike is averaging 10.2 points per game while her team-high 8.4 rebounds per game ranks sixth in C-USA and 97th nationally. Earlier in the season, Arike pulled down a career-high 15 boards against North Dakota on Nov. 13. She registered 14 rebounds most recently against Air Force, and tallied 13 rebounds against NAU on Nov. 20. She's added 19 assists, five blocks and 11 steals in 10 games played this season. Last season, Arike averaged 4.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game to go along with 23 assists, six blocked shots and eight steals in 25 games. Arike has missed the past two games for the Miners.

CLOSE GAMES A TREND
Of the 14 games that the Miners have played this season, seven have been decided by 10 points or less, including four of the last five.

DOWN TO TWO C-USA UNBEATENS
With the Miners win over ODU, just Western Kentucky (5-0) and Charlotte (2-0) remain undefeated in conference play. All but three C-USA teams have above .500 overall records for the season.

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