UTEP Athletics

UTEP Welcomes Texas State Saturday in Battle of Unbeatens

11/18/2022 11:28:00 AM

UTEP GAME NOTES

EL PASO, Texas – UTEP women's basketball will host Texas State on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Don Haskins Center in a game pairing two undefeated teams.

The Miners (3-0) are coming off a 15-point win against Texas Southern on Wednesday while the Bobcats (3-0) defeated Arlington Baptist 101-32 at home on Tuesday.

GAME COVERAGE
Fans can watch all the action on CUSA.tv with Mando Medina on the call. Medina will be entering his second season behind the mic and will broadcast all home games that air on CUSA.tv. Live stats will be available on the UTEP SIDEARM Stats Portal.

SCOUTING TEXAS STATE
The Bobcats have yet to drop a game in the early season and are coming off a 15-14 record a year ago, including a 69-57 loss at home to UTEP. Two of the top three leading scorers did not play for Texas State in the win over Arlington Baptist earlier this week, as Da'Nasia Hood (21 ppg, 7 rpg) and Lauryn Thompson (13 ppg, 3.5 rpg) were both held out. Of the players who have seen action in all three games, Tianna Eaton is the leading scorer with 17.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. Kennedy Taylor has been impressive from the point guard spot, averaging 8.3 per contest to pair with 3.3 steals. Taylor broke the school career record with an assist in the third quarter on Tuesday. Over her 114 career games, she now has 597 assists.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. TEXAS STATE
UTEP has won nine of the 16 meetings in the all-time series with Texas State. In El Paso, the Miners are 6-1 against the Bobcats. UTEP has strung together eight straight wins over Texas State and has not lost since the school was previously known as Southwest Texas State in 1990. That game was a 53-38 decision in favor of Southwest Texas State.

MONSTER NIGHT FOR MONTROSE
In the win on Wednesday, Soleil Montrose became the first UTEP freshman to score 23 points in a game since Katia Gallegos accomplished the feat on Jan. 9, 2020. Montrose started strong against Texas Southern by netting the first four points for the Miners. She would eventually finish 9-of-18 from the floor and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Her best scoring output came in the first quarter when she strung together 11 points to push UTEP out to an early lead. The freshman from Mater Dei High School in California also grabbed six rebounds. The single-game record for points in a game for a freshman at UTEP is 33 set by Amy Pack against San Jose State on Feb. 5, 2000.

JACKSON AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS FOR STEALS
It has been an impressive start to the season for North Texas transfer Jazion Jackson, who ranks 12th in the nation with 4.3 steals per game. Jackson started the year with a career-high six steals against New Orleans before tacking on three more in a road win at Kansas City and four against Texas Southern. In addition to the defensive performance, she also has 11 assists on the year, led by tying a career high with eight in the opener against the Privateers. The start to the season is a continuation of what Jackson had done with the Mean Green over the past three seasons, as she led the team with 87 assists and ranked third with 33 steals in 2021-22.

STARTING 3-0
UTEP has strung together four straight 3-0 marks to begin campaigns. The Miners have started the year 3-0 a total of 13 times now in program history. The 10-0 start by the 2011-12 team still stands as the best start to a season. That group would go on to finish 29-4 on the way to advancing to the NCAA Tournament.

TICKET DEAL
Fans can bring their ticket from the FIU at UTEP football game on Saturday to the ticket office to receive a $5 ticket to the women's basketball game that same night against Texas State. The special can be unlocked by visiting the Eisenberg Family Ticket Office or at the Don Haskins Center on Saturday.

SCORING SURPLUS
UTEP has seen no shortage of capable scoring threats in the early season, with five players averaging in double figures, led by Mahri Petree with 14.5 per night. Eight players are averaging seven or more per game, as the depth of the roster has played a key role already just three games in.

VARYING COMBINATIONS
Another benefit of the deep roster that has been assembled for this season can be seen in the starting lineup, where the Miners have started three different combinations over the first three games on the way to a perfect 3-0 mark.

BOYD TIES CAREER HIGH
It didn't take long for Oklahoma State transfer N'Yah Boyd to make an impact on the UTEP backcourt, with Boyd especially impressive on Wednesday in the win over Texas Southern. In that victory, Boyd tied her career high with seven assists, marking the third time in her collegiate career that she had reached seven. She also displayed a knack for getting to the basket and scoring at the rim, compiling 14 points on a 5-of-9 night from the floor.

BACK-TO-BACK STARTS FOR TAC
Adhel Tac has averaged nine points and eight rebounds per game over the last two contests after joining the starting lineup at Kansas City. In that win over the Roos, Tac generated her first career double-double with 11 points and 10 boards.

RAMPING UP THE PRESSURE
Persistent defensive pressure by the Miners has caused a host of issues for the opposition this season. The three opponents to this point have averaged 26 turnovers a game facing off against the pressing UTEP defense. This is the third straight season that UTEP has had at least one stretch in the schedule featuring three or more games in a row where the opposition turned the ball over 20 or more times.

DOMINATING TURNOVER MARGIN
The Miners rank ninth nationally with a +13.3 turnover margin and are 17th in turnovers forced per game.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
UTEP has been tough to beat in non-conference action over the last three-plus seasons, posting a 21-8 mark dating back to the start of the 2019-20 campaign, with above .500 marks in each of those seasons in out of league play.

NON-CONFERENCE AT HOME
In addition to the overall success, the Miners have won nine consecutive non-conference home games in the Don Haskins Center dating back to a 58-51 loss to Tulsa on Dec. 29, 2019.

THANKSGIVING AWAY
UTEP will spend Thanksgiving as a travel day on the road, with a game slated for Black Friday in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

MARKS MAKES MOST OF MINUTES
Georgia Southern transfer Thaniya Marks made an impact off the bench against Texas Southern with eight points, three rebounds and a steal in 12 minutes of play.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
UTEP has recorded three consecutive winning seasons at home, including a 10-4 mark last season. Including this season, the Miners are 34-12 inside the Don Haskins Center since the beginning of the 2019-20 campaign.

UNBEATEN TEAMS
In NCAA Division I women's basketball, 79 teams are undefeated as of Nov. 17. The Miners are one of four C-USA teams without a blemish on their record.

BAKER TWO FROM 200
Kevin Baker has 198 wins between his time at UT Tyler, Angelo State and UTEP. With the Miners, Baker has compiled 76 wins over the course of his first six seasons on the sideline.

EARNING FREEBIES
Last season, UTEP made 430 free throws, ranking second in the conference and 41st in the country. Expect the Miners to once again get to the line plenty, with multiple driving options throughout the roster who will be aggressive in getting to the basket. To this point that has held true, with UTEP attempting 26 free throws per game, which is 23rd nationally. In the head-to-head comparison against opponents, the Miners have earned 10 more free throws per game.

WHAT'S NEXT
UTEP heads to California for the Holiday Beach Classic hosted by Cal Poly. The Miners will play San Jose State on Friday and Sacramento State on Saturday.

HOME TICKET INFO
Tickets start at $8 for regular season games while groups of 10 can purchase tickets for $5 a piece. Fans can buy single-game tickets and season tickets (starting as low as $65) for the new campaign at the Eisenberg Family Ticket Office by calling (915) 747-UTEP, visiting UTEPMiners.com/tickets, by emailing tickets@utep.edu, or by stopping by in person at 500 W. University Ave., 79968 (Monday thru Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

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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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