UTEP Athletics

UTEP takes road to Air Force for a Sunday Matinee on MW Network

12/2/2022 5:12:00 PM

UTEP Game Notes | Air Force Game Notes

EL PASO, Texas – The UTEP women's basketball team will start the first of a three-game road swing at Air Force on Sunday afternoon. The Miners and Falcons are set to tip off at 1 p.m. MT and will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.

The Miners (6-1) are coming off their seventh consecutive win over rival NM State, 65-61, on Nov. 30 in the Haskins Center. The Falcons (3-4) have lost four straight after a 3-0 start to the campaign.

GAME COVERAGE
The game on Sunday will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network. Ryan Kaufman (play-by-play) and Roland Vargish (analysis) will have the call courtside in Clune Arena. Live stats will be available on the UTEP SIDEARM Stats Portal.

SCOUTING AIR FORCE
The Falcons dropped to 3-4 after losing their fourth straight contest. Air Force had started 3-0 following a wins over Denver (67-63), Navy (90-50) and Adams State (74-66). The streak started with a 71-63 loss at Colorado, while falling to no. 22 Michigan (68-48), Georgia Tech (65-59) and Saint Louis (77-58) at the Gulf Coast Showcase on Nov. 25-27. Senior guard Kamri Heath leads AF at 16.1 points per game. Heath is shooting 49.5 percent (45-91) from the field. Sophomore guard Madison Smith is the other Falcon to average double figures (13.0 ppg). Sophomore guard Jo Huntimer leads the team with 38 assists (5.4 apg), while junior guard Taylor Brit leads the team in rebounding (4.3 rpg) off the bench. Overall, the Falcons are getting outrebounded by -10.4. AF averages 65.6 points per game and yields 65.7 points per contest. The Falcons average 5.4 3-point makes per game.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. AIR FORCE
UTEP holds a 3-0 advantage over Air Force. The two programs first met during the 1997-98 season. The Miners won the first meeting at AF, 75-63, on Jan. 17, while taking the second contest in El Paso, 77-51, on Feb. 14. The last meeting came last season when UTEP defeated Air Force, 93-85, in double overtime on Dec. 21, 2021 in the Haskins Center. Elina Arike tallied 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and a 6-for-7 effort on the line. Arike added a game-high 14 rebounds. Avery Crouse chipped in with 13 points, while Erin Wilson had 11.

SEVEN STRAIGHT WINS OVER THE AGGIES
With its 65-61 victory on Nov. 30, UTEP has now defeated NM State seven straight times that started with a 63-57 win on Nov. 13, 2019 in Las Cruces. It marks the longest winning streak by either side in the history of the rivalry. The Miners and Aggies will play the rematch in the Pan American Center on Dec. 13.

FIRST CAREER TREY
Forward Adhel Tac's first career 3-pointer was a big one. The sophomore drained a 3-point bucket with just over a minutes to play that gave the Miners the go head lead over rival NM State at 61-59. It was Tac's second career attempt at UTEP and four overall in college.

A-TAC-ING THE BOARDS
Adhel Tac leads UTEP at 6.7 rebounds per game after grabbing eight against NM State. She ranks eighth in Conference USA. It's a big jump from last season's average (1.3). Tac's career high was an 11-board effort at Texas State on Nov. 19. She also posted 10 rebounds at Kansas City on Nov. 13.

CABRAL'S BLOCK PARTY
Senior guard Eliana Cabral posted her first career blocked shots. Cabral did so in back-to-back field goal attempts by NM State's Tayelin Grays. The second blocked shot led to an Avery Crouse layup that gave UTEP a 10-8 lead after being down 8-0 against the Aggies.

STEALING THE SHOW
Junior transfer guard Jazion Jackson leads Conference USA and ranks 33^rd nationally with 20 steals in her first season with the Miners. Jackson averages 2.9 steals per game, ranking second in C-USA and 36^thnationally. Jackson, a transfer from North Texas, has 116 steals in her collegiate career.

CROUSE IN THE HOUSE
Junior guard Avery Crouse tallied a season-high 17 points to lead UTEP over rival NM State, 65-61, on Nov. 30 in the Haskins Center. Her FGM (5), 3-PT FGM (3) and FTM (4) were all season highs. Crouse added five rebounds, five assists and a season-high three steals her stat line.

AVERY DISHING DIMES
Avery Crouse added a career-high tying five assists against the Aggies. She also tallied five assists at Kansas City on Nov. 13, five at FIU on Feb. 12, 2021, and five against FIU on Jan. 2, 2020.

6-1 START
UTEP has started 6-1 for the third time in the last four seasons following its win over rival NM State. The Miners started 6-1 in 2019-20, 2021-22 and now 2022-23. The Miners last started 6-1 three times in four season was 2012-2016.

7-1 STARTS
UTEP is aiming for its third 7-1 start in the last four seasons on Sunday at Air Force. The Miners started 7-1 during the 2019-20 and 2021-22 seasons.

BALANCED SCORING
Eight different Miners are averaging at least 6.0 points per game in the first seven games of the campaign. Mahri Petree leads the way (14.5 ppg), while N'Yah Boyd (14.3) and Jazion Jackson (10.1) are the other two Miners to average double figures. Elina Arike (9.5), Avery Crouse (9.0), Eliana Cabral (7.8), Soleil Montrose (6.6) and Adhel Tac (6.3) round out the list.

FIERCE FREE-THROW SHOOTING
UTEP is averaging 18.0 free throws made per game, ranking ninth nationally and third in Conference USA. The Miners are also averaging 24.6 free throw attempts per game, ranking 13^th nationally and third in conference. UTEP's 73.3 free throw percentage ranks second in the league.

ON THE OFFENSIVE
UTEP is averaging 14.3 offensive rebounds per game, ranking third in Conference USA and 63^rd nationally. Jazion Jackson has tallied 18 offensive rebounds, while Adhel Tac has added 16.

UP NEXT
UTEP will continue its road trip with a quick ride up I-10 for the rematch with NM State in Las Cruces on Dec. 13 (6 p.m.), while concluding the road swing at LA Tech on Dec. 18 (1 p.m. MT) to open Conference USA action.

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