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UTEP Miners

UTEP Miners
Marks_UAB_2022
UTEP Athletics
58
UAB UAB 8-3,0-2 C-USA
76
Winner UTEP UTEP 9-2,2-0 C-USA
UAB UAB
8-3,0-2 C-USA
58
Final
76
UTEP UTEP
9-2,2-0 C-USA
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
UAB UAB 8 19 19 12 58
UTEP UTEP 24 15 22 15 76

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Miners Extinguish Blazers Early to Spark 76-58 Win

Game Book

EL PASO, Texas – UTEP raced out to an 11-0 start and never looked back on the way to a 76-58 handling of UAB in the Don Haskins Center on Thursday night.
 
The Miners (9-2, 2-0 C-USA) hit four of their first five shots out of the gates while forcing UAB (8-3, 0-2 C-USA) to miss its first seven attempts from the floor.
 
N'Yah Boyd, who would go on to score a season-high 20 points, started the contest with a jumper that was followed by an Avery Crouse 3-point play.
 
Boyd went on to conclude the game 8-of-15 from the field.
 
Jazion Jackson capped the 11-0 rally to begin the game with a 3-point play of her own after slashing to the basket and finishing strong with her right hand.
 
"Our goal was to come out and play hard from the jump," Boyd said. "We struggled with that a couple of games before where we'd come out slow. We came out hard, and that's how we got the win. The ball was in our hands."
 
The closest that the Blazers would be the rest of the first quarter was 11-4, with the Miners quickly blowing the game wide open in response with a 13-0 run. During the stretch, Birmingham native Thaniya Marks drew a pair of charges as UTEP went ahead 24-4.
 
"Total team win tonight," UTEP Head Coach Kevin Baker said. "Very proud of our team for holding a team that averages nearly 80 points a game to in the 50s, so that was goal number one for our team. In fact, our goal was to hold them to 65, so to hold them to 58 was a big thing for us. I'm proud of what we did offensively because our team can score, but I just really liked the way that we defended and rebounded. I think defending and rebounding like that in Conference USA is really, really important. I thought our bench played well in spots and I thought our starters were solid. It just looked to me like an overall great team win for the Miners."
 
Facing an opponent that had experienced plenty of success in the early portion of the season, the Miners maintained a stranglehold on the lead the rest of the way, holding an advantage of 10 points or more throughout the duration of the final three quarters.
 
Entering the day, Denim DeShields and Margaret Whitley were the leading scorers for the Blazers, with the two held to just 10 points in the loss. DeShields was kept off the stat sheet going 0-of-6 for the game while Whitley had 10 points.
 
"I loved our guard play," Baker said. "That's the defense that I am talking about. We really, really pressured them and we turned them over 20 times. We gave them fits. We really did. I was watching them guard in the first quarter, and I know people are watching the scoreboard watching us build the lead, but I was just watching us guard. I thought if we just guarded like that for three more quarters that we were going to be in great shape at the end, and we did that."
 
It all starts in practice defensively.
 
"The defense that you see on the court is what we do every day in practice," Jackson said. "Coach kind of harped on that. He makes sure that we are rotating and makes sure that our hands are high on top of the ball and that we stop the ball in transition. Those are things that are instilled in us to do, so just coming out and putting it in a game is easy for us."
 
The biggest threat to the UTEP lead came in the second quarter. With UAB trailing 35-15 after a 9-0 run for the Miners, the Blazers rode the hot hands of the Bershers sisters over the final 4:36 of the half to cut the advantage to 12 at the break.
 
During the comeback effort that made it 39-27 at the half, Sara and Tracey Bershers scored all 12 points for UAB, including five for Sara and seven for Tracey.
 
As was the case throughout the night, the Miners quickly squashed the hopes for the Blazers with seven straight points at the onset of the third.  
 
UTEP controlled the game the rest of the way, highlighted by three straight Boyd baskets in the fourth quarter.
 
Jackson paired with Boyd to once again form a standout backcourt in the win, as she would add 13 points with nine rebounds, an assist and a block. The nine rebounds tied a career high.
 
A host of players made major impacts on the boards, with Adhel Tac and Elina Arike each grabbing eight. Arike also went 4-of-7 from the floor with eight points.
 
Avery Crouse had seven points, three boards and three steals while Soleil Montrose and Erin Wilson each played well off the bench. Montrose had eight points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals, with Wilson going 3-of-4 on her attempts for six points.
 
It was a season-best shooting night from the floor for the Miners, who went 31-of-62 (50 percent). UAB shot 20-of-54 (37 percent).
 
In addition, UTEP dominated the boards, winning the rebounding battle 40-29. The Miners turned 20 UAB turnovers into 28 points while leading the entire game.
 
A trip to Houston follows the win for UTEP to play Rice on Saturday at 1 p.m. MT/2 p.m. CT.
 
Help support UTEP student-athletes by making a gift to the Miner Athletic Club.
Visit givingto.utep.edu/mac today!
 
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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