Ruben R. Ramirez

Miners Begin Final Homestand Against LA Tech on Thursday

2/16/2022 11:42:00 AM

UTEP Game Notes

EL PASO, Texas – UTEP (13-10, 5-8 Conference USA) concludes the regular season home slate this weekend. The Miners start the week with a game against Louisiana Tech (14-9, 6-6 Conference USA) at 7 p.m. on Thursday night.

Fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of a Pink Out, with the Miners wearing their special pink uniforms. In addition, players will wear pins on their uniforms for Equality and Inclusion Night. The game is sponsored by Las Palmas Del Sol Healthcare.

WHERE TO WATCH & LISTEN
The Miners and Lady Techsters can be heard on the UTEP Miners app with Mando Medina calling the action. The contest will also be streamed on C-USA TV.

SERIES VS. LOUISIANA TECH
LA Tech leads the overall series 15-8, including a 68-65 win less than two weeks ago in Ruston. In that contest, the Miners erased a 19-point third quarter deficit to bring the final score within one possession. The two sides have not played in El Paso since a 74-64 win for the Lady Techsters on Feb. 14, 2019. Inside the Don Haskins Center, LA Tech holds a 6-5 edge all-time.

SCOUTING LOUISIANA TECH
The Lady Techsters have played well over the last couple of weeks, winning four of their last five dating back to Jan. 29. Despite falling to conference frontrunner Charlotte 59-56 the last time out, LA Tech did hold a lead of 17-7 out of the chutes. Against the 49ers, Keiunna Walker scored a game-high 22 points with six rebounds, three steals and two assists. Walker has scored in double figures in 24 straight games, including every one this season, and averages a team-high 17.8 points per game. Anna Larr Roberson contributes 13.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and a block per contest. She has reached double figures in 16 games in a row. LA Tech is the best free throw shooting team in C-USA, hitting 76.4 percent of their attempts at the stripe.

BACK IN THE DON
UTEP has experienced a great deal of success this season inside the Don Haskins Center, posting a 9-3 record. With one more win at home this season, the Miners would become the 16th team in program history to win 10 or more games at home.

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets start at $8 while groups of 10 can purchase tickets for $5 a piece. Fans can buy single-game tickets at the Eisenberg Family Ticket Office by calling (915) 747-UTEP, visiting www.UTEPMiners.com/tickets, emailing tickets@utep.edu, or in person at 500 W. University Ave., 79968-0579 (Monday thru Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

SATURDAY SPONSOR
The game against Southern Miss on Saturday will be sponsored by Oscar Arrieta's All State Agency.

CROUSE STEPPING UP
Avery Crouse has scored in double figures in three of the last four games and has posted a field goal percentage of 40 percent or higher in seven of the last eight contests. Crouse led the Miners with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting the last time out at Marshall. She also posted six rebounds. Since Jan. 20, her field goal percentage has increased from 34.1 percent to 40.3 percent. For the season, Crouse has started in all 21 games that she has played in.

BAKER NEARING 200 COLLEGIATE WINS
Kevin Baker has 194 wins between his time at UT Tyler, Angelo State and UTEP.

HISTORY AT HOME
UTEP has posted a winning record at home 30 times in the history of the program, compiling a 393-239 record during that span. The Miners are 44-27 inside the Don Haskins Center under Kevin Baker. In total, UTEP has finished with a winning home record in 15 of the last 17 seasons, securing 15 or more wins three times.

PETREE OFF THE BENCH
In the loss at Marshall, Mahri Petree tied a career high with three steals. Petree has now reached three steals three times over the course of her collegiate career.

CROUSE GOES ALL 40
Avery Crouse played all 40 minutes at Marshall last Sunday, marking the first time since March 7, 2020 during her freshman campaign that the third-year player had not been taken out of a game.

WINNING BY 10 OR MORE
UTEP has eight wins this season by 10 or more points, including most recently in a 75-62 handling of North Texas.

LIMITING OPPONENTS ON BOARDS
Opponents of UTEP are averaging just 32.6 rebounds per game, the lowest in C-USA by over a rebound per game over UAB at 33.6. The +3.8 rebound margin ranks third in the conference.

FONTANA CRASHING THE GLASS
For the first time in her collegiate career, Brenda Fontana has posted five or more rebounds in four straight games, including seven boards to pair with 10 points against Rice in the last home game on Feb. 5.

FINAL HOME GAMES UPCOMING
UTEP will host Louisiana Tech on Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. MT and Southern Miss on Feb. 19 at 12 p.m. MT to round out the home slate for the regular season. Against the Lady Techsters, the Miners will host a Pink Out, with the Saturday contest against the Golden Eagles serving as Senior Day where lone senior Teal Battle will be recognized.

LOTS OF FREE THROWS LEADS TO WINS
The Miners are 10-4 this season when making more free throws than the opponent.

WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF
The Miners are 10-1 this season when leading at the half.

POSITIVES COME FROM DISTRIBUTION
UTEP is 8-0 when posting more assists than the opposition this season.

FROM THE FIELD
On the season, the Miners are 10-1 when posting a higher field goal percentage than their opponent.

C-USA CHAMPIONSHIPS INFORMATION
The 2022 Heritage Landscape Supply Group C-USA Basketball Championships are set for March 8-12 in Frisco, Texas at the Ford Center at The Star. All-session passes are available on UTEPMiners.com under the tickets tab.

ERASING A LARGE DEFICIT
UTEP stormed back from down 19 in the third quarter to make a late push in the 68-65 loss at Louisiana Tech last week. In total, the Miners forced the Lady Techsters into four turnovers in the final 63 seconds to slice a 10-point lead down to the final margin of three points after Erin Wilson hit a layup at the horn following a Katia Gallegos steal.

BACK TO THE ROAD
UTEP finishes the regular season with three straight on the road, starting with a trip to UAB on Feb. 26. The Miners then head to Rice on March 3 and North Texas on March 5.

DOUBLE FIGURE COMBO
Destiny Thurman and Katia Gallegos are tied for the UTEP team lead with 14 games in which they have contributed a double figure scoring output.

DURABLE DUO
Katia Gallegos is the only UTEP player to start all 23 games this season, with her and Erin Wilson the only two players to see action in each game. Gallegos has played 30 or more minutes in 17 games on the year.

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
The Miners have played in 11 contests decided by 10 points or less this season. UTEP is 6-5 for the campaign in such games. The Miners went 10-6 a year ago in games within the same margin. In games decided by five or less, the Miners are 4-4.

GALLEGOS THIRD ON ASSISTS LIST
Katia Gallegos has dished out 83 assists this season (3.6 apg). The El Paso product sits in third on the school's all-time list with 362 assists. Kellie Willingham (2010-14) ranks second with 373, and Jareica Hughes (2006-10) leads the list with 599.

ARIKE AUTOMATIC ON THE BOARDS
Elina Arike has been active on the boards this season, leading the team with 7.6 per game. The native of Helsinki, Finland has posted five or more rebounds in 13 of her last 14 games played, including 14 in a double-overtime win over Air Force on Dec. 21. After grabbing 10 rebounds at FIU, Arike has now posted four double figure rebounding totals this season.

KATIA 11TH FOR TRIPLES
Katia Gallegos has hit 92 3-pointers in 76 career games. Gallegos ranks 11th on the school's all-time list, and needs five to crack the program's top-10 list.

40 PERCENT EQUALS WINS
UTEP is 10-0 this season when hitting at a greater than 40 percent clip from the field. The 40 percent rule has applied to the 3-point field goal percentage as well, with the Miners 5-0 when shooting 40 percent or better from outside.

BEST IN C-USA AT GETTING TO THE LINE
With 482 free throws attempted this season, UTEP ranks first in C-USA and 24th in Division I. The Miners have made 72.6 percent of their attempts at the line, knocking down 350 at the stripe to rank 19th nationally in that category.

SUCCESS OVER 70
The Miners are 8-1 this season when scoring 70 or more points in a game.

15 STRAIGHT WITH A STEAL FOR KATIA
Katia Gallegos has had at least one steal in 15 straight games, including two or more eight times during that stretch. Her 44 steals for the season leads the Miners and is ninth in the conference.

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