Ruben R. Ramirez

Miners to Mix it Up With Rice on Saturday

2/4/2022 5:19:00 PM

UTEP Game Notes

EL PASO, Texas – Coming off a 75-62 handling of North Texas on Thursday in which Destiny Thurman scored 30 points, UTEP (13-7, 5-5 Conference USA) is back in action on Saturday at 1 p.m. MT to host Rice (6-9, 1-6 Conference USA).

The Miners will be celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) presented by Raising Cane's. Fans can receive free women in sports posters and free bag giveaways prior to the game. NGWSD celebrates the 50th year of Title IX this year, with UTEP welcoming back Ginger Kerrick to campus as the keynote speaker for the banquet at 10:30 a.m. in the Larry K. Durham Center. Kerrick, a native of El Paso who was a walk-on with the women's basketball program, is a physicist at NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center and was the first Hispanic female to be Flight Director at NASA.

WHERE TO WATCH & LISTEN
The Miners and Owls 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. RICE
Rice has won seven in a row in the head-to-head series dating back to a 60-54 UTEP win in Houston on Jan. 1, 2016. Three of the games during that time have been decided by 10 points or less. On the way to winning the WNIT last season, the Owls topped the Miners 74-68 and 55-43 in a pair of meetings that took place at Rice.

SCOUTING RICE
The Owls had their scheduled game at UTSA postponed on Thursday due to poor road conditions in the San Antonio area and last played on Jan. 29 in a 78-55 loss at home to Southern Miss. Destiny Jackson is one of the top distributors in the country statistically, averaging 4.9 assists per game which is second in C-USA and 53rd in Division I. Jackson also averages 8.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Ashlee Austin is the leading scorer for Rice, entering the contest averaging 16 points, 6.5 rebounds and a block per game. She is joined in double figures by Haylee Swayze, who posts 11.7 points and 4.3 boards on average. Swayze is a workhorse for the Owls, averaging 37.7 minutes per game as she rarely sees the bench. That average is seventh in the nation and second in C-USA for minutes per game. Malia Fisher is a do-everything piece for Rice who leads the team in blocks with 23 and is second in steals with 21. She also is the top rebounder for the Owls with 7.9 per game. Opponents are averaging a league-high 68.7 points per game against Rice this season.

THURMAN IN IMPRESSIVE COMPANY
Destiny Thurman became the first UTEP player since Tamara Seda on Dec. 29, 2017 against Cal State Fullerton to score 30 or more in a game by dropping 30 on North Texas on Thursday. Thurman tallied 15 points in each half, going 9-of-17 from the field, 4-of-7 from beyond the perimeter and 8-of-9 from the free throw line to eclipse her previous high of 23 set during the North Dakota game earlier this season.

HOME COOKING
The Miners have won three straight games at home dating back to Jan. 15 on the way to a 9-2 mark in the Don Haskins Center this season. UTEP has strung together three straight years of winning records in the Don under Kevin Baker.

FAST STARTS SPARKING WINS
Each of the last three wins have seen the Miners jump out to leads of seven or more points after the end of the first quarter.

DOUBLE FIGURE DESTINY
Destiny Thurman is tied with Teal Battle and Katia Gallegos for the UTEP team lead with 12 games in which she has contributed a double figure scoring output. Thurman has hit double-digits four times in the last five games.

ERIN GETS THE START
Making her first start as a Miner, Erin Wilson made the most of the opportunity, tallying a season-high 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor, adding a pair of steals on the defensive end as well.

WINNING IN TEXAS
UTEP is 5-0 this season against teams from the state of Texas, picking up victories over Incarnate Word, Texas State, UTSA (2x) and North Texas. In total, the Miners have won eight straight against fellow Lonestar State foes.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Due to the rescheduling of the men's basketball game at North Texas previously slated for this Thursday, the women's game at Louisiana Tech that was originally scheduled to be on 600 ESPN El Paso on Monday, Feb. 7 at 5:30 p.m. MT/6:30 p.m. CT will now air live only on the UTEP Miners app. Mando Medina will have the call from Ruston starting with the pregame show 15 minutes before opening tip.

WEST DIVISION STAYS CLOSE
Behind first-place UAB, which sits at 5-2 in league play, Southern Miss, Louisiana Tech and UTEP are all within one game of each other in the 2-4 spots in the division standings. The Golden Eagles are second at 5-4, followed by the Miners at 5-5 and the Lady Techsters at 4-5.

AVERY BURIES BUZZER-BEATER
As part of a 14-point game on Thursday, Avery Crouse connected on a buzzer-beater from distance to send UTEP into the break with a 41-29 lead. Crouse was efficient from the floor, going 4-of-5 overall and 2-of-2 from the perimeter.

BLISTERING THE NETS
By shooting 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) from beyond the 3-point line on Thursday, the Miners set a new season high, passing the 47.4 percent set at UTSA on Jan. 20. Overall, UTEP went 24-of-48 from the floor.

TIGHT GAMES
The Miners have played in nine contests decided by 10 points or less this season. UTEP is 6-3 for the campaign in such games. The Miners went 10-6 a year ago in games within the same margin.

GALLEGOS ASSISTS UPDATE
Katia Gallegos has dished out 69 assists this season (3.5 apg). The El Paso product sits in third on the school's all-time list with 348 assists. Kellie Willingham (2010-14) ranks second with 373, and Jareica Hughes (2006-10) leads the list with 599.

ARIKE BRINGING DOWN THE BOARDS
Elina Arike has been active on the boards this season, leading the team with 7.7 per game. The native of Helsinki, Finland has posted five or more rebounds in 10 of her last 11 games played, including 14 in a double-overtime win over Air Force on Dec. 21. After grabbing 10 rebounds at FIU last Saturday, Arike has now posted four double figure rebounding totals this season.

SUCCESS OVER 70
Including the win over North Texas earlier this week, the Miners are 8-1 this season when scoring 70 or more points in a game.

THURMAN CLOSE TO TOP-10
Destiny Thurman ranks seventh in C-USA with 33 made 3-pointers on the season. Thurman is two made 3-pointers away from reaching the top-10 of the UTEP single-season record book.

12 STRAIGHT WITH A STEAL FOR KATIA
Katia Gallegos has had at least one steal in 12 straight games, including two or more six times during that stretch. Her 36 steals for the season leads the Miners and is 12th in the conference.

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 438 free throws attempted this season, UTEP ranks first in C-USA and 11th in Division I. The Miners have made 72.1 percent of their attempts at the line, knocking down 316 at the stripe to rank eighth in that category.

KATIA FROM THE PERIMETER
Katia Gallegos has hit 88 3-pointers in 73 career games. Gallegos ranks 13th on the school's all-time list, and needs nine to crack the program's top-10 list.

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