Ruben R. Ramirez

Miners to Play at Louisiana Tech Monday Night

2/6/2022 5:59:00 PM

UTEP Game Notes

EL PASO, Texas – After originally being scheduled for Jan. 6 in Ruston, UTEP (13-8, 5-6 Conference USA) will finally play at Louisiana Tech (13-8, 5-5 Conference USA) on Monday at 5:30 p.m. MT/6:30 p.m. CT.

The Lady Techsters currently hold a half game lead over the Miners for third in the West. Last season, a sweep at Louisiana Tech was part of what would go on to be a nine-game winning streak for UTEP.

WHERE TO WATCH & LISTEN
The game on Monday 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
The Lady Techsters lead the overall series 14-8, however UTEP won both meetings last season in Ruston, 61-58 on Jan. 22 and 75-67 on Jan. 23. In the second meeting, the Miners shot 75 percent from the floor in the second half on the way to a 54 percent overall percentage for the day. In Ruston, Louisiana Tech has a 7-3 edge all-time.

SCOUTING LOUISIANA TECH
The Lady Techsters have played well as of late, winning five of their past six games and three in a row, including an 81-62 defeat of FIU at home on Saturday. Inside the Thomas Assembly Center, Louisiana Tech is 8-1 for the campaign. The team is led by the 17.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game from Keiunna Walker. Anna Larr Roberson adds 13.2 points and 9.0 rebounds per game and has connected on 51.5 percent of her attempts from the floor while blocking over a shot per contest. Walker and Larr Roberson have combined to score over 46 percent of the Louisiana Tech points on the season. The Lady Techsters are efficient at the free throw line, draining 76 percent of their attempts on the year. Over the last three games, Louisiana Tech has scored 132 points in the paint.

THURMAN 30
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. 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.

TIME FOR SOME ROAD TRIPS
To cap off the regular season, the Miners will play five of their final seven on the road, heading to Louisiana Tech, Marshall, UAB, Rice and North Texas.

SETTING UP TEAMMATES FOR SUCCESS
With seven assists against Rice, Katia Gallegos has now had five or more assists on five occasions this season. Her 3.6 assists per game ranks seventh in the conference.

DOUBLE FIGURE COMBO
Destiny Thurman is tied with Katia Gallegos for the UTEP team lead with 13 games in which she has contributed a double figure scoring output. Thurman has hit double-digits five times in the last six games.

WILSON KEY AS STARTER
Making her first start as a Miner against North Texas, 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. Wilson then started again on Saturday vs. Rice, posting her first double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

DEFENSE WITH DESTINY
Destiny Thurman made sure not to limit her impact to just the offensive side of the floor over the homestand against North Texas and Rice, racking up a career-high five steals on Saturday against the Owls.

DURABLE DUO
Katia Gallegos is the only UTEP player to start all 21 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 15 games on the year.

FONTANA FILLING IMPORTANT ROLE
Brenda Fontana had 10 points and seven rebounds against Rice as she approached her career high of 12 points while setting a new career best by getting to the line five times. Of her seven rebounds, five were offensive. Since the season opener against Incarnate Word, Fontana has played between 10-25 minutes in each game primarily as one of the first faces off the bench for the Miners. She has started four games in addition to appearing in 16 off the bench.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Due to the rescheduling of the men's basketball game at North Texas that was previously slated for last week, the women's game at Louisiana Tech that was originally scheduled to be on 600 ESPN El Paso 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.

UTEP IN CLOSE GAMES
The Miners have played in 10 contests decided by 10 points or less this season. UTEP is 6-4 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 4-3.

FIVE IN DOUBLE FIGURES
For the second time this season, UTEP had five players score 10 or more points in the game on Saturday against Rice. The other time that had happened was on Dec. 21 in a double-overtime win over Air Force.

GALLEGOS THIRD ON ASSISTS LIST
Katia Gallegos has dished out 76 assists this season (3.6 apg). The El Paso product sits in third on the school's all-time list with 355 assists. Kellie Willingham (2010-14) ranks second with 373, and Jareica Hughes (2006-10) leads the list with 599.

ARIKE CONSISTENT 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 11 of her last 12 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.

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

13 STRAIGHT WITH A STEAL FOR KATIA
Katia Gallegos has had at least one steal in 13 straight games, including two or more seven times during that stretch. Her 38 steals for the season leads the Miners and is tied for 12th in the conference.

A TOUGH PLACE TO PLAY
Not many teams have been able to pull out victories in the Thomas Assembly Center recently, with the Lady Techsters posting an 8-1 record so far this season. In total, Louisiana Tech has won 16 of their past 21 games at home, with UTEP handing them two of those losses.

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 455 free throws attempted this season, UTEP ranks first in C-USA and seventh in Division I. The Miners have made 72.5 percent of their attempts at the line, knocking down 330 at the stripe to rank ninth in that category.

KATIA APPROACHING TOP-10 FOR TRIPLES
Katia Gallegos has hit 90 3-pointers in 74 career games. Gallegos ranks 12th on the school's all-time list, and needs seven to crack the program's top-10 list.

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