UTEP Game Notes

EL PASO, Texas – With their seed in the upcoming Heritage Landscape Supply Group C-USA Basketball Championships already set, the Miners (14-13, 6-11 Conference USA) play at North Texas (15-11, 9-7 Conference USA) on Saturday at 1 p.m. MT/2 p.m. CT. The Mean Green are one of three teams still alive to win the West Division title with one game left to go.

WHERE TO WATCH & LISTEN
The Miners and North Texas can be heard on the UTEP Miners app with Mando Medina calling the action. The contest will also be streamed on ESPN+.
 
SERIES VS. NORTH TEXAS
UTEP holds an 11-7 lead in the all-time series against North Texas. In the Kevin Baker era, the Miners are 5-3 against the Mean Green, including a 75-62 win earlier this season in El Paso.

SCOUTING NORTH TEXAS
Three players average double figuring scoring outputs for the Mean Green, led by the 14.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game from Quincy Noble. In addition to Noble, Aly Gamez averages 10.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals, with Jazion Jackson contributing 10.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 steals per contest. Opponents hit just 28.4 percent of 3-point attempts against North Texas, putting the Mean Green 67th in Division I in that category. North Texas has also committed the fewest fouls of any C-USA team at 411 for the year. In the first meeting between the two sides earlier this year, Jackson led the Mean Green with 19 points.
 
GALLEGOS REACHES TOP-10 FOR MADE TRIPLES
Katia Gallegos has connected on 97 3-pointers in 80 career games and has now moved into a tie with Ana Valtierra (2002-07) for 10th on the UTEP all-time list. 
 
CROUSE DROPS 15
Avery Crouse equaled her best scoring output of the year with a season-high 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor, including a trio of 3-pointers, in the loss at Rice on Thursday. For the campaign, Crouse has now reached double figures nine times. 
 
FIRST ROUND PAIRING SET
UTEP will enter the C-USA Championships as the No. 6 seed out of the West Division. The Miners will play No. 7 seed UTSA in the first round on Tuesday, March 8 at 3 p.m. MT/4 p.m. CT inside the Ford Center at The Star. UTEP swept the regular season series against the Roadrunners, winning 69-52 on Jan. 20 in San Antonio and 71-59 in El Paso. The winner of that game will take on the No. 3 seed out of the East Division - the loser of the Old Dominion at Middle Tennessee game on Saturday - at 10:30 a.m. MT/11:30 a.m. CT on Wednesday, March 9.
 
BROADCAST UPDATE
The game on Saturday at North Texas has been added to the ESPN+ schedule after originally being slated for C-USA TV. 
 
AGAINST TEXAS FOES
UTEP is 5-2 against schools from the state of Texas this season. 
 
FONTANA REMAINS ON FIRE
Brenda Fontana has not missed from the floor in two of the last four games, going 15-of-17 overall during the course of those contests. 
 
PETREE AS A STARTER
Mahri Petree is averaging 10.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game in five starts this season, including the Detroit, Mich. native starting each of the last four.
 
MINERS IN MARCH
UTEP has posted a .500 or better record in the month of March in all but one season under Kevin Baker since he took over the program in 2017-18. 
 
WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF
The Miners are 11-1 this season when leading at the half. 
 
.500 OR BETTER SEASONS
In the history of the program, UTEP has posted 20 seasons with a record of .500 or better, including two seasons in a row entering the 2021-22 campaign. 
 
GALLEGOS REACHES ANOTHER TOP-10
With 50 steals this season, Katia Gallegos has passed Jill Lewis (1993-94, 1995-96) for 10th on the UTEP career list with 144 for her career. 
 
OVERTIME RECORD
UTEP has played in four overtime games so far in 2021-22, eclipsing the previous school record of three. UTEP won at NM State, 82-78 in OT on Dec. 15, against Air Force 93-85 in 2OT, fell against UAB 76-74 in OT on Dec. 30 and topped Southern Miss 86-79 in OT on Feb. 19. The Miners previously played three OT games during the 2007-08 season (W 72-66 OT at NM State, W 67-64 OT at SMU, W 73-72 OT at Southern Miss); the 2017-18 season (W 93-79 OT vs. ECU, W 92-91 2OT at Cal State Fullerton, L 56-52 OT at ODU); and the 2020-21 season (W 80-76 OT vs. NM State, W 81-73 OT at NM State, W 68-64 OT vs. UAB). 
 
UTEP FROM THE PERIMETER
The Miners connected on at least nine 3-pointers for the sixth time this season in the win on Senior Day against Southern Miss. UTEP posted a season-high 11 triples in the home win over North Dakota in November. The Miners are 4-2 when hitting nine or more triples in a game. 
 
BAKER NEARING 200 WINS
Kevin Baker has 195 wins between his time at UT Tyler, Angelo State and UTEP.
 
GALLEGOS SECOND ON ASSISTS LIST
Katia Gallegos moved into second on the UTEP all-time assists list by finding Mahri Petree for a 3-pointer with 7:58 left in the fourth quarter against Southern Miss on Feb. 19. Gallegos has dished out 106 assists this season (3.9 apg). With 385 career assists, the El Paso product trails just Jareica Hughes (2006-10), who leads the list with 599.   
 
SUCCESS AT HOME
UTEP went 10-4 during the regular season in the Don Haskins Center. The 2021-22 Miners became the 16th team in program history to win 10 or more games at home, with the women's basketball program posting winning records at home in 16 of the last 18 seasons. 
 
THREE IN A ROW ON ROAD
For the second time this season, UTEP is in the midst of a stretch of three straight games on the road. From Dec. 13-19, the Miners won at Texas State and New Mexico State before falling to New Mexico in The Pit. 
 
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.
 
ALVAREZ RETURNS HOME
Houston native Grace Alvarez saw six minutes of action in her first collegiate trip back home on Thursday, scoring a pair of points at the free throw line, grabbing a rebound and picking up a steal. 
 
KATIA NEARING 1,000 CAREER POINTS
Katia Gallegos has scored 954 points in her career at UTEP. Gallegos is looking to become the 15th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points all with the Miners. 
 
STILL DROPPING DIMES
After moving into second on the UTEP all-time assists list recently, Katia Gallegos has continued to set her teammates up for success, including leading the way with seven on Thursday at Rice. On the campaign, Gallegos has five games of seven or more assists. 
 
LIMITING OPPONENTS ON BOARDS
Opponents of UTEP are averaging just 33.4 rebounds per game, the lowest in C-USA by a rebound per game over UAB at 34.4. The +2.6 rebound margin ranks fourth in the conference.
 
FROM THE FIELD
On the season, the Miners are 11-1 when posting a higher field goal percentage than their opponent. 
 
DIVISION STILL UP FOR GRABS
Three teams are still mathematically alive to win the C-USA West Division with one game to go, with LA Tech currently residing in first at 10-7. Southern Miss and North Texas follow at 9-7. On Saturday, the Lady Techsters take on UAB at home, Southern Miss is at East Division leader Charlotte and the Mean Green welcome in UTEP. 
 
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.  
 
GOING DOWNTOWN
The Miners are undefeated at 5-0 this season when hitting at a greater than 40 percent clip from the 3-point line. 
 
GETTING TO THE STRIPE
With 572 free throws attempted this season, UTEP ranks second in C-USA and 25th in Division I. The Miners have made 71.7 percent of their attempts at the line, knocking down 410 at the stripe to rank first in the conference and 25th nationally in that category. 
 
SUCCESS OVER 70
The Miners are 9-1 this season when scoring 70 or more points in a game. 
 
UTEP IN TIGHT GAMES
The Miners have played in 12 contests decided by 10 points or less this season. UTEP is 7-5 for the campaign in such games. In games decided by five or less, the Miners are 4-4.
 
19 STRAIGHT WITH A STEAL FOR KATIA
Katia Gallegos has had at least one steal in 19 straight games, including two or more nine times during that stretch. Her 50 steals for the season leads the Miners and is 11th in the conference. 
 
DOUBLE FIGURE KATIA
Katia Gallegos leads UTEP with 16 games in which she has contributed a double figure scoring output. 
 
DURABLE DUO
Katia Gallegos is the only UTEP player to start all 27 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 21 games on the year.