UTEP Athletics

Miners Aim to Tame Blazers on Thursday in Birmingham

2/15/2023 2:09:00 PM

UTEP GAME NOTES

EL PASO, Texas – UTEP women's basketball starts a two-game road trip on Thursday at UAB with opening tip slated for 5 p.m. MT/6 p.m. CT in Bartow Arena.

The Miners (16-7, 9-5 C-USA) are just a game back of second-place WKU entering the pair of road dates this week.

UAB (11-13, 3-12 C-USA) went 8-1 in non-conference play but has struggled to this point in league action.

With a win, UTEP would reach double-digit victories in conference for the 10th time in program history.

GAME COVERAGE
Fans can watch the game on Thursday on CUSA.tv. Live stats will be available on the UAB SIDEARM Stats Portal.

SCOUTING UAB
Freshman Denim DeShields leads the Blazers in scoring, averaging 13.5 per game this season to pair with 4.7 assists. Her assists average is second in C-USA. In the last meeting against UTEP, DeShields was completely shut down, going 0-of-6 from the field and finishing with no points, the only game this season in which that has happened. Margaret Whitley joins DeShields in double figures, averaging 11.3 per game with 4.0 rebounds. That duo marks the only two players who have started each game this season for UAB. The Blazers rely heavily on perimeter offense, taking 24.5 triples per game and shooting 33.4 percent from beyond the arc, a total which ranks second in the league. Whitley is the most prolific option, shooting at a 39.3 percent clip on 3-pointers to rank first in C-USA. A potential area to watch in the matchup with the Miners will be rebounding, as the Blazers have a -3.5 rebound margin which ranks second to last in the conference, while UTEP has a +2.8 margin.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. UAB
UAB leads 15-12 in the all-time series, although the Miners won the meeting earlier this season in El Paso convincingly by a 76-58 final. The Blazers have been historically tough to beat in Birmingham, with UAB winning eight of the 10 meetings between the two sides in Bartow Arena, including five straight. The last UTEP win at UAB was on Jan. 8, 2014 when the Miners upended the Blazers 85-76 to start conference play.

FIVE IN DOUBLE FIGURES
The Miners have posted back-to-back games with five players in double figures. There is no record of this ever happening prior in program history, as records are incomplete prior to the 1983-84 season.

BURNING UP THE NETS
UTEP connected on 14 3-pointers in the win last Saturday vs. UTSA, tying a program record for triples made in a game. The Miners shot 14-of-31 (45.2 percent) from downtown in the contest.

ERIN ELEVATING HER GAME
Erin Wilson set her UTEP career high with 22 points on an 8-of-14 effort from the floor with four rebounds and two steals against UTSA. Prior to joining the Miners, Wilson netted a career-high 26 twice while at Jacksonville.

OUT OF THE LOCKER ROOM HOT
UTEP has outscored the opposition 416-352 in the third quarter this season, including 96-49 over the last four games, a stretch in which the Miners have gone 3-1. Last time out vs. UTSA, UTEP outscored the Roadrunners 29-7 in the third quarter.

QUALITY REBOUNDING EFFORTS
Adhel Tac is fourth in C-USA play with 6.8 rebounds per game. Jazion Jackson has continued to be active on the glass as well during the conference games to this point, averaging 6.6 per contest to rank sixth in the league in C-USA tilts.

EVERYONE GETTING INVOLVED
UTEP has had 13 games this year in which four different scorers reached double figures.

READY FOR THE ROAD
UTEP is 6-3 away from home this season. The six wins is tied with the 2020-21 team for the most wins away from El Paso since the 2015-16 squad went 8-3. Two teams have won 10 or more games on the road in a single season, as the 2007-08 team went 10-3 and the 2011-12 group was 11-1. The Miners will play four of their final six games away from the friendly confines, hitting the road for contests at UAB, North Texas, WKU and Middle Tennessee.

ANOTHER WINNING SEASON AT HOME
This season marks the 17th time in the past 19 seasons that UTEP has posted a winning record at home, with the Miners 9-3 to this point in the campaign.

CROUSE CLIMBING 3-POINT LIST
In her collegiate career, Avery Crouse has made 90 triples, ranking her in 13th in UTEP program history. This season, she has connected on 28 from downtown, surpassing her previous season best of 23 set during both the 2019-20 and 2021-22 campaigns.

MOST POINTS IN A QUARTER
The 29 points scored in the third quarter by the Miners against UTSA marked the most in a single quarter so far this season.

EARNING A STARTING SPOT
Erin Wilson has taken full advantage of the opportunity to step into the starting lineup over the last six games, reaching double figures each time out. She is averaging 14.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per contest over the stretch in which she has played 28.3 minutes per night.

BEST INSIDE PRESENCE In C-USA?
Elina Arike has made her presence known in conference play as a dominant post option for the Miners. Over the last five games, Arike has reached double figures each time, raising her scoring average for the season from 9.5 per game to 11.3 over the stretch. During that time, Arike is averaging 16.6 per game with 6.0 rebounds. The native of Finland should be squarely on the radar of those around the league for All-Conference recognition.

SEASON HIGH FOR SABINE
Sabine Lipe contributed a season-high 13 points in 22 minutes vs. UTSA. From the floor, Lipe went 4-of-6 overall, including a 3-of-5 mark from the perimeter. She also grabbed five boards with three assists.

STARTING ALL 23
Jazion Jackson and Avery Crouse are the lone two Miners who have started all 23 games this season. The duo has been a staple of durability throughout the season.

LIVING AT THE LINE
UTEP averages 14.4 free throws made per game, ranking 46th nationally and fourth in C-USA. The Miners are averaging 20.7 attempts per game, ranking 34th nationally and third in the conference.

CROUSE CAREER CAPSULE
Four-year starter Avery Crouse has scored 861 points with 344 rebounds, 197 assists and 111 steals in 105 games.

TAC DISPLAYING TREMENDOUS GROWTH
Adhel Tac has had her best college season to date this year, posting seven double-figure scoring games, five contests with 10 or more rebounds and two double-doubles. Tac has taken full advantage of her opportunities, increasing her averages from 1.4 points and 1.3 rebounds in seven minutes per game last season to 7.6 points and 6.7 rebounds in 26.7 minutes per game this time around. Tac has worked heavily with Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach Chisan Jones to work her way towards the gains.

STEALS FOR JACKSON
Jazion Jackson is fourth in C-USA this season with 45 steals, averaging 2.0 per game.

NO REBOUNDS FOR THE OPPOSITION
UTEP has allowed opponents to only grab 31.6 rebounds per game since the beginning of C-USA play, the lowest mark in the conference over that stretch.

LIMITING TURNOVERS AT HISTORIC RATE
With just 14.2 turnovers per game this season, the Miners are keeping possession of the basketball at one of the best clips in program history. The only UTEP team to average less turnovers per contest was the 2008-09 team at an average of 13.0 per game.

WHAT'S NEXT
UTEP remains on the road with a game on Saturday at North Texas. Tipoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. MT/3:30 p.m. CT in Denton.

HOME TICKET INFO
Tickets start at $8 for regular season games 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 UTEPMiners.com/tickets, by emailing tickets@utep.edu, or by stopping by in person at 500 W. University Ave., 79968 (Monday thru Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

Help support UTEP student-athletes by making a gift to the Miner Athletic Club.

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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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