UTEP Athletics

UTEP Looks to Upend Middle Tennessee For Spot in Title Game

3/9/2023 9:30:00 PM

UTEP GAME NOTES

EL PASO, Texas – UTEP women's basketball returns to action on Friday afternoon in the semifinals of the Conference USA Championships against No. 25 Middle Tennessee.

Opening tip is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. MT/4:30 p.m. CT inside the Ford Center at The Star.

The No. 4 seed Miners (20-10, 13-8 C-USA) scored 11 of the final 13 points against LA Tech on Thursday to pull away late in a 64-54 win to advance to play the No. 1 seed Lady Raiders (26-4, 18-2 C-USA), who raced past Charlotte 84-53 in their quarterfinal contest.

GAME COVERAGE
Semifinal action in the C-USA Championships will air on ESPN+ with Chris Mycoskie and Kyle Youmans on the call. Fans can listen in live as well on 600 ESPN El Paso and the UTEP Miners App with Jon Teicher and Steve Yellen describing the action courtside inside the Ford Center at The Star.

SCOUTING MIDDLE TENNESSEE
The Lady Raiders outscore opponents by an average of 17.8 points per game, the ninth-largest scoring margin in the nation. Middle Tennessee averages 73.8 points per game offensively, with Marshall transfer Savannah Wheeler earning first-team All-Conference honors with 15.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. She also leads the team in assists with 83 on the campaign. Off the bench, Kseniya Malashka has once again been a key contributor, tallying 15.1 points and 5.6 boards per game. She also leads the team with 52 blocks and is second with 43 steals. Five starters for Middle Tennessee have started 25 games or more this season. Courtney Whitson and Jalynn Gregory were each selected as All-Conference picks in addition to Wheeler, while Malashka was named Sixth Player of the Year.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. MIDDLE TENNESSEE
UTEP won two straight games against the Lady Raiders prior to a 72-68 overtime loss last Saturday in Murfreesboro. Overall, Middle Tennessee is 10-3 against the Miners, with each UTEP win coming in El Paso. This is just the third time that the two sides have played in the conference tournament, with Middle Tennessee winning 66-44 in the 2019 quarterfinals and 74-58 in the 2021 semifinals.

TITLE TALK
UTEP is looking to earn a spot in the conference title game for the third time in program history. The Miners most recently won the tournament championship 69-65 over Tulane in 2012, while the team dropped the other contest 73-57 in 2008 to SMU.

BIG BENCH EFFORT
The UTEP bench outscored the LA Tech bench 23-9 Thursday, with Sabine Lipe and Erin Wilson each scoring 10 points.

HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED REMATCH
After nearly knocking off then No. 24 Middle Tennessee last week on the road, the Miners get another chance on Friday. UTEP picked up the second win over a ranked opponent in program history back on Feb. 2 when Jazion Jackson hit a game-winning triple to send the Miners to a 65-62 win over the then No. 21 Lady Raiders. The other ranked win for the UTEP program came against Utah by a 50-46 decision at home on Jan. 31, 1998.

JACKSON NEARING 1,000
Jazion Jackson has now scored 989 collegiate points between her time with the Miners and North Texas, including a career-high 361 this season while leading UTEP with 12.0 points per game.

UNDER 60 EQUALS WINS
UTEP is 45-13 when limiting the opposition to 60 points or less under Kevin Baker. The Miners are a perfect 10-0 this season when doing so, including Thursday vs. LA Tech.

ENDING THE STREAK
By winning 64-54 over LA Tech, the Miners snapped a streak of five consecutive contests that were decided by single digits. Included in that stretch were two home wins over FIU and Florida Atlantic and three tight road losses to North Texas, WKU and Middle Tennessee by a combined nine points. UTEP is as battle tested in close games as anyone in the conference, a characteristic which should benefit the Miners this week.

CARDIAC MINERS
UTEP has tied a program record by playing in 21 games decided by single digits this season. Overall, the Miners are 13-8 in such contests. In conference action, 16 of the 20 contests were decided by nine points or less. In those C-USA affairs, UTEP is 9-7, with six of those losses coming by a combined 16 points.

EVERYONE MAKING AN IMPACT
UTEP has had 17 games this year in which at least four different scorers reached double figures, highlighted by a stretch from Feb. 8-17 in which five or more Miners reached double digits in three straight games. There is no prior record of this happening in program history (records incomplete prior to the 1983-84 season).

REACHING 20 WINS
UTEP won its 20th game of the season on Thursday with the triumph over LA Tech. The last time the Miners picked up 20 wins was during the 2015-16 season, with that team finishing 29-5 overall. Seven teams have won 20 or more games in program history.

DOMINANT DUO
The starting combination of Elina Arike and Adhel Tac has helped to differentiate the Miners from their competition this season. Arike has been a staple of consistency as of late, scoring in double figures in 10 of the last 12 games, including eight straight from Jan. 28-Feb. 23. She is third on the roster with 5.5 rebounds per game. Tac has had her best college season to date this year, posting 11 double-figure scoring games, five contests with 10 or more rebounds and two double-doubles. She 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 7.8 points and a team-high 6.0 rebounds in 26.7 minutes per game this time around. Tac worked extensively with Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach Chisan Jones this offseason in preparation for her breakout campaign.

AGGRESSIVE ON DEFENSE
Jazion Jackson is third in C-USA with 64 steals, averaging 2.1 per game.

DOUBLE-DIGIT CONFERENCE WINS
With 12 conference wins this season, UTEP has now won 10 or more conference games 10 times in program history, including twice in the last three seasons.

MOVING THE BALL AROUND
UTEP averages 13.6 assists per game to rank second in the conference in that category. Additionally, the Miners are second in C-USA in assist to turnover ratio.

FORCING TURNOVERS
In a display of one of the strengths of the team, UTEP has compiled 12 games of 20 or more turnovers forced, led by the season opener against New Orleans in which the Miners forced 33 turnovers.

STARTING EVERY GAME
Jazion Jackson and Avery Crouse are the lone two Miners who have started all 30 games this season. The duo has been a staple of durability throughout the season. Crouse has now started 111 career games with UTEP, a total which surpassed Katarina Zec (2016-20) for the third most in a career in program history.

LIMITING TURNOVERS AT HISTORIC RATE
With just 13.9 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.

CROUSE CAREER CAPSULE
Four-year starter Avery Crouse has scored 932 points with 424 rebounds, 206 assists and 119 steals in 112 games.

NO REBOUNDS FOR YOU
UTEP allowed opponents to only grab 33.3 rebounds per game in C-USA play, the lowest mark in the conference.

LIVING AT THE LINE
The Miners entered the tournament averaging a league-leading 21.0 free throw attempts per game, ranking 28th nationally.

BIG SHOT AVERY
In her collegiate career, Avery Crouse has made 95 triples, ranking her 12th in UTEP program history. This year, she has connected on 32 from downtown, surpassing her previous season best of 23.

ALL-CONFERENCE MINERS
UTEP had a trio recognized in the 2022-23 Conference USA Postseason Awards, the league office announced on Tuesday. Jazion Jackson earned first team All-Conference accolades after leading UTEP in scoring. Elina Arike was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year while also garnering second-team All-Conference and All-Defensive Team recognition. In recognition of his efforts in leading a team that was picked eighth in the preseason poll to a 20-win campaign, Kevin Baker was named the Co-Coach of the Year. Arike is the first Defensive Player of the Year in program history.

WHAT'S NEXT
With a win, UTEP would play in the championship game on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. MT/4:30 p.m. CT against the winner of the other semifinal between No. 2 WKU and No. 6 UTSA. That game is slated for 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT.

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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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