UTEP WBB Hosts Perennial Powerhouse Middle Tennessee Saturday

1/31/2025 4:25:00 PM

Game Notes (PDF)
Season Statistics (PDF)

EL PASO, Texas. – The UTEP women's basketball team (9-10, 2-6 CUSA) faces off against reigning CUSA champion Middle Tennessee (15-6, 7-1 CUSA) Saturday afternoon in the Don Haskins Center. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. MT. The Miners will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day by hosting a poster signing with every UTEP women's sports team after the game.

GAME COVERAGE
Saturday vs Middle Tennessee — Live Stats or Watch Here

AND THAT"S WHAT YOU MISSED…
UTEP fell 65-59 to WKU on Jan. 30. Despite clawing back from as many as 13 down to take a two-point lead in the fourth, the Miners couldn't hold on and the Lady Toppers pulled away again in the final two minutes. The Orange and Blue shot 40.4 percent (23-57) from the field, 23.8 percent (5-21) from distance, and 88.9 percent (8-9) from the charity stripe in the contest. UTEP outearned WKU in both rebounds (37-32) and assists (13-11) while also tallying four steals and one block. Ivane Tensaie paced all players with 18 points. Luisa Vydrova and Dunja Zecevic were also in double figures for the Miners, each scoring 10. Vydrova led the game in rebounds (nine) and topped the Miners in steals (two) while Zecevic swatted UTEP's one block. Ndack Mbengue also had a solid performance, putting up nine points and eight rebounds. Delma Zita dished out a game-high five assists.

MINER NOTABLES
Three Miners are averaging double-figures in scoring, Ivane Tensaie (13.2), Portia Adams (10.9) and Luisa Vydrova (10.6). Ndack Mbengue pulls down a team-best 7.6 rebounds per game, followed by Vydrova at 5.7. Delma Zita is handing out 4.0 assists per game with Adams sitting second at 2.6. Adams leads in steals (1.1) while Dunja Zecevic swats a team-high 0.8 blocks per game. Mbengue is shooting a team-best 57.9 percent from the floor while Tensaie leads from beyond the arc (39.4). Zita, Adams and Vydrova are all hitting 80.0 or better from the foul line at 82.1, 80.7, and 80.0, respectively (minimum 10 attempts).

LEADING BY EXAMPLE
Ivane Tensaie posted 18 points against WKU, pacing all players in the game. It was her eighth time leading the Miners in points and 14th game this season scoring 10 or more points.

BACK TO WORK
Dunja Zecevic had a solid outing against the Lady Toppers, earning 10 points and four rebounds in 21 minutes of action. It was her first appearance for the Miners since 12/30/24 against ENMU.

HIGH FIVE!
Luisa Vydrova put up 10 points against WKU her fifth straight game with 10 or more points scored (12th in 2024-25).

DELMA'S DISHES
Delma Zita handed out a game-high five assists against the Lady Toppers, marking the 15th time this season that she has registered three or more assists in a contest, including six occasions of five or more helpers. It was also the 12th time that she has led the Miners in the category.

CRASHING THE BOARDS
Luisa Vydrova led the game with nine rebounds against WKU, marking her seventh game leading UTEP on the glass and fifth with nine or more boards.

TENSAIE FOR THREEEEE!
Ivane Tensaie is averaging 2.84 three pointers per game in 2024-25. She leads Conference USA and sits 17th in the country in the category. Additionally, Tensaie has scored three or more threes in 13 games in 2024-25.

SPLASH!
Irene Asensio drained two threes against WKU, her fifth game this season with at least two made shots from beyond the arc.

FEELIN' FINE AT THE FOUL LINE
UTEP shot 88.9 percent (8-9) from the foul line against the Lady Toppers, which marks its highest free throw percentage this campaign. The team has averaged over 80.0 percent (42-52) from the free throw line in the last four games after averaging 62.7 percent (32-51) over the previous three.

GUARDING THE PERIMETER
The Miners held WKU to 26.7 percent (4-15) from beyond the arc, marking the 12th game this season that an opponent has shot 30.0 percent or less from three.

SHARP SHOOTING
UTEP shot 40.4 percent from the field against the Lady Toppers, the fourth straight game the Miners have shot 40.0 percent or more from the floor, and sixth of the last seven.

HOW MAY WE ASSIST YOU?
UTEP has earned 248 assists on 453 made shot attempts in 2024-25 (54.7 percent). Delma Zita is responsible for 76 of those assists (30.6 percent of all assists).

INTERNATIONAL LOVE
UTEP has 10 international players on their 2024-25 roster. That is the second most in Division I, behind South Florida with 11.

SCOUTING REPORT: MIDDLE TENNESSEE
The Blue Raiders are 15-6, including 7-1 in conference play. They are averaging 65.7 points, 37.5 rebounds, and 11.3 assists per game. Middle Tennessee is shooting 40.7 percent from the floor, 29.6 percent from three, and 74.9 percent from the foul line on the year. Ta'Mia Scott leads the Blue Raiders with 15.4 points per game, followed by Anastasiia Boldyreva (15.2), and Jalynn Gregory (13.7). Boldyreva paces the team in both rebounds (10.1), and blocks (3.3). Courtney Blakely registers a team-high 4.1 assists per game and shares the team-lead in steals with Gregory (2.1 apiece). Former Miner Elina Arike sits fifth on the team in scoring (6.2) and third in rebounding (5.0). Middle Tennessee is ranked highly in multiple categories, including leading the nation in field goal percentage defense (33.2). They also sit eighth in both blocks per game (5.8) and scoring defense (54.0), 35th in free throws made per game (14.38), 39th in turnovers per game (13.6), 63rd in scoring margin (11.7), 64th in three-point percentage defense (28.0), and 65th in defensive rebounds per game (27.2), among others. Individually, Boldyreva ranks second in blocks per game (3.3), 20th in defensive rebounds per game (7.3), 21st in rebounds per game (10.1), 43rd in minutes per game (35.11), 49th in double-doubles (seven), and 79th in field goal percentage (50.0). Gregory sits ninth in minutes per game (36.86), 20th in three-point attempts (151), 21st in free throw percentage (89.2), 30th in three pointers per game (2.62), and T84th in steals (45). Blakely is also ranked in a few categories, T84th in steals (45) and 97th in assists (86) while Scott is ranked 66th in the nation in minutes per game (34.39) and 94th in free throw attempts (98).

SERIES HISTORY WITH THE BLUE RAIDERS
UTEP is 3-14 all-time against Middle Tennessee, with the last win coming in the 2022-23 season (65-62, 2/2/23).

FAST FORWARD
Following Saturday's game, the Miners are back in the Don on Feb. 8 when they take on NM State in the second Battle of I-10 of the season.

TICKETS
For tickets, fans can call 915-747-UTEP or visit UTEPMiners.com/Tickets for more information.

Give a gift to UTEP Women's Basketball by donating to the Fast Break Club.

Help support UTEP student-athletes by making a gift to the Miner Athletic Club.
Visit givingto.utep.edu/mac today!

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.

Print Friendly Version