UTEP hosts UT-San Antonio Saturday afternoon in pink out game

El PASO, Texas - Following a cross-country trek to Charlotte earlier in the week, UTEP women’s basketball returns home to welcome in UTSA on Saturday at 1 p.m. MT.

The Miners (15-7, 8-5 C-USA) upended Charlotte 70-64 on Wednesday after a round trip expedition that spanned over 3,200 miles.

On the other side of the floor, the Roadrunners (6-16, 4-9 C-USA) are playing for the first time since an impressive 58-53 upset of No. 21 Middle Tennessee last Saturday at home.

Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game, which is also serving as Military Appreciation Day.

GAME COVERAGE

Fans can watch the game on Saturday on Stadium Plus and CUSA.tv with Mando Medina and Rachel Phillips on the call courtside from the Don Haskins Center. Live stats will be available on the UTEP SIDEARM Stats Portal. 

SCOUTING UTSA

The Roadrunners are riding a high from the third ranked win in program history the last time out against No. 21 Middle Tennessee, a 58-53 triumph inside the Convocation Center. In that game, the Lady Raiders took 54 3-point attempts, hitting just 10 of them.

UTSA is the first team to hold an opponent to 10 or fewer 3-pointers on 50 or more attempts since UConn against St. Francis in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

UTEP will focus in on Jordyn Jenkins defensively, as the USC transfer scored a career-high 37 points the last time she squared off with the Miners in San Antonio.

On the season, Jenkins leads C-USA with 19.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.

Three of the five starters for the Roadrunners are Power 5 transfers. In addition to Jenkins, Kyra White is also a USC transfer and has posted 6.9 points, 5.5 boards and 4.6 assists per contest. She is third in C-USA in assists per game.

On the interior, second-year UTSA player and Texas transfer Elyssa Coleman contributes 9.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. She is second in C-USA with a team-high 39 blocks.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. UTSA

In recent history the Miners have dominated UTSA, winning nine of the last 10 meetings, including eight straight prior to a heartbreaking 58-57 overtime loss in the C-USA Championships last season.

In the all-time series, the Roadrunners lead 23-20.

UTEP took care of UTSA with a 74-67 win earlier this year in San Antonio, where the Miners have claimed six straight contests.

ARIKE LEADING THE SCORING PUNCH

Elina Arike has led UTEP in scoring in four straight contests, averaging 17.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game over the stretch.

Since Jan. 28, Arike has seen her scoring average increase from 9.5 per game to 11.3 for the season.

She set multiple career bests in a win over No. 21 Middle Tennessee, scoring a career-high 20 points and swatting a personal-best four blocks. She followed that game up with 16 points and 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season against WKU.