Miners run over the Roadrunners with 79-52 win

EL PASO, Texas -- UTEP jumped all over UTSA early on the way to a 79-52 victory on Saturday afternoon in the Don Haskins Center.

The Miners (16-7, 9-5 C-USA) went ahead 11-2 right out of the chutes before eventually extending the advantage to 21-4, putting the Roadrunners (6-17, 4-10 C-USA) in a hole to try to dig out of immediately.

In the win, UTEP tied a single-game program record with 14 made 3-pointers. The Miners went 14-of-31 (45.2 percent) from downtown in the contest.

“Really proud of our team today,” UTEP Head Coach Kevin Baker said. “It was an overall team effort. We were getting points from all over the place and really sharing the ball well. We started off exactly the way we wanted to. We wanted to start off fast and furious and scoring the ball. We hit a bit of a lull in the second quarter, but that’s to be expected when we shot the ball as well as we shot it in the first quarter. That’s just the law of averages evening out. I was really pleased that even though we weren’t making shots that we held them to 27 points in the first half.”

During the early stretch, Erin Wilson served as the offensive catalyst for UTEP, racking up 11 points in the first quarter, including three 3-pointers.

A 10-0 run for the Miners made the score 21-4 early, as the Miners started 8-of-13 from the field and 5-of-8 from downtown while completely shutting down UTSA, which missed seven straight shots during the run.

Sabine Lipe came off the bench during the first to drill back-to-back shots from distance of her own to build the lead to 18 at 24-6, the largest of the quarter. Lipe went on to net a season-high 13 points.

Following the Lipe 3-pointer, UTEP would be held without a made field goal until a Jazion Jackson mid-range jumper with 1:21 left before the half.

UTSA took full advantage of the Miners going cold, rattling off a 17-0 run of its over the end of the first and start of the second.

Jackson ended the hot stretch for the Roadrunners with a steal before pushing forward into transition to earn a foul, sinking both freebies at the stripe.

Heading into the half, the Miners kept UTSA without a made basket for the final 4:44 of play to enter the locker room up 30-27.

UTEP led for 18:11 of the first 20 minutes.

Out of the break, the Miners placed their foot squarely on the gas pedal, using a 10-2 run initially to jump ahead by 14 at 43-29.

Avery Crouse got hot during the run, swishing two 3-pointers.

“We built a lead early and we kind of let them come back into the game,” Crouse said. “Coming out in the third quarter, we refocused in the locker room and we just came back more aggressive, more assertive and just took care of business in a positive way.”

From the 8:10 mark of the third to when there was 5:10 remaining in the quarter, Jackson strung together five assists.

The run helped UTEP gain complete control of the game, building the lead to as many as 35 in the fourth thanks in large part to outscoring the Roadrunners 29-7 in the third.

For the Miners, the 29 points in the third marked the most in a single quarter this season.

“I was pleased to see us come out of the locker room and play as well as we did after not playing great in the second quarter,” Baker said. “That’s what you want to see as a coach.”

Wilson would go on to tally a season-high 22 points on an 8-of-14 effort from the floor with four rebounds and two steals.

“We came out pretty focused in the second half,” Wilson said. “It was a big difference because we knew that we couldn’t let this team catch back up and revert back to the type of game like what we played against WKU. I felt like we just didn’t get comfortable. We refreshed and played the game like it was 0-0.”

Jackson dished out a team-high seven assists to pair with 10 points. Elina Arike generated 12 points and Crouse 11 in the win. Adhel Tac grabbed nine boards on the interior.

Saturday marked the second game in a row in which UTEP had five players score in double figures.

The Miners outrebounded the Roadrunners 39-36 for the afternoon. UTEP moved the ball around well too to tally a season-high 22 assists.

After scoring 37 in the first meeting between the two sides, UTSA star Jordyn Jenkins was limited to 10 this time. She did not play for the majority of the second half.

The 27-point win marked the largest in conference play of the season for the Miners.

“I would have never thought that we would have won today with the margin that we did just because every single game in C-USA has just been a barnburner right down to the end,” Baker said. “I just think we shot it really well and took them out of what they want to do. They run a lot of different kinds of zones at you, and as long as you are shooting the ball like that then they are sort of forced to play man-to-man, and that’s what we are really good at.”

The 52 points for the Roadrunners tied for the fewest by an opponent for the Miners this season.

Next up for UTEP is a road trip next Thursday and Saturday to play at UAB and North Texas.