Miners fall to California Baptist in OT Thriller
RIVERSIDE, California (KVIA) -- UTEP women’s basketball lost 90-87 in overtime at California Baptist Saturday afternoon. Jane Asinde, Mahri Petree, and Erin Wilson all reached double figures for the Miners, and 11 UTEP players scored in the contest.
Asinde posted her third double-double of the season, with 19 points and 13 rebounds to go with two assists and one block. Petree went 3-4 from beyond the arc on her way to 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and one block. Wilson scored 12 points and had seven rebounds, including six on the defensive glass. Dunja Zecevic came alive for nine points, two rebounds, three assists, and a game-high three blocks.
Veonce Powell tallied seven points while Ivane Tensaie, Adhel Tac and Delma Zita both contributed six. Zita had a game-leading nine assists and Tac ranked third on the team with six rebounds. California native Aaliyah Stanton posted five points and four assists, Luisa Vydrova had two, and Mariama Sow pitched in one point.
“It was a tough game,” Head Coach Keitha Adams said. “We missed opportunities to score when we needed and we’ve got to get better defensively, but I’m very proud of how hard we played.”
Six Miners scored in the first quarter, led by Wilson with six. Zecevic followed closely behind with five, Petree, Asinde, and Tensaie had three a piece, and Stanton contributed two. Asinde led all players with five boards. UTEP went 3-6 from beyond the arc in the first frame. The Miners led 22-15 at the end of the period.
The Lancers were able to close the gap a little bit in the second quarter, thanks in part to going 18-21 from the line in the period. The Miners held a 42-39 lead at the half. Petree and Powell paced the team in the second quarter with five each, followed by Stanton with three. Wilson, Zita, and Vydrova all scored two, and Sow put up one.
Ten Miners scored in the first half, led by Petree and Wilson with eight apiece. UTEP shot 41 percent from the floor, including 43 percent from three. The Miners hit 72.7 percent of their free throws (8-11).
UTEP kept it close in third, led by Tac’s six points and four rebounds. Asinde posted four and Wilson and Zita each scored a pair. The home side was able to pull ahead and led 58-56 at the end of the period.
Asinde kept the Miners in the game late, scoring 10 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter, including a buzzer-beating layup at the death to send the game into overtime at 79-79. Petree followed with five while Wilson, Zita, Powell, and Zecevic scored two points each. Zita dished out four dimes in the last period.
Tensaie scored a late three, Asinde and Zecevic each tallied two, and Petree hit a free throw, but it wasn’t enough as the Lancers pulled off the three-point victory in overtime.
The Miners finished the game shooting 40.3 (29-72) percent from the floor, 33.3 (8-24) percent from three, and 84.0 (21-25) percent from the charity stripe. They snagged 41 rebounds, had 20 assists, five steals, and five blocks.
CBU shot 38.3 (23-60) percent from the field, 32.0 (8-25) percent from three, and 85.7 (36-42) percent from the line. The Lancers were led by Chloe Webb with 24 points, followed by Anaiyah Tu’ua with 19, Grace Schmidt with 15, Nae Nae Calhoun with 11, and Khloe Lemon with eight. Schmidt paced the team in rebounds with eight and Calhoun led CBU with seven assists. Webb and Calhoun both recorded four steals and Tu’ua posted three.
UP NEXT
The Miners are moving from one coast to the other as they head to St. Petersburg, Fla., for games against Lamar (11/22) and TCU (11/23) as part of the St. Pete Showcase. Both games are slated to tipoff at 11 a.m. MT.
