UTEP outlasts Tarleton State 52-49 in season opener
EL PASO, Texas - The UTEP women’s basketball team earned its first win of the 2024-25 season Monday, defeating Tarleton State 52-49 in the Don Haskins Center.
Three Miners scored in double figures in the win.
The Miners held the statistical advantage over TSU in FG% (43.9-38.3), 3PT% (45.5-27-8) and FT% (68.8-61.5). The Texans out earned UTEP in rebounds (34-23), assists (12-10), and steals (8-5).
The Miners biggest lead of the game was 12, following an 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter.
Moreover, UTEP led for 38:10 of game time, compared to just 28 seconds for the visitors.
Portia Adams led the team with 15 points, followed by Ivane Tensaie with 14 and Dunja Zecevic with 11.
Mary Moses Amaniyo paced UTEP on the glass, pulling down five boards. Ndack Mbengue also grabbed four rebounds in the game.
Delma Zita dished out a team-high three assists while Adams and Heaven Samayoa-Mathis registered two apiece.
Adams also led the Miners in steals with two. Amaniyo tallied the lone block of the game for UTEP.
“Today was a fun day in the Don Haskins Center,” Head Coach Keitha Adams said. “It was an exciting game, and I thought our team played some great defense today. Our defense won this game for us. Our offense has to be a lot better than what it was, but we did enough on the defensive end to get it done.”
The Miners came out hot on defense in the first quarter, holding the Texans to just seven points. Tensaie paced UTEP with five points and Delma Zita led with three boards.
The Orange and Blue kept up the pressure in the second period, playing lockdown defense while adding points on the offensive end. Amaniyo pulled down three boards in the quarter and led the team with five total at the half.
The Miners shot 36.4 percent (8-22) from the floor, 33.3 percent (2-6) from beyond the arc, and 66.7 percent (4-6) from the foul line in the first half. They pulled down 17 rebounds, tallied three assists, three steals, and one block. The teams headed to the locker rooms with UTEP leading 22-14.
Tarleton State closed the gap to four by the end of the third period, Tensaie continued to lead the Miners with 11 points.
Zecevic took over in the final period, dropping eight points while adding an assist and a steal. The Miners made 3-3 shots from downtown in the final period to help seal the 52-49 win.
Alani Fluker led TSU with 18 points, 10 of which came in the third quarter.
Niki Van Wyk, Andjela Bigovic, and Jakoriah Long each tallied six points.
Fluker and Bigovic shared the team lead in rebounds with six apiece while Long dished out a team-high four assists.
Bigovic and Miannah Little both snagged three steals.
Faith Acker and Bigovic each swatted one block for the Texans.
SEEING THE FUTURE
UTEP is home for three more contests before going on the road.
The Miners host Morehead State (11/10), UTSA (11/16), and NM Highlands (11/23), then head out on their first road trip of the season against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (11/26).
