Miners Fall to Roadrunners 78-73 Saturday Afternoon
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The UTEP women’s basketball (2-1) dropped a nailbiter to UTSA (3-1) 78-73 Saturday in the Don Haskins Center. The Miners led by as many as 11 in the contest, but a strong second half from the visitors was the difference maker.
UTEP shot 46.4 percent (26-56) from the field and 66.7 percent (12-18) from the foul line. The Miners posted a whopping 64.3 percent (9-14) from three, good for fourth best in program history.
The Orange and Blue pulled down 28 rebounds, dished out 11 assists, had three steals, and four blocks in the game.
Ivane Tensaie dropped a career-high 27 points on 69.2 shooting to lead UTEP. She drained a career-best seven shots from downtown to keep the Miners in the game. Portia Adams also scored in double figures, posting 18 points.
Luisa Vydrova and Osadebamwen Igbinedion Omoruyi shared the team lead in rebounds with five apiece. Delma Zita dished out a team-best seven assists and Dunja Zecevic matched a career-high in blocks with three.
“First of all, UTSA has a good team. They kicked our tails at their place last year, and this year they are even better. I hate that we lost this game because it was a missed opportunity,” Head Coach Keitha Adams said. “ I think we played some pretty good defense throughout the game, but it got away from us in the fourth quarter, and we lost the momentum. We’ve got to find a way to score more consistently around the basket and get better on offense.”
It was a tight battle to start the game, with the squads knotted at 18 at the end of the first. Tensaie put up eight in the period to lead the Miners while Mbengue grabbed three defensive boards.
UTEP jumped out to a 38-27 lead as the teams headed to the locker rooms, helped by 11 turnovers in the period from UTSA. Adams paced the Miners with 12 points, followed by Tensaie with 11.
The Miners shot 52.2 percent (12-23) from the floor, 71.4 percent (5-7) from beyond the arc, and 75.0 percent (9-12) from the foul line in the first half. They pulled down 12 rebounds while also tallying six assists, two steals, and three blocks.
The Roadrunners closed the gap and pulled ahead in the third, leading 53-48 at the end of the period. Luisa Vydrova had three rebounds in the period to lead the Miners.
UTEP got within one in the fourth, but two technical on Portia Adams late in the period changed the momentum in favor of UTSA. As a result, the visitors made four free throws (two per tech), to go up five with five minutes remaining in the contest. Despite two late threes from Tensaie, the Roadrunners would hold on to win 78-73.
UTSA shot 56.0 percent (28-50) from the field, 35.7 percent (5-14) from three, and 85.0 percent from the charity stripe. The Roadrunners edged the Miners in rebounds (31) and assists (16), while also tallying three steals and three blocks. Jordyn Jenkins went off for a double-double, posting a game-high 30 points and 12 rebounds. Nina De Leon Negron (13) and Maya Linton (12) also registered double-digit scoring efforts for the visitors. Negron also dished out a game-high eight assists.
FAST FORWARD
The next chance to catch the Miners at home is next Saturday (11/23) when they welcome NM Highlands to the Borderland. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. MT.
TICKETS
For tickets, fans can call 915-747-UTEP or visit UTEPMiners.com/Tickets for more information.
