Slow Start Dooms Miners as UTEP Falls Short to Colorado State, 70-52
FORT COLLINS, Colorado (KVIA) -- The UTEP women’s basketball team (5-4) was upended at Colorado State, 70-52, Monday night. A five-point first quarter put the Miners in a hole that they were unable to climb out of, despite tying the Rams 47-47 over the next three periods.
The Miners shot 33.3 percent (19-57) from the field, 28.0 percent (7-25) from distance, and 58.3 percent (7-12) from the foul line in the contest. They tallied 34 rebounds, 10 assists, six steals, and one block.
Heaven Samayoa-Mathis put up a season-best 13 points to lead UTEP, including going 3-6 from beyond the arc. Luisa Vydrova also scored in double figures, posting 12 points to go with six rebounds.
Dunja Zecevic nearly notched a double-double, grabbing a career-high14 boards while tacking on eight points. Irene Asensio dished out a career-best four assists while Portia Adams added eight points and a game-high tying two steals. Samayoa-Mathis also snagged two steals. .
“Very tough first quarter start for us,” Head Coach Keitha Adams said. “In quarters two, three, and four we tied them. It’s a 40-minute game and we played 30 out of 40.”
The Miners struggled to get the offense going, down 23-5 at the end of the first quarter. The team tallied just one field goal and sunk three free throws in the period.
UTEP got better in the second period, thanks in part to three made threes from Heaven Samayoa-Mathis. She led the team with 11 points as the Miners trailed by 16, 44-28, going into halftime.
The Miners shot 35.7 percent (10-28) from the floor, 26.7 percent (4-15) from three, and 80.0 percent (4-5) from the foul line in the first half. They pulled down 14 rebounds, had five assists, and three steals.
UTEP kept even with CSU in the third, but couldn’t make up the deficit, down 59-42 at the end of the third period. Dunja Zecevic led the Miners with 10 rebounds.
Neither team could score much in the fourth, and the Rams ran away with the 70-52 victory. Osadebamwen Igbinedion Omoruyi tallied the lone block for the Miners in the final period.
CSU shot 41.1 percent (23-56) from the field, 37.9 percent (11-29) from beyond the arc, and 68.4 percent (13-19) from the charity stripe while pulling down 41 rebounds and adding 20 assists, seven steals, and one block. Kloe Froebe led the game with 15 points, followed by Emma Ronsiek with 13. Froebe also paced the Rams in rebounds with seven. Ronsiek recorded a team-best six assists while Sanna Strom and Brooke Carlson shared the game-lead in steals at two apiece. Hannah Simental swatted the only block of the game for Colorado State.
FAST FORWARD
The Miners return to the Don Haskins Center Thursday (12/19) when they play host to Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. MT.
TICKETS
For tickets, fans can call 915-747-UTEP or visit UTEPMiners.com/Tickets for more information.
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