UTEP Women?s Basketball Back Home Against Northern Colorado Tuesday

EL PASO, TEXAS ? The UTEP women?s basketball team will look to extend the best start in school history when it plays host to Northern Colorado at 7:05 p.m. MST Tuesday. The Miners (8-0) are coming off a 53-43 triumph at New Mexico on Dec. 10 while the Bears slipped to 5-4 on the campaign with a 73-48 loss at South Dakota (12/10).

Tickets for the game are just $5 for adults or $3 for kids, and may be purchased by calling (915) 747-5234. If fans can?t make it out to the Haskins Center, they can watch live through Miner TV on UTEPAthletics.com or follow the team on Twitter @UTEPWBB for in-game updates.

UTEP has been impressive in all facets of the game thus far in 2011-12. The Miners have a scoring margin of +20.8 (72.0-51.2), with seven of their eight victories coming by double figures. They are shooting 41.9 percent from the floor while keeping the opposition to 30.2 percent. UTEP has a +6.4 rebounding margin and a +6.1 turnover margin.

The Miners have held a school-record six straight division I opponents to 55 points or less, eclipsing the effort of five consecutive foes which was achieved by the 2007-08 squad. UTEP hasn?t allowed a team to shoot better than 39 percent from the floor, with seven foes being held to less than 34 percent. The opposition has committed 18 turnovers or more in every game, and it has made at least 20 giveaways five times.

Thanks to a loyal fan base UTEP stands at 73-17 in El Paso since the start of the 2006-07 season, including 6-0 this year. During the recently-completed five-game homestand the Miners never trailed by more than three points (5-2 with 18:47 left in first half against Lamar), and were behind by a combined two minutes and 25 seconds.

In order to stay flawless, both at home & overall on the year, the Orange and Blue will have to derail a Northern Colorado squad which is 5-2 over its past seven contests. The Bears connect on 41.6 percent of their shots from the floor while registering 58.4 points per game. It is a three-pronged attack on offense, with Lauren Oosdyke (13.6 ppg), D?Shara Strange (13.3 ppg) and Kaisha Brown (9.1 ppg) leading the charge. Brown is a threat from three-point range with a team-best 14 triples.

UNC is limiting its foes to 61.3 ppg on 37.4 percent shooting, which has been aided by holding six teams to fewer than 70 points. The Bears account for 9 steals per game, with Strange (26), Oosdyke (16), Victoria Timm (14) and Amy Marin (12) all posting double-digit efforts in thefts on the year.

Northern Colorado had won two straight road games before falling at a very good South Dakota squad on Dec. 10. Overall it is 2-3 away from home in 2011.

Source: UTEP Athletics