UTEP turns up defensive pressure to down Abilene Christian

UTEP forced 18 turnovers and held Abilene Christian to 27.6 percent shooting on the way to a 66-62 victory in the first round of the WNIT in front of 4,517 fans at the Don Haskins Center Thursday evening.

The Miners (27-4) advance to the round of 32, and will play host to Arkansas State (27-5) at 7:05 p.m. Monday . The visiting Wildcats (26-4) did all they could to prevent that, putting together a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter to grab their first lead of the contest at 52-49 with 5:18 to play.

But UTEP, which extended its school-record home winning streak to 17 games, had an answer. The Miners, spurred on by the roaring 4,500+ fans, struck back with a 9-1 surge over the next three minutes to regain control. ACU, which had an eight-game unbeaten streak snapped, continued to battle down the stretch but UTEP hit 7-8 at the free throw line late to hold on for the victory.

Senior Starr Breedlove tallied nine of her team-high 16 points in the final frame to lead the way but she had some help as well. Tamara Seda posted her first career double-double (10 points, career-high 11 rebounds) to provide a big lift off the bench while senior Cameasha Turner nearly duplicated the feat (12 points, seven boards).

“It was a great win and we gutted it out in front of a great crowd,” UTEP head coach Keitha Adams said. “I’m very impressed with Abilene Christian’s team. I’m very proud of team and proud of El Paso. We’d love to get 12,222 out here Monday night and rock the Don!”