Women’s Basketball: NMSU, UTEP both win conference tourney openers
It was a good start to conference tournament action for both the NMSU and UTEP women’s basketball teams.
The Miners won a thrilling 64-56 game in double overtime against favored Marshall in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament in Frisco, Texas.
UTEP’s Ariona Gill came up huge for the Miners in the first overtime, banking in a runner as the buzzer expired to tie the game and force a second overtime period. UTEP would then pull away in the second OT thanks to some hot shooting from deep.
They’ll next take on third-seeded Middle Tennessee at 1 p.m. MT Thursday in a quarterfinal matchup set to air on ESPN+.
As one of the top four seeds in the C-USA Tournament, Middle Tennessee had a bye in the first round and will be fresh when they meet the 11th-seeded Miners.
Meanwhile, the Aggies continued to impress, winning their WAC Tournament quarterfinal matchup easily over Chicago State, 90-54.
The Aggies have now run off 15 consecutive wins and are just two victories away from guaranteeing themselves a spot in the Big Dance.
NMSU gets the day off Thursday before returning to action in the WAC semifinals Friday at 1 p.m. MT in Las Vegas. The Aggies are set to meet UMKC after the Kangaroos defeated Utah Valley. That matchup is also scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+.
