Women’s Basketball: UTEP falls to Middle Tennessee in C-USA quarterfinals

The UTEP women’s basketball team ended the 2018-19 campaign with a defeat at the hands of Middle Tennessee in the Conference USA Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday.

Middle Tennessee, the third seed in the tournament, was never threatened by the Miners and cruised to a 66-44 win Thursday in Frisco.

Senior Jordan Alexander (13 points), Katarina Zec (12 points) and Ariona Gill (10 points) would all reach double figures in scoring, but it was not enough as UTEP’s season came to a close.

The Miners finished 9-22 overall this season. The loss Thursday followed a dramatic double-overtime win Wednesday in the first round of the tournament over Marshall.

UTEP entered the tournament extremely short-handed, playing with a rotation of just seven.

“Middle Tennessee is really good and they played extraordinarily well,” UTEP head coach Kevin Baker said. “I’m really impressed, but not surprised with how they played. I’m just so pleased and impressed with our team, specifically Jordan Alexander. We’re here today because of her and the strength of seven young ladies, who decided to not give up and not to be a victim of circumstances.”

Middle Tennessee will next meet second-seeded UAB in the tournament semifinals Friday.