Miners Wrangle Cowgirls, Cruise to 83-54 Victory
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The UTEP women’s basketball program (3-1) made short work of New Mexico Highlands Saturday afternoon, running away with the 83-54 win. Five Miners scored in double figures in the contest.
The Miners shots 54.9 percent (28-51) from the field, 33.3 percent (6-18) from beyond the arc, and 72.4 percent (21-29) from the free throw line.
UTEP held the statistical advantage in rebounds (39-27), assists (16-10), and steals (13-12), but were out blocked (2-1). The Miners outscored the Cowgirls 31-13 off of turnovers, 40-26 in the paint, 28-2 on fast break points, and 34-18 in bench points.
Ivane Tensaie dropped 14 points to pace the Miners, including nine in the fourth quarter. She drained five of UTEP’s six threes in the game. Dunja Zecevic (13), Ndack Mbengue (12), Mary Moses Amaniyo (11), and Delma Zita (10) also posted double-digit scoring efforts, with Zecevic, Mbengue, and Amaniyo’s being career highs.
Mbengue also tallied a career-best eight rebounds to lead UTEP. Zecevic pulled down six while Heaven Samayoa-Mathis, Portia Adams, and Amaniyo all registered five boards. Adams served up a game-high five assists.
“I was happy with our effort in the second half. I thought we turned up our defense a lot,” Head Coach Keitha Adams said. “Now we have to get ready for a good Texas A&M-Corpus Christi team on Tuesday.”
The Miners jumped out to an early lead in the first, up by seven, 20-13, at the end of the period. Ndack Mbengue led the team in both points (six) and rebounds (three).
Despite some shooting woes at the foul line in the second, UTEP held onto an eight-point lead going into the locker room. Dunja Zecevic paced the team with nine points while four Miners shared the lead in rebounds with three each.
The Orange and Blue shot 54.2 percent (13-24) from the floor, 25.0 percent (2-8) from three, and 53.3 percent (8-15) from the charity stripe in the first half. The team grabbed 18 rebounds, dished out nine assists, and posted four steals over the first two periods.
UTEP stretched its lead to 15 by the end of the third, thanks in part to a strong third quarter showing from Delma Zita (eight points). The team also turned it around at the line in the period, sinking all eight attempts.
The Miners ran away with the game in the fourth pouring in 26 points while holding NMHU to just 12. Tensaie drained three shots from downtown in the final period to help ice the game.
NM Highlands shot 36.7 percent (22-60) from the field, 36.0 percent (9-25) from three, and drained their lone free throw of the contest (1-1). Kapiolani Anitielu paced the team with a game-high 19 points, followed by Juliana Aragon with 10. Amaris Valdez grabbed a team-best seven rebounds while Alyssa Maes registered six. Former Miner Aspen Salazar tallied seven points, two steals, and shared the team lead in assists with four.
FAST FORWARD
The Miners will head out for their first road test of the season next Tuesday (11/26) when they take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. MT/ 6 p.m. CT.
TICKETS
For tickets, fans can call 915-747-UTEP or visit UTEPMiners.com/Tickets for more information.
