UTEP women improve to 4-1 in C-USA With 74-67 Win at UTSA

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Four Miners scored in double figures as UTEP withstood a valiant effort by UTSA to come out on top 74-67 on Wednesday night in the Convocation Center.

Jazion Jackson led UTEP (11-3, 4-1 C-USA) with 19 points and Elina Arike went a perfect 5-of-5 from the field to compile 15 points.

It was the Jackson show in the fourth for the Miners, who took a 50-47 lead into the final quarter.

From there on, she accumulated 14 points, highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers over a three-minute stretch late that pushed the lead to 69-62 with 1:02 remaining.

A product of Skyline High School in Dallas, Jackson wasted little time getting going in the fourth, posting up UTSA (3-11, 1-4 C-USA) defender Kyra White on the left block less than 50 seconds in and kissing a high-arcing shot off the glass while getting fouled for a 3-point play.

Less than a minute later, Jackson once again went right after White, driving to the cup with her left and finishing with her right while drawing contact to earn a trip to the line.

There would be no slowing her down the rest of the way, as she would go 4-of-5 from the floor in the fourth to push UTEP to victory.

N’Yah Boyd would help her out by connecting on five free throws late.

It would be the Jackson triple with 62 seconds left that lifted the Miners over the top, creating the seven-point edge. 

“With a minute to go we ran our 1-4 low play and N’Yah found Jazion in the corner, and she hit the 3 which gave us a little distance and a little separation there,” UTEP Head Coach Kevin Baker said. 

Sidney Love gave UTSA a sliver of hope late with a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left to cut the deficit to four at 69-65.

Following the make, the Roadrunners waited over 20 seconds to foul, sending Boyd to the stripe with 21 seconds remaining where she would sink both to help ice the win.

Wednesday marked one of the most productive games in Jackson’s career, as she was just a point shy of tying her career high of 20 that she set during her time at North Texas against Rice on March 4, 2021.

Two other Miners joined Jackson and Arike in double digits, as Boyd had 12 points and four assists while Erin Wilson played 20 key minutes off the bench to tally 11 points with three boards.

Baker noted the clutch free throws by Boyd down the stretch, Avery Crouse inbounding the ball cleanly and the rebounding efforts of Arike and Adhel Tac as critical components to what was a team win. 

The Miners have now had four players reach double figures six times this season.

“In the first half our bench once again played phenomenal, and not only kept us in the game, but helped us build a lead of 10 points,” Baker said. “I thought our bench was phenomenal when we got in foul trouble. In the second half, I love our team and how they responded to adversity when they (UTSA) came back from 10 down and we rebuilt the lead in the fourth quarter. I am just really pleased with how this team is playing right now, especially defensively. We seem to get better every time we take the floor.”

UTSA led for just 47 seconds in the game, with the Miners never relinquishing the advantage over the last three quarters.

The Roadrunners were led by a massive game from leading scorer Jordyn Jenkins, who netted a career-high 37 points on a 15-of-22 effort from the floor. She also had 11 rebounds and three blocks as part of a double-double.

Jenkins was especially lethal in the third quarter, scoring 15 of her points over those 10 minutes.

UTEP briefly built double-digit leads in the second and third quarters, however the game would remain within single digits for the vast majority of the contest.

From the floor, UTEP shot 21-of-48 (43.8 percent). The Miners were hot from the perimeter, sinking 6-of-10 (60 percent) of their attempts from outside. UTSA shot 25-of-59 (42.4 percent) overall and 6-of-19 (31.6 percent) on 3-pointers. The Roadrunners outrebounded UTEP 36-32 and had 18 assists, led by White with seven and Love with five.

Following the midweek win, the Miners return to the Don Haskins Center on Saturday for a rematch with Rice. Game time is slated for noon against the Owls.