UTEP caps regular season Saturday at #24 Middle Tennessee

EL PASO, Texas - UTEP women’s basketball plays at No. 24 Middle Tennessee on Saturday at 1 p.m. MT/2 p.m. CT in the final game of the regular season for both sides.

The Lady Raiders (24-4, 17-2 C-USA) have secured the Conference USA regular season title and the No. 1 seed into the tournament.

The Miners (19-9, 12-7 C-USA) will know their seeding and opponent for the quarterfinals following play on Saturday.

UTEP is looking to hand Middle Tennessee a home loss for the first time this season.

GAME COVERAGE

Fans can watch the game on Saturday on ESPN+.

Live stats will be available on the Middle Tennessee StatBroadcast Portal.

SCOUTING MIDDLE TENNESSEE

In what has largely been a dominant season, Middle Tennessee has outscored opponents by an average of 17.8 points per game, the eighth-largest scoring margin in the nation.

The Lady Raiders average 73.5 points per game offensively, with Marshall transfer Savannah Wheeler well on her way to another All-Conference selection with 15.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.

She also leads the team in assists with 80 on the campaign. Off the bench, Kseniya Malashka has once again been a key contributor, tallying 15.3 points and 5.6 boards per game.

She also leads the team with 51 blocks and is second with 43 steals.

Four of the five starters for Middle Tennessee have started 25 games or more this season.

In the first meeting of the year against UTEP in February, Jalynn Gregory was the high scorer with 20 points, while Courtney Whitson hit six 3-pointers to accumulate 18.

On average, Gregory chips in 13.2 points and Whitson 10.5 with eight boards.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. MIDDLE TENNESSEE

UTEP has won two straight games against the Lady Raiders over the last two seasons in the Don Haskins Center. Overall, Middle Tennessee is 9-3 against the Miners, with each UTEP win coming in El Paso.

GOING FOR TWO RANKED WINS

After upending then No. 21 Middle Tennessee 65-62 in El Paso on Feb. 2 on a Jazion Jackson game-winning triple with less than a second left, the Miners are searching for the third win against a nationally-ranked team in program history on Saturday.

UTEP also defeated Utah 50-46 at home on Jan. 31, 1998.

STRIVING FOR 20 WINS

UTEP last picked up 20 wins during the 2015-16 season, with that team finishing 29-5 overall on the way to winning the regular season conference championship, eventually advancing to the quarterfinals of the WNIT.

Six teams have won 20 or more games in program history. 

SCENARIOS FOR THE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT

UTEP can finish either third or fourth in the final conference standings depending on results on Saturday.

In order to take the No. 3 seed, UTEP needs to win vs. Middle Tennessee, have WKU beat North Texas and see Rice lose at FIU.

WHAT’S NEXT

UTEP begins the C-USA Championships with quarterfinal play next Thursday in Frisco at a time TBD.

The opponent will be decided based on results on Saturday.