Ruben R. Ramirez

UTEP Hits Houston to Meet Rice on Thursday

3/1/2022 12:32:00 PM

UTEP Game Notes

EL PASO, Texas – UTEP (14-12, 6-10 Conference USA) and Rice (11-12, 6-9 Conference USA) go head-to-head on Thursday at 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT in Houston.

The game has important ramifications for seeding in the 2022 Heritage Landscape Supply Group C-USA Basketball Championships that are set to get underway next week in Frisco, with the Owls currently holding a half game lead over the Miners for fifth in the West Division standings with just two games to play.

The No. 6 seed in the tournament will play No. 7 seed UTSA in the first round next Tuesday, while the No. 5 seed advances to the second round on Wednesday to square off with the No. 4 seed from the East Division, with that team still yet to be decided.

WHERE TO WATCH & LISTEN
The Miners and Rice can be heard on the UTEP Miners app with Mando Medina calling the action. The contest will also be streamed on ESPN+.

SERIES VS. RICE
Rice has won eight in a row in the head-to-head series dating back to a 60-54 UTEP win in Houston on Jan. 1, 2016. Four of the games during that time have been decided by 10 points or less. On the way to winning the WNIT last season, the Owls topped the Miners 74-68 and 55-43 in a pair of meetings that took place at Rice. In the past 11 meetings in Tudor Fieldhouse, UTEP has won six times.

SCOUTING RICE
With a roster that features a combined eight freshmen and sophomores, the Owls have shown steady improvement throughout the season after dropping their first five C-USA games initially. Since then, Rice has posted a 6-4 mark in league play under first-year head coach Lindsay Edmonds, who inherited a program that won the WNIT last season. Ashlee Austin has been one of the most productive players in the conference this year, starting all 23 games and averaging 16.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Freshman Malia Fisher has played a pivotal role for Rice as well, contributing 10.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. Six players average nine points or more per game for the Owls as part of a balanced scoring attack that averages 65.4 points per contest while allowing 67.2 to the opposition. In the backcourt, Destiny Jackson is the primary distributor of the basketball, leading the conference with an average of 4.8 assists per game to go with 9.6 points and 1.7 steals. Opponents shoot just 26.2 percent from beyond the 3-point line against Rice, the 14th lowest total of any team in Division I.

GALLEGOS ONE TRIPLE AWAY FROM TOP-10
Katia Gallegos has hit 96 3-pointers in 79 career games. Gallegos ranks 11th on the school's all-time list, and needs one to move into the program's top-10 list.

SEEDING SCENARIOS
UTEP will enter the C-USA Championships as either the No. 5 or No. 6 seed. A sweep of Rice and North Texas this week would guarantee the Miners the No. 5 spot out of the West Division. In both scenarios to earn the No. 5 seed, UTEP must top the Owls on Thursday. A split against Rice and North Texas where the win is over the Owls combined with a Rice loss against UTSA on Saturday in Houston would also put the Miners as the No. 5 seed.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Garrett Jones (PXP) and Randy Mcllvoy (color) have the call for the game at Rice on ESPN+.

BROADCAST UPDATE
The game on Saturday at North Texas has been added to the ESPN+ schedule after originally being slated for C-USA TV.

FONTANA ON FIRE
Brenda Fontana has not missed from the floor in two of the last three games, going 12-of-13 overall during the course of those contests.

MOVING TO MARCH
UTEP has posted a .500 or better record in the month of March in all but one season under Kevin Baker since he took over the program in 2017-18.

WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF
The Miners are 11-1 this season when leading at the half.

.500 OR BETTER SEASONS
In the history of the program, UTEP has posted 20 seasons with a record of .500 or better, including two seasons in a row entering the 2021-22 campaign.

GALLEGOS REACHES ANOTHER TOP-10
With 47 steals this season, Katia Gallegos has moved into a tie for 10th on the UTEP career list with Jill Lewis (1993-94, 1995-96) with 141 for her career.

OVERTIME RECORD
UTEP has played in four overtime games so far in 2021-22, eclipsing the previous school record of three. UTEP won at NM State, 82-78 in OT on Dec. 15, against Air Force 93-85 in 2OT, fell against UAB 76-74 in OT on Dec. 30 and topped Southern Miss 86-79 in OT on Feb. 19. The Miners previously played three OT games during the 2007-08 season (W 72-66 OT at NM State, W 67-64 OT at SMU, W 73-72 OT at Southern Miss); the 2017-18 season (W 93-79 OT vs. ECU, W 92-91 2OT at Cal State Fullerton, L 56-52 OT at ODU); and the 2020-21 season (W 80-76 OT vs. NM State, W 81-73 OT at NM State, W 68-64 OT vs. UAB).

RAINING THREES
The Miners connected on at least nine 3-pointers for the sixth time this season in the win against Southern Miss. UTEP posted a season-high 11 triples in the home win over North Dakota in November. The Miners are 4-2 when hitting nine or more triples in a game.

BAKER NEARING 200 WINS
Kevin Baker has 195 wins between his time at UT Tyler, Angelo State and UTEP.

GALLEGOS SECOND ON ASSISTS LIST
Katia Gallegos moved into second on the UTEP all-time assists list by finding Mahri Petree for a 3-pointer with 7:58 left in the fourth quarter against Southern Miss on Feb. 19. Gallegos has dished out 99 assists this season (3.8 apg). With 378 career assists, the El Paso product now trails just Jareica Hughes (2006-10), who leads the list with 599.

STRONG AGAIN AT HOME
UTEP went 10-4 during the regular season in the Don Haskins Center. The 2021-22 Miners became the 16th team in program history to win 10 or more games at home, with the women's basketball program posting winning records at home in 16 of the last 18 seasons.

THREE IN A ROW ON ROAD
For the second time this season, UTEP is in the midst of a stretch of three straight games on the road. From Dec. 13-19, the Miners won at Texas State and New Mexico State before falling to New Mexico in The Pit.

WINNING BY 10 OR MORE
UTEP has eight wins this season by 10 or more points, including most recently in a 75-62 handling of North Texas.

BATTLE ON THE BOARDS
Over the last two games, Teal Battle has brought down nine rebounds and seven rebounds to lead the Miners on the glass each time. Battle has hauled down five or more rebounds 11 times this season.

PETREE AND FONTANA STEPPING UP
Regularly one of the first options off the bench, Brenda Fontana has scored 10 or more points in three of the last six games, including posting back-to-back double figure performances against LA Tech and Southern Miss two weeks ago. In addition, Mahri Petree has transitioned into the starting lineup for each of the last three games, averaging 12.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while connecting on eight made 3-pointers.

LIMITING OPPONENTS ON BOARDS
Opponents of UTEP are averaging just 33.4 rebounds per game, the lowest in C-USA by a rebound per game over UAB at 34.4. The +2.6 rebound margin ranks fourth in the conference.

FROM THE FIELD
On the season, the Miners are 11-1 when posting a higher field goal percentage than their opponent.

DIVISION STILL UP FOR GRABS
Four teams are still mathematically alive to win the C-USA West Division, with LA Tech currently residing in first at 9-7. Southern Miss and North Texas follow at 8-7, with UAB also still in the picture at 8-8 in league play and games against the Lady Techsters and Golden Eagles on the docket for this week.

C-USA CHAMPIONSHIPS INFORMATION
The 2022 Heritage Landscape Supply Group C-USA Basketball Championships are set for March 8-12 in Frisco, Texas at the Ford Center at The Star. All-session passes are available on UTEPMiners.com under the tickets tab.

GOING DOWNTOWN
The Miners are undefeated at 5-0 this season when hitting at a greater than 40 percent clip from the 3-point line.

GETTING TO THE STRIPE
With 553 free throws attempted this season, UTEP ranks second in C-USA and 23rd in Division I. The Miners have made 71.8 percent of their attempts at the line, knocking down 397 at the stripe to rank first in the conference and 23rd nationally in that category.

SUCCESS OVER 70
The Miners are 9-1 this season when scoring 70 or more points in a game.

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
The Miners have played in 12 contests decided by 10 points or less this season. UTEP is 7-5 for the campaign in such games. In games decided by five or less, the Miners are 4-4.

18 STRAIGHT WITH A STEAL FOR KATIA
Katia Gallegos has had at least one steal in 18 straight games, including two or more eight times during that stretch. Her 47 steals for the season leads the Miners and is 11th in the conference.

DOUBLE FIGURE KATIA
Katia Gallegos leads UTEP with 16 games in which she has contributed a double figure scoring output.

DURABLE DUO
Katia Gallegos is the only UTEP player to start all 26 games this season, with her and Erin Wilson the only two players to see action in each game. Gallegos has played 30 or more minutes in 20 games on the year.

Print Friendly Version