UTEP WBB Falls at ODU in Hard Fought Battle

Despite playing only six individuals for a good portion of the game with injuries to Alexa Hoy and Jordan Jenkins, the Miners were resilient throughout in a 78-59 loss at Old Dominion.  In front of an energetic crowd of 6,314 elementary school kids for ODU's annual "Education Day," UTEP struggled out of the gate as the Lady Monarchs outscored them 19-9 in the first quarter thanks in part to taking an early 13-1 lead.  Coming out poised in the second quarter, UTEP had a much better frame by matching ODU's 19 points in the period and even pulled to within four at 29-25 with under three minutes left until halftime.

The Lady Monarchs went on a little run their own and took a 10-point advantage into the half at 38-28.  Already down to just seven players in the second half as Jordan Jenkins injured her right knee in the second quarter, the Miners played well in the third quarter by outscoring ODU 20-18.  Heading into the fourth UTEP was down to only six players which is unprecedented as Alexa Hoy injured her left ankle in the period.  The Lady Monarchs' lead was cut to 10  on numerous occasions, and by four twice in the second half, but the Miners weren't quite able to catch ODU as they have now won their last five games.

UTEP shot 34.7 percent (17-49) from the floor, including making six triples, while also enjoying a big day at the free throw line (19-27, 70 percent). The Miners also won the boards (38-35). The Lady Monarchs made up for it by shooting a bit better (29-64, 45.3 percent) and by only committing seven turnovers.

Following the game Coach Baker mentioned, "we continue to fight but just cannot catch a break. We’re not going to make excuses because we had plenty of opportunities.  I'’m really proud of our team. We had some kids go down (with injuries) and we could have pouted and could have laid down but instead they kind of fought back.”

Senior Jordan Alexander led all scorers for UTEP with 15 points, Katarina Zec added 11 points to go along with 6 rebounds, while Jade Rochelle tallied 7 with 6 boards, both Zuzanna Puc and Ariana Taylor netted 7 points each.  The Miners are now 4-15, 1-5 in C-USA and will play at Charlotte on Saturday at 2 pm MST, you can tune in on 600 ESPN El Paso.