UTEP WBB Loses First Conference Game at LA Tech

The Miners concluded their first conference road trip of the season with an 87-80 loss at Louisiana Tech, but still got a split in what was a challenging pair of games to open league play.  UTEP, 10-5, 3-1 in C-USA shot 47.9 percent (23-48) from the floor and nailed a season-high 10 triples in the loss.  The Miners were hurt by committing 28 turnovers and allowing the Lady Techsters to drill 53.8 percent (28-52) from the floor, including 50.0 percent (11-22) from 3-point range.

Freshman Katia Gallegos had a near double-double with 15 points, seven assists to pace a trio of players in double figures.  Katarina Zec tallied 13 points, and Ariana Taylor added 11 points as well.  Sabine Lipe contributed with 9 points, three assists and Jade Rochelle amassed 8 points.  Following a close first half, the Miners took a narrow 38-36 lead into the intermission.

It was a high-scoring third quarter, with the two teams combining for 62 points in the frame. UTEP’s 30 points in the period marked its highest scoring road quarter in program history. Overall it tied as the fifth-most points the Orange and Blue have ever tallied in a quarter.  LA Tech went on an 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter and the Miners concluded the game with multiple turnovers and missed their final four shot attempts en route to the defeat.

Following the game Coach Baker said, “If you’re going to beat them here, you’ve got to do something special.  We were unable to get it done today, but I like the way we played. I was really impressed with the things we did out there. Our problem was in the first quarter we just kept turning it over. They hit shots when they needed to hit shots. I think we brought the best out of LA Tech tonight.”

UTEP will host UTSA next Saturday at 1 p.m. on a game you can listen to on 600 ESPN El Paso.