Senior center Kristine Vitola will miss the remainder of the 2012-13 UTEP Women's Basketball season, it was announced by head coach Keitha Adams Monday afternoon. Vitola suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee late in the Miners' (3-0) 60-54 win against traditional Pacific-12 power Arizona State on Nov. 18.

“Unfortunately injuries are a part of sports,” Adams said. “We will work through this as a team & put our focus on preparing for Texas Southern.”

Vitola is the second starter to go down with a season-ending injury. Sophomore guard Jenzel Nash sustained the same injury in a exhibition victory vs. St. Mary's on Nov. 3.

Vitola was off to a tremendous start, leading the Miners in both field-goal percentage (.600), rebounding (8.3) and scoring (16.0). A three-year letterwinner, she has appeared in 97 games, including 42 starts. She had a pair of blocked shots against the Sun Devils, lifting her career sum to 100. She is the fifth Miner to achieve the feat. UTEP has also won 64 games during her career. That figure ties as the seventh-most by a member of a class in program history.

UTEP will return to action with a pair of games at the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas this week. The Miners will challenge Texas Southern at 2 p.m. MST on Thanksgiving (11/22) before locking up with another Pac-12 member, Arizona, at 5 p.m. MST on Friday.

[Courtesy UTEP Athletic Department]

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