The UTEP women’s basketball team (7-11, C-USA 2-3) won their game over LA Tech (8-12, C-USA 2-3) in an extremely close game. With a final score of 61-57, the Miners made a comeback in the fourth quarter.
The game was off to a rough start, as LA Tech took the first possession, but the Miners pushed through, as senior guard Erin Wilson put up the first two points of the game. LA Tech came back with a three-pointer by junior guard Amaya Brannon.
The Miners would close out both the first and second quarters within two points of LA Tech, but not in the lead, as they trailed behind by three points at the end of the second quarter (27-30). However, despite the rocky start, the Miners persevered and gave LA Tech a fight that was too tough to beat.
The third quarter began with LA Tech senior forward Anna Larr Roberson scoring two points, only putting the lead further from UTEP’s grasp (27-32). The Miners pushed hard, as they briefly took the lead with under a minute remaining (42-41). LA Tech managed to take the lead before the quarter ended, putting the Miners down one point (42-43).
The last quarter of the game proved to be the most crucial to the game. There was only one lead change at the start of the fourth quarter, and LA Tech was unable to take the lead again. The Miners played hard defense, forcing LA Tech to run the shot clock. Traveling violations would also plague LA Tech into giving the Miners possession of the ball throughout the quarter.
The final minutes of the game had fans out of their seats as LA Tech still had the potential to take the game with less than a minute remaining in game time (58-57). LA Tech’s points would come to an end as the Miners would put up another three to close out the game with a layup by Wilson and a free throw shot by junior guard Delma Zita.
With a new coaching staff, the Miners struggled to find their groove, but the team played a hard defense through the whole game, which is something Wilson credits to the team’s win.
“The defense call was sticky, which means nobody leave their man, I mean everybody was pretty much on the same page,” Wilson said. “At the Western Kentucky game, we weren’t on the same page, and we ended up losing by one, and this time we made sure everyone was on the same page, so we guarded, and we finished.”
Head coach Keitha Adams said that the team has been putting in the hard work at practice over the past week, following their loss to Western Kentucky (13-8, C-USA 4-2). She also credits better leadership of the team by the two point guards, freshman Aaliyah Stanton and junior Delma Zita.
Adams also discussed what the win means for her and the team.
“I think what it means for us is that we’ve shown that we can finish the game out, and execute,” Adams said. “When you rebound good things happen, and I think our two point guards did the best they’ve done all year, both of them, of managing the game.”
The women’s basketball team will be playing Sam Houston State University at the Don Haskins Jan. 27, at 2:00 p.m.
Nicholas Maes is the sports editor and may be reached [email protected]
