UTEP, which is winners of seven straight and sits atop the Conference USA standings, will try to keep it rolling when it plays at Southern Miss at 6 p.m. MST Thursday. The game is third of four away from home for the Miners (17-2, 6-0 C-USA), who downed Houston, 87-43, to secure their biggest margin of victory in a league game in program history on Jan. 22. The Golden Eagles (6-13, 0-6 C-USA) posted a record of 6-7 in non-conference play but have fallen on hard times of late, having dropped their first six league contests. The game will be broadcast on 1150 AM in El Paso, and fans can also get live updates through Twitter (@UTEPWBB).
Adams On Cusp Of 300 Career Wins
Head coach Keitha Adams is one win shy of notching her 300th as a collegiate head coach. She has 172 victories with the Miners and claimed 127 previously at Independence Community College. She would become the fourth active head coach in C-USA to achieve the feat, joining Marshall’s Royce Chadwick (557-291), Tulane’s Lisa Stockton (415-205) & SMU’s Rhonda Rompola (375-244).
Miners Receive Vote In Both Top-25 Polls
For the first time this season, UTEP picked up a vote in the top-25 of both the AP & ESPN/USA Coaches polls in the same week. The Miners had previously secured a pair of votes in the coaches poll on Dec. 19, 2011, which marked the earliest point in any season that they drew national attention.
Off & Running In League Play
The Miners are off to a 6-0 start in league play for just the second time in program history. The 2007-08 squad got off to a quick start in conference and never looked back en route to becoming the first women’s school in Conference USA history to run the gauntlet to finish 16-0.
On The Road As Well
The Miners have surged to a school-record 6-1 start on the road, topping the prior standard at this juncture (5-2 in 2007-08). The season standard for top mark in hostile territory is 10-3, which came in that historic 2007-08 campaign.
Not To Mention Overall
With a record of 17-2, the Miners have equaled their best record through 19 games in school history (2007-08). That 2007-08 squad climbed to 27-2 before suffering its third loss of the season & finished with a school record of 28-4.
It’s A Streak Thing
The Miners have two separate winning streaks of at least five games this year (10 & 7) to become the second team in program history to achieve the feat. The 1992-93 squad also did. (7 & 5 contests)
Pretty Select Company
UTEP is one of 10 teams nationally to be both undefeated in league play & have two or fewer total losses.
We Meet Again
UTEP leads the all-time series against Southern Miss, 5-3, but the Miners are 1-3 in games contested in Hattiesburg. The last meeting between the programs at USM occurred in the 2009-10 campaign when a 9-17, 4-9 C-USA Southern Miss squad downed a 14-11, 6-7 C-USA UTEP team, 74-63. The Miners emerged victorious in the only meeting between the programs last year, 77-49, in El Paso on Feb. 24, 2011.