FRISCO, Texas (KTSM) – The UTEP women’s basketball team has been clutch under pressure all season long. That experience worked in their advantage again on Thursday.

The four-seed Miners outscored the five-seed Louisiana Tech by 10 points in the fourth quarter to secure a 64-54 win in the Conference USA Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday morning in Frisco, Texas.

The victory secured UTEP’s first 20-win season since 2015-16 and the first of the Kevin Baker era with the Miners. Now sitting at 20-10, UTEP will meet No. 1 seed and 25th-ranked Middle Tennessee in the C-USA Tournament Semifinals on Friday at 4:30 p.m. MT in Frisco.

“That game was pretty much like our season this year,” said UTEP head coach Kevin Baker. “We had to keep doing what we were doing, rebuilding, rebuilding, rebuilding, building back leads. That’s how our season has gone. It’s indicative this game would go that way too. We had to survive a couple of runs. We’d build a lead, they’d make a run as good teams do, then we’d have to rebuild the lead. We had to play through some contact, play through some adversity and find a way to get it done.”

Elina Arike led the way for UTEP against Louisiana Tech, scoring nine of her 15 points in the fourth quarter. N’Yah Boyd, Erin Wilson and Sabine Lipe each had 10 points for the Miners.

UTEP used a 10-0 run to the second quarter to take a 38-28 lead into halftime. The Miners led by as many as 13 points early in the third, but LA Tech mounted a furious rally and outscored UTEP 18-8 in the third to tie the game heading into the final frame.

It was back-and-forth for much of the final frame, but Arike finally helped UTEP take complete control with a three-point play, then an offensive rebound and a putback.

“I tried to stay consistent, do my thing, keep working,” Arike said. “I don’t think I did anything differently. I got a breather at half time, then got back to my rhythm. I didn’t do anything special.”

UTEP’s defense forced 16 LA Tech turnovers in the game, a key stat that helped the Miners secure the victory.

In the C-USA Tournament Semifinals, the Miners will face No. 25 Middle Tennessee, a team they split with in the regular season, with both teams winning on their home floor.

UTEP’s Jazion Jackson hit a buzzer-beating three to give the Miners a win at the Don Haskins Center in early February, while the Blue Raiders defeated the Miners last Saturday in overtime in Murfreesburo. Baker and his team are ready for another shot.

“I know my team and I know what they were thinking when the horn went off in Murfreesboro. We let one get away from us in their house and we should’ve won that game,” Baker said. “My team knows it and they want another shot and how could you blame them? It’s going to be a great game between two quality teams and we’re all looking forward to it.”