EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – UTEP (19-8, 12-6 Conference USA) women’s basketball collected their 19th win of the season after they beat Florida Atlantic (12-15, 5-13 Conference USA), 63-55, at the Don Haskins Center on Saturday.
UTEP led from start to finish and only let FAU get close to tying or taking the lead less than a handful of times. UTEP went into halftime with a 36-26 lead. In the second half, FAU jumped out to an 8-3 run to bring the game within two possessions. UTEP then managed to extend their lead once again with a 13-0 run. That run led to UTEP holding its largest lead of the game, 52-34, over FAU with 2:50 left in the third quarter. FAU never got closer than three possessions the rest of the way.
“I’m really proud of our team for simply winning the game,” Baker said. “I don’t think that’s the best game we’ve played this year by any stretch, but I was just impressed in the way that we gutted it out. Things weren’t going our way for a while. We got cold from the outside a little bit, so we had to guard differently and get them out of their isolations. It was just one of those games where we had to figure out a way to win, and they did that tonight, and because of that I am really proud of them.”
UTEP was led by N’Yah Boyd and Avery Crouse as they each scored 15 points in the game. Adhel Tac tallied 14 points on an efficient 6-of-8 shooting from the floor. Jazion Jackson pitched in 9 points on 3-of-12 shooting from the floor.
UTEP shot 24-of-65 (37 percent) from the floor. The Owls were 20-of-49 (41 percent) overall but were hindered by a 1-of-12 (8 percent) clip from beyond the arc.
Prior to the game, the Miners (19-8, 12-6 C-USA) honored seniors Avery Crouse, Sabine Lipe, Erin Wilson and Mahri Petree along with graduating graduate assistants Sah-Jay Stevens and Teal Battle.
The win secured UTEP a bye into the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Championships, with seeding still up for grabs. UTEP will look to win out to finish the 2022-23 regular season. UTEP will take on Western Kentucky (Mar. 2) and Middle Tennessee (Mar. 4) on the road.
