EL PASO, Texas – UTEP women’s basketball plays at No. 24 Middle Tennessee on Saturday at 1 p.m. MT/2 p.m. CT in the final game of the regular season for both sides.
 
The Lady Raiders (24-4, 17-2 C-USA) have secured the Conference USA regular season title and the No. 1 seed into the tournament.
 
The Miners (19-9, 12-7 C-USA) will know their seeding and opponent for the quarterfinals following play on Saturday.
 
UTEP is looking to hand Middle Tennessee a home loss for the first time this season.
 
GAME COVERAGE
Fans can watch the game on Saturday on ESPN+. Live stats will be available on the Middle Tennessee StatBroadcast Portal.
 
SCOUTING MIDDLE TENNESSEE
In what has largely been a dominant season, Middle Tennessee has outscored opponents by an average of 17.8 points per game, the eighth-largest scoring margin in the nation. The Lady Raiders average 73.5 points per game offensively, with Marshall transfer Savannah Wheeler well on her way to another All-Conference selection with 15.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. She also leads the team in assists with 80 on the campaign. Off the bench, Kseniya Malashka has once again been a key contributor, tallying 15.3 points and 5.6 boards per game. She also leads the team with 51 blocks and is second with 43 steals. Four of the five starters for Middle Tennessee have started 25 games or more this season. In the first meeting of the year against UTEP in February, Jalynn Gregory was the high scorer with 20 points, while Courtney Whitson hit six 3-pointers to accumulate 18. On average, Gregory chips in 13.2 points and Whitson 10.5 with eight boards.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. MIDDLE TENNESSEE
UTEP has won two straight games against the Lady Raiders over the last two seasons in the Don Haskins Center. Overall, Middle Tennessee is 9-3 against the Miners, with each UTEP win coming in El Paso.
 
GOING FOR TWO RANKED WINS
After upending then No. 21 Middle Tennessee 65-62 in El Paso on Feb. 2 on a Jazion Jackson game-winning triple with less than a second left, th Miners are searching for the third win against a nationally-ranked team in program history on Saturday. UTEP also defeated Utah 50-46 at home on Jan. 31, 1998.
 
STRIVING FOR 20 WINS
UTEP last picked up 20 wins during the 2015-16 season, with that team finishing 29-5 overall on the way to winning the regular season conference championship, eventually advancing to the quarterfinals of the WNIT. Six teams have won 20 or more games in program history. 
 
SCENARIOS FOR THE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
UTEP can finish either third or fourth in the final conference standings depending on results on Saturday. In order to take the No. 3 seed, UTEP needs to win vs. Middle Tennessee, have WKU beat North Texas and see Rice lose at FIU.
 
MOVING THE BALL AROUND
UTEP averages 13.7 assists per game to rank second in the conference in that category. Additionally, the Miners are second in C-USA in turnover ratio, trailing only Middle Tennessee.
 
ERIN OFF THE BENCH
Erin Wilson scored nine of her 11 points in the first half to keep UTEP within striking distance throughout against WKU on Thursday. Wilson has scored in double figures 10 times this season while appearing in all 28 games with six starts.
 
RAISING THE BLOOD PRESSURE
To this point, 15 of the 19 conference games that the Miners have played have been decided by single digits. In such contests, UTEP is 9-6, with five of those losses coming by a combined 12 points.
 
SPECIAL GROUP
UTEP has had 16 games this year in which at least four different scorers reached double figures. 
 
A BAKER’S DOZEN
Kevin Baker has his team positioned to potentially equal the 2020-21 team for the high mark for conference wins during his time in El Paso. That team came away on top in 13 games, with the 2022-23 squad at 12 with one to play. Seniors Avery Crouse and Sabine Lipe were each also on the 2020-21 squad. The 19 wins this year marks the most in a season for a Baker team at UTEP. His 2017-18 and 2020-21 teams each won 17 contests.
 
CROUSE CAREER CAPSULE
Four-year starter Avery Crouse has scored 919 points with 414 rebounds, 203 assists and 118 steals in 110 games.
 
LIPE HITTING THE BOOKS
Sabine Lipe was named to the Conference USA Academic All-Conference Team on Friday. Only five players around the league are named to the team, which is selected based on academic prowess and on-court impact. Lipe was also a 2021 C-USA Women’s Basketball All-Academic Team selection and serves as a key contributor off the bench for the Miners, ranking third on the team with a single-season career-high 21 triples. In one of the more challenging areas of study on campus, Lipe has a 3.76 GPA as a Civil Engineering major. In addition to her success on the court, Lipe is a three-time C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medalist and a three-time C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll recipient. The native of Liepaja, Latvia is the only two-time recipient recognized this year.
 
CLOSING IN ON 1,000
Jazion Jackson has now scored 970 collegiate points between her time with the Miners and North Texas, including a career-high 342 already this season while leading UTEP with 12.2 points per game.  
 
DOUBLE-DIGIT CONFERENCE WINS
UTEP women’s basketball has now won 10 or more conference games 10 times in program history. This is the second time that the team has reached double-digit wins in league play in the last three seasons.   
 
UNDER 60 EQUALS WINS
UTEP is 44-13 when limiting the opposition to 60 points or less under Kevin Baker. The Miners have added nine wins to the total already this season.
 
FORCING TURNOVERS
In a display of one of the strengths of the team, UTEP has compiled 12 games of 20 or more turnovers forced, led by the season opener against New Orleans in which the Miners forced 33 turnovers.
 
STARTING EVERY GAME
Jazion Jackson and Avery Crouse are the lone two Miners who have started all 28 games this season. The duo has been a staple of durability throughout the season. Crouse has now started 109 career games with UTEP.
 
MINERS ON THE ROAD
UTEP is 7-5 away from home this season. The seven wins is the most away from El Paso since the 2015-16 squad went 8-3. That team went 29-5 overall on the way to winning the C-USA regular season title and advancing to the WNIT.
 
WINNING EVERY QUARTER
The Miners have outscored opponents in each quarter over the course of the season, led by a 503-436 edge in the third quarter of games.
 
LIMITING TURNOVERS AT HISTORIC RATE
With just 13.9 turnovers per game this season, the Miners are keeping possession of the basketball at one of the best clips in program history. The only UTEP team to average less turnovers per contest was the 2008-09 team at an average of 13.0 per game.
 
NO REBOUNDS FOR YOU
UTEP has allowed opponents to only grab 33.1 rebounds per game since the beginning of C-USA play, the lowest mark in the conference over that stretch.
 
REBOUNDING DUO
Jazion Jackson has continued to be active on the glass during the conference games to this point, averaging 6.6 per contest to rank third in the league in C-USA tilts. Adhel Tac is fifth in C-USA play with 6.4 rebounds per game. 
 
LIVING AT THE LINE
UTEP averages 14.6 free throws made per game, ranking 33rd nationally and third in C-USA. The Miners are averaging 20.9 attempts per game, ranking 28th nationally and first in the conference.
 
JACKSON STEALS UPDATE
Jazion Jackson is tied for third in C-USA this season with 60 steals, averaging 2.1 per game.  
 
WHAT’S NEXT
UTEP begins the C-USA Championships with quarterfinal play next Thursday in Frisco at a time TBD. The opponent will be decided based on results on Saturday.