EL PASO, Texas – UTEP women’s basketball wraps up the regular season portion of the home slate with a Saturday matinee against Florida Atlantic at 1 p.m. in the Don Haskins Center.
 
Seniors Avery Crouse, Erin Wilson, Sabine Lipe and Mahri Petree will all be honored prior to the game.
 
In addition, the game will serve as Fan Appreciation Day with those in attendance able to win prize packs for their tremendous support of the program this season.
 
This is the second meeting of the season between the Miners (18-8, 11-6 C-USA) and the Owls (12-14, 5-12 C-USA), as UTEP came out on top 79-78 in overtime in Boca Raton back in January.
 
GAME COVERAGE
Fans can watch the game on Saturday on Stadium Plus and CUSA.tv with Mando Medina and Rachel Phillips calling the action courtside. Live stats will be available on the UTEP SIDEARM Stats Portal. 
 
SCOUTING FLORIDA ATLANTIC
Freshman Aniya Hubbard has made an instant impact for the Owls this season, leading the way with 13.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. She also paces the team with 66 assists and 65 steals. Hubbard has been named C-USA Freshman of the Week four times this season. Janeta Rozentale complements Hubbard as an inside option, tallying 8.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. On the boards, FAU is third in C-USA with 38.9 per game. The Owls are 1-8 in their last nine games dating back to the first meeting of the season against UTEP. Two of those defeats have come by one point and five by double digits.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. FLORIDA ATLANTIC
UTEP leads the head-to-head series 11- 5. Dating back to Jan. 18, 2018, UTEP has won seven of the last nine games in the series. The Miners have won five of the seven meetings in El Paso.
 
MOST WINS IN A SEASON AT UTEP UNDER BAKER
The 18 wins this year marks the most in a season to this point for a Kevin Baker team at UTEP. His 2017-18 and 2020-21 teams each won 17 contests. His 2020-21 team set the high mark for conference wins, coming away on top in 13 games, a number which is within reach for the current squad as well. Seniors Avery Crouse and Sabine Lipe were each also on the 2020-21 squad.
 
SEEDING UPDATE
UTEP continues to remain positioned well for a bye in the first round of the C-USA Championships. The Miners lead sixth-place North Texas by 2.5 games in the standings. The Mean Green have two games left and UTEP has three, with North Texas holding the head-to-head tiebreaker advantage. The top-five teams automatically advance in the tournament. If the season ended today, the Miners would be the No. 3 seed by virtue of WKU holding the head-to-head tiebreaker, though the two sides meet next Thursday in Bowling Green in a game that could very likely decide the No. 2 seed. Four teams are currently within a game of each other from the No. 2 through No. 5 spots in the standings.
 
CLOSING IN ON 1,000
Jazion Jackson has now scored 948 collegiate points between her time with the Miners and North Texas, including a career-high 320 already this season while leading UTEP with 12.3 points per game.
 
LET’S TALK ABOUT ERIN
As one of the players that will be recognized on Senior Day, Erin Wilson has stepped into a key role this season for the Miners. To this point in the campaign, she has made a strong case for C-USA Sixth Man of the Year, averaging 6.3 points per game while seeing 15.3 minutes of action on average. She recently scored in double figures in seven straight games, averaging 14 points per game while stepping into a spot in the starting lineup. She is currently shooting 48 percent from the floor from her guard position as an efficient weapon whether starting or coming off the bench.
 
ICING THE GAME AT THE LINE
The Miners made seven of their last eight free throws against FIU to secure the win at the charity stripe on Thursday.
 
JAZION IN HOT STRETCH
Jazion Jackson has piled up 10 straight double-figure scoring games, raising her scoring average from 10.4 per game to 12.3 on average. During the 10 games, Jackson is averaging 15.4 points per contest. The stretch was highlighted by back-to-back big games in Florida, netting 22 at FIU and a career-high 26 at Florida Atlantic.
 
SPECIAL GROUP
UTEP has had 16 games this year in which at least four different scorers reached double figures.
 
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.     
 
HOME COOKING
This season marks the 17th time in the past 19 seasons that UTEP has posted a winning record at home, with the Miners 10-3 to this point in the campaign.
 
RAISING THE BLOOD PRESSURE
To this point, 13 of the 17 conference games that the Miners have played have been decided by single digits. In such contests, UTEP is 8-5, with four of those losses coming by a combined nine points.
 
STARTING EVERY GAME
Jazion Jackson and Avery Crouse are the lone two Miners who have started all 26 games this season. The duo has been a staple of durability throughout the season. Crouse has now started 107 career games with UTEP.
 
CAMPAIGNING FOR ELINA
Elina Arike has made her presence known in conference play. Over the last eight games, Arike has reached double figures each time, raising her scoring average for the season from 9.5 per game to 11.8 over the stretch. During that time, Arike is averaging 16.1 per game with 6.0 rebounds per contest. The native of Finland should be squarely on the radar of those around the league for All-Conference recognition. 
 
REBOUNDING DUO
Jazion Jackson has continued to be active on the glass during the conference games to this point, averaging 6.4 per contest to rank tied for third in the league in C-USA tilts. Adhel Tac is also tied for third in C-USA play with 6.4 rebounds per game. 
 
LIVING AT THE LINE
UTEP averages 14.7 free throws made per game, ranking 33rd nationally and third in C-USA. The Miners are averaging 21.1 attempts per game, ranking 27th nationally and first in the conference.
 
BIG SEASON FOR ADHEL
Adhel Tac has had her best college season to date this year, posting nine double-figure scoring games, five contests with 10 or more rebounds and two double-doubles. Tac has taken full advantage of her opportunities, increasing her averages from 1.4 points and 1.3 rebounds in seven minutes per game last season to 7.7 points and 6.5 rebounds in 26.2 minutes per game this time around.
 
CROUSE CAREER CAPSULE
Four-year starter Avery Crouse has scored 895 points with 409 rebounds, 199 assists and 112 steals in 108 games.
 
JACKSON STEALS UPDATE
Jazion Jackson is tied for third in C-USA this season with 55 steals, averaging 2.1 per game.
 
NO REBOUNDS FOR YOU
UTEP has allowed opponents to only grab 32.4 rebounds per game since the beginning of C-USA play, the lowest mark in the conference over that stretch.
 
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.  
 
HANDLING BUSINESS IN THE CLASSROOM
Adhel Tac, Avery Crouse and Sabine Lipe were all named to the Academic All-District Team presented by College Sports Communicators on Tuesday. To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or key reserve with at least a 3.50 GPA. The three Miners comprise 20 percent of the 15 Conference USA honorees, with UTEP tying LA Tech and Middle Tennessee for the most selections in the league. These are the first Academic All-District selections for the UTEP women’s basketball program since Cameasha Turner in the 2015-16 season.
 
CROUSE CLIMBING 3-POINT LIST
In her collegiate career, Avery Crouse has made 93 triples, ranking her 12th in UTEP program history. This year, she has connected on 31 from downtown, surpassing her previous season best of 23 set during both the 2019-20 and 2021-22 campaigns.
 
HOME TICKET INFO
Tickets start at $8 for regular season games while groups of 10 can purchase tickets for $5 a piece. Fans can buy single-game tickets at the Eisenberg Family Ticket Office by calling (915) 747-UTEP, visiting UTEPMiners.com/tickets, by emailing tickets@utep.edu, or by stopping by in person at 500 W. University Ave., 79968 (Monday thru Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.).