UTEP women rally to secure a 66-61 win over Sam Houston

EL PASO, Texas – UTEP women’s basketball (8-11, 3-3 CUSA) came back from eight down in the third quarter to defeat Sam Houston (5-13, 0-6 CUSA) 66-61 in the Haskins Center Saturday afternoon. The thriller included 11 lead changes and 10 ties.

The Miners found themselves down seven with just 6:45 to go in the game, but they managed to pull it even at 59 thanks to an Ivane Tensaie corner three. It was tied again at 61 before UTEP took the lead for the final time. Sam Houston failed to convert on their last 10 shots of the game.

Aaliyah Stanton came alive in the fourth quarter, scoring all nine of her points in the final period. Six of the nine points came on powerful driving layups. Stanton shot 50.0 percent from the floor (3-6) in the game.

UTEP was up two with a bit over a minute left in the game when Erin Wilson took the wind out of the Bearkats sail with a commanding block. The Miners sealed the game with some made free throws in the final minute.

Jane Asinde recorded her team-best eighth double-double, leading UTEP in both points (16) and rebounds (13), and shared the team high in assists (four). Stanton put up nine points to go with four assists. Tensaie and Luisa Vydrova scored eight each.

Mariama Sow matched her Thursday career-high with six points and put up a career-best seven rebounds, while Mahri Petree had another well-rounded game with seven points, six rebounds, an assist, and a block.

The Miners finished the game shooting 59.1 percent (26-44) from the floor, 27.3 percent (3-11) from three, and 61.1 percent (11-18) from the line. They grabbed 34 boards, dished out 12 assists, had five steals, and three blocks in the contest.

“I thought Sam Houston played us hard today, played tough, and made us earn it,” Head Coach Keitha Adams said. “Things weren’t looking too good for a little bit, but we got some good stops and I thought we executed down the stretch and played hard.”

It was a tight start to the game, with Sam Houston holding a slight 21-18 edge at the end of the first period. Sow led the Miners with six points, followed by Petree with five. Asinde paced the team on the boards with three.

UTEP outscored the visitors 18-13 in the second quarter to take a 36-34 lead into the locker room. Asinde put up 11 in the half to lead the Miners. Sow posted six points and a team-high six rebounds.

The Orange and Blue shot 62.5 percent (15-24) from the field, 33.3 percent (2-6) from distance, and 66.7 percent (4-6) from the charity stripe in the first half. The Miners pulled down 16 rebounds, had 6 assists, three steals, and one block.

The Bearkats got hot in the third, and led by six, 52-46, at the end of the period. Asinde had 13 points and Sow posted seven rebounds.

Stanton put the team on her back in the fourth, and the Miners made crucial stops down the stretch to earn the five-point dub.

Sam Houston shot 34.8 percent (23-66) from the floor, 26.7 percent (8-30) from three, and 63.6 percent (7-11) from the line. The Bearkats snagged 33 rebounds, had 14 assists, and seven steals. Kaylee Jefferson paced the team with 16 points, followed by Shanti Henry with 13 and Sydnee Kemp with 11. Elena Houghton grabbed a team-high seven boards while Jefferson and Tammera Derrough both tallied four assists.

UP NEXT

UTEP heads out on a three-game road spell. Up first, the Miners travel to Jacksonville, Ala., to take on Jax State Feb. 1 at 5:30 p.m. MT/ 6:30 p.m. CT. After that, the road trip continues in Lynchburg, Va., on Feb. 3 when UTEP takes on Liberty at 11:00 a.m. MT/ 1:00 p.m. ET. Finally, the second battle of I-10 of the season takes place Feb. 10 at 2:00 p.m. MT in the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, N.M.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News.