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The UTEP Women's basketball team improved to 6-0 in a physical battle against Texas State that resulted in a 73-60 win.
The Miners had a pretty comfortable lead the entire game, but trouble came late in the second half when they got into some foul trouble and the Bobcats began to close in on the lead.
UTEP totaled 28 fouls throughout the entire night with four of them occurring within the last quarter of the second half. However, the game was physical on both ends, as Texas State accumulated 27 fouls.
At the start of the first half, the Miners were first to get on the board with two free throws by Kayla Thornton. The Bobcats quickly responded with a three-pointer to take the lead. Both teams came out scoring big, with Texas State shooting 43% and with UTEP shooting 30% within the first five minutes of the game.
The Miners also fought defensively with nearly 20 rebounds in the first half. Kristine Vitola was a huge defensive leader, as she accumulated four rebounds, which was the individual majority.
At the half, UTEP lead Texas State 41-23.
UTEP opened up the last half of the game looking pretty slow. Vitola scored the first field goal for the Miners in the half with a layup assisted by Chrishauna Parker. The Bobcats answered with two free throws followed by another three-pointer by Kaitlin Walla. Texas State shot a whopping 63% in three-pointers throughout the game.
In the second-half, UTEP allowed the Bobcats 37 points, while scoring 32.
Overall, the Miners, even though victorious, had a rough time closing out the game. Foul trouble struck toward the end of the game, and more than half of the team's total fouls occurred in the second half. They also shot for 39%, which was less than the 42% they shot in the first half.
Kayla Thornton, Cameasha Turner, and Jenzel Nash were the Miners scoring leaders, together contributing 40 points to the team's total of 73.
Thornton had 30 minutes of game time while shooting 17 points and accumulating 9 rebounds.
Turner had similar stats, playing 24 minutes and shooting 13 points.
Nash did not enter the game until the second half, but she was a huge contributor with 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals.
Even though she was not a huge leader in this game, freshman guard Sparkle Taylor also made a short appearance, showing that she has scoring and rebounding potential with 8 points and 2 rebounds.
The UTEP Miners are now 6-0 and close out a 6-game homestand as they move on to play at rival New Mexico State on December 3rd. They will put their winning record on the line in their first road test of the season.