Box Score

EL PASO, Texas – Down by just two at halftime to a UTEP team that went 29-4 and reached the NCAA Tournament a year ago, Houston Baptist battled hard, but UTEP pulled away in the second half for a 67-58 victory over the Huskies Friday night at the Don Haskins Center.

“Our team showed a lot of fight and resiliency tonight and we're proud of the effort our ladies gave against the defending Conference USA champions,” said head coach Mary Gleason. “We got quality performances from a pair of our freshmen, Monet [Neal] and Rachel [Arthur], and Shanice [Steenholdt] had another double-double.

“Our young team will learn that small things matter: we gave up only one offensive rebound in the first half, but allowed 12 in the second,” continued Gleason. “This is a confidence builder for our young team, playing such a good team so tough on the road.”

Shanice Steenholdt recorded her second double-double of the season for HBU (1-2), leading the Huskies with 15 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 6-of-14 from the floor. Tayler Jefferson finished with 14 points, two shy of her career high. Monet Neal had a solid night with seven points, five rebounds, and four assists.

Reigning Conference USA Player of the Week Kristine Vitola led UTEP (2-0) with 18 points and eight rebounds, going 7-of-13 from the floor. Kayla Thornton added 15 points and Anete Steinberga scored 12.

UTEP started the contest scoring the first six points of the game before HBU went on an 8-3 run to trail 9-8. Rachel Arthur's three-pointer was the shot that cut the deficit to one at the 17:05-mark.

After a three-pointer by UTEP's Kelli Willingham gave the Miners a 16-10 lead, HBU answered with a long ball by Jefferson. Less than a minute later, Arthur hit her second three-pointer to make the score 18-16 UTEP with just under 13 minutes left in the first half.

Two free throws by Neal cut the deficit to one at 21-20 with 11 minutes left in the opening half. After Irene Gari made one of two free throws, Steenholdt made a layup on the next Husky possession to tie the game at 22-all.

The teams traded baskets to make the score 24-all with nine minutes remaining before Vitola's two free throws gave the Miners the lead again at 26-24. Following a steal by Arthur, Brittany Barton nailed a three to give HBU its first lead of the game, at 27-26, with just over six minutes remaining in the opening half. On the next Miner possession, Destinee Lafountain turned the ball over, which resulted in a layup by Neal, giving the Huskies a three-point lead at 29-26 with five minutes left.

A three-pointer by Cameasha Turner tied the game at 29-all, but it was answered by a jumper by Joselyn Pugh to give HBU a 31-29 lead with four-and-a-half remaining.

A minute later, Neal made a layup to give HBU a 33-29 advantage, but UTEP closed out the final three-and-a-half minutes on a 6-0 run to lead at the break, 35-33.

Steenholdt and Arthur led HBU at the break with six points each. Steenholdt added five rebounds, while Arthur had two boards, two assists, and two steals.

There was no scoring until 90 seconds into the second half, when a Miner defensive rebound resulted in a fastbreak layup by Thornton. The bucket was answered by a layup by Steenholdt which made the score 37-35. That was the only scoring until the first media timeout of the half, at the 15:37-mark.

The break benefited the Miners, who went on an 11-5 run for their largest lead of the game thus far, at 48-39 with just under 12 minutes left in regulation.

After McGarrachan hit two free throws, the Huskies went cold for the next two-and-a-half minutes, as UTEP scored the next six points. A pair of Jefferson free throws stopped the run to make the score 56-43 with 7:31 left in the second half.

A three-pointer by Vitola gave UTEP a 16-point lead at 61-45 with 6:30 remaining. Steenholdt had a three-point play, as she grabbed an offensive rebound and made the ensuing free throw to make the score 63-48 with four minutes left. That prompted the Miners to take a 30-second timeout, but the following UTEP possession resulted in a steal and fastbreak layup by Arthur. The Huskies ended up outscoring the Miners, 13-6, in the final 6:30 to make the final score 67-58.

HBU will conclude the road trip at New Mexico Sunday at 2 pm CST.