Bench dominates again, Miners still perfect in league play

As they have done the past three games, UTEP overpowered their Conference-USA opponent when they let their bench loose once again. UTEP's reserves outscored UCF's 36-2, 13 players saw action, 10 scored and the Miners routed the Golden Knights 67-38 to improve to 8-0 in C-USA play Jan. 29 at the Don Haskins Center.

"I thought our team just played really well from top-to-bottom, start-to-finish, it was a great effort for us today," head coach Keitha Adams said. "I think for us, we have to understand that we have to be really focused for our opponent."

While Adams said it was one of the best overall team efforts in conference play, their past three games have been just as focused. UTEP has outscored their last three opponents (Houston Jan. 22, Southern Miss Jan. 26) 131-16 off the bench. The 36 bench points in this win tied the UCF starters' mark, the 12th time the Miners' bench have tied or outscored their opponent's starters.

UTEP's defense was also evident in a game they led the entire way. They held the Golden Knights to 26.2 percent shooting in the game, allowing just one 3-pointer all contest. The Miners also forced 20 turnovers to take a 22-4 advantage in points-off turnovers.

UCF's top two scorers in senior guard Aisha Patrick and junior guard Gevenia Carter were held to four and nine points, respectively.

"Their guards are very good at driving and shooting off the bounce and getting to the rim," Adams said. "We worked on our zone a lot to clog the lane to where it wasn't so open."

UTEP took a double-digit lead 9:16 into the game and never looked back. Despite finishing the first half on a poor-shooting note and allowing the Golden Knights to score the second half's first three points, the Miners clicked from that point on. They went on a 14-4 run, which was capped off by eight-straight points by senior guard Briana Green.

"I needed this for my confidence but it's not about me, it's about our team and coach getting her 301(st win)," Green said. "I've had a slow start but I know I'm coming from injury so I know I need to be patient."

Green finished with a game-high 13 points, which is the first time she led all scorers since the Dec. 3, 2010 home contest against Cal State Northridge in Memorial Gym.

The Miners started the half off strong when they went up 11-2, then used a 16-2 run to push their lead to double digits for good. The Miners hit 10 of their first 16 shots and took a 25-11 lead at the 10:04 mark.

UTEP then went cold to end the second half, scoring just eight points on 2-of-13 shooting behind four turnovers in the final 10 minutes. Despite the slow finish, UCF scored just seven points to give the Miners a 33-18 lead at the half.

Prior to the game, Adams was presented with the game ball for her 300th win, which she earned Jan. 26 at Southern Miss behind a 70-63 victory.

"All I really want to focus on is this team and the journey we're on. I just want to be along for the ride with these guys," Adams said. "I'm not comfortable with that because it's about our team and our program is about our team and the individual stuff is not important."

The Miners will now take the week off until they face Rice Feb. 5 in Houston.

William Vega may be reached at prospector@utep.edu.