UTEP wouldn't even allow NMSU to score on a breakaway layup. Up 34-11 in the second half, Miner senior forward Erika Warren came from behind and blocked freshman guard Simone Ruedin's layup. After Aggie junior forward Chrissy Fletcher got the offensive rebound, junior forward Kristine Vitola blocked that shot and picked up the loose ball.
"When we do little things like that, it gets our team pumped up and once we started doing that, our game just came together," sophomore forward Kayla Thornton said.
It was that kind of game between the two rivals.
UTEP allowed just eight points in the first half, 19 in the second and beat NMSU 63-27 Nov. 29 at the Don Haskins Center to improve to 6-0 on the season.
After freshman guard Hannah Womack hit the team's only 3-pointer of the game for the Aggies in the first minute of the second half, the Miners went on a 14-0 run to take a 39-11 lead with 14:57 to go. After four-consecutive free throws by NMSU, UTEP went on another 7-0 run, until senior forward Hannah Womack made her only field goal of the game and the team's first since Womack's three.
Head coach Keitha Adams began clearing the bench by the nine-minute mark of the second half, as 10 players had double-digit minutes in the game.
"I think our depth is really good. We gained some good experience tonight and this was a great opportunity to get our younger players out on the floor because those freshman are pups, so it was a good night and we were able to do that," Adams said.
The defense for the Miners was their best of the season, of the rivalry series and in school history. The eight points in the first half was the lowest they've given up to a Division-1 opponent in a half. The Aggies shot just 18 percent from the field, another all-time low by a UTEP opponent.
"Great defense tonight. Absolutely, we played great defense. I thought the young ladies played hard and I put pressure on our returners, I had five returners in the second half, and we talked about that in the locker room," Adams said. "It's important that we protect our home court and I was looking for that from our veterans to set a tone."
In addition, the 36-point margin of victory was the Miners' largest in the series. The last time UTEP swept NMSU was in the 2007-08 season. This is coming off a four-point overtime victory the last time the two teams played Nov. 16 in Las Cruces.
"I thought it was going to be a little bit of a closer game, but I felt that if we played the way we knew we can play, it would be a good win for us," sophomore guard Kelli Willingham said.
The Miners did this without needing much scoring from their two dominant post players in junior Kristine Vitola and senior Gloria Brown. The two combined for four total points and 17 rebounds. The 10 boards by Vitola were a career high for her.
Both teams struggled to get any offense going in the opening moments of the game. NMSU scored the first points of the game 43 seconds into it but went over seven minutes before scoring their next points. The Aggies turned the ball over seven times during that span and 14 times in the half compare to UTEP's three.
The Miners then went on to score 10 of the next 14 points to take a 14-6 lead with 6:56 to go. Ruedin hit a jumper with 5:52 remaining, which proved to be the final points of the half for the Aggies. UTEP then went on a 9-0 run to end the half and take a 23-8 lead into the half.
The Miners will have a quick turnaround before taking on Lamar (5-3) at 7:05 p.m. Dec. 1 at the Don Haskins Center. A win would match the best start in school history.
William Vega may be reached at prospector@utep.edu.
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