Box Score

EL PASO, Texas - UTEP opened the second half on a 17-0 run, erased a five-point Louisiana Tech halftime advantage and raced to a 88-75 win over the Lady Techsters Friday afternoon at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso.

With the loss, LA Tech (14-13, 9-7 C-USA) saw its hopes of a top four seed and a first round bye in the upcoming Conference USA Tournament crippled.

Tech led 43-38 at the break after a first half that saw the Lady Techsters shoot 52 percent from the field and lead by as many as nine points. UTEP's only two leads in the opening 20 minutes came at 2-0 and 31-30.

However, the Miners came out for the second half inspired and jumped on a lethargic Tech squad that forced head coach Tyler Summitt to use two timeouts in the first four minutes. The timeouts did little good as the Miners beat the Lady Techsters to every loose basketball and built a 55-43 advantage before a Ruby Richie 3-pointer at the 15:45 mark stopped the bleeding momentarily.

Tech appeared as if it might play its way back into the contest as a Whitney Frazier jumper and a pair of Chrisstasia Walter free throws pulled the Lady Techsters to within 56-51 with 13:38 to play in the game. UTEP reopened the wound though, scoring the next 13 points as Tech failed to score for a six minute stretch.

Kelia Shelton's layup with 7:54 to play stopped the run but the Lady Techsters wouldn't get any closer than 15 points the rest of the way.

UTEP shot 54 percent (13-24) from the field in the second half, including 4-of-6 from the three-point line, while the Miners also capitalized at the free throw line, hitting 20-of-26 after halftime. For the game, the Miners hit 33-of-40 free throws while LA Tech hit 22-of-33 as the two teams combined to be whistled for 54 fouls.

Tech controlled the opening 20 minutes of basketball. After UTEP hit the first shot of the game, the Lady Techsters scored six straight points and eventually pushed its lead out to 30-21 on a Frazier layup at the 8:22 mark of the first half. However, the Miners used a 10-0 run over a 90 second span as Irene Gari's three-pointer gave UTEP a 31-30 advantage.

The Lady Techsters recovered quickly, scoring six straight points and 11 of the next 13 to take a 41-33 lead on a Brandi Wingate jumper with 2:16 to play. Tech led 43-38 at the half.

Walter led Tech with 20 points and six steals, while Frazier added 15 points and 12 rebounds for her third double double of the season and the 22nd of her career. Shelton added 15 points and Wingate chipped in with 11 points, five rebounds and a career-high five steals.

For the game, UTEP dominated LA Tech on the boards, outrebounding the Lady Techsters 49-28. Tech forced 25 turnovers by the Miners compared to only 11 giveaways by the Lady Techsters.

Sparkle Taylor led UTEP with 23 points while Cameasha Turner added 20 points.

The Lady Techsters return to action Sunday when they travel to face UTSA at 12 p.m.