EL PASO – The UTSA women's basketball team fell to UTEP 77-73 in a thriller Saturday afternoon at the Don Haskins center.
The Roadrunners (7-19, 2-12 C-USA) shot 46.7 percent from the field as the Miners shot 48.3 percent.
The Roadrunners started strong scoring a season-high 28 points in the first quarter. UTSA shot 55.6 from the field and 42.9 from the arc. Marie Benson led with nine points in the quarter. The Roadrunners went on a 10-0 run to increase the gap to 10 (19-9) with 4:02 remaining. Both teams scored nine points each the remainder of the quarter. UTSA led 28-18 going to the second.
UTEP outscored the Roadrunners 14-10 in the second to close the gap to five (38-34) at the half. Benson scored four more points to reach 13 for the half and her 21st double-digit scoring game of the season.
In the third quarter, UTSA shot 46.2 percent from the field. The Miners scored 17 points to close in on the Roadrunners. Neither team scored for 2:37 until a jumper from UTEP at 3:29. UTSA led 53-49 going to the fourth.
At the 9:06 mark, UTEP tied the game at 53. The Miners went on a 9-0 run, taking their first lead of the second half with a 3-pointer with 8:15 remaining. UTEP pushed the lead to five from two free throws. UTSA went on a 4-0 run to bridge the gap to two (69-71) with 1:17 remaining, but the Miners held on to their lead.
The Roadrunners return on action on March 2 when they travel to Hattiesburg, Miss. To play Southern Miss.
-UTSA-
