Ten wins marks best start for women’s team

The UTEP women’s basketball team will take on Marshall on the road in hopes of continuing their undefeated record in conference play after picking up their 10th-straight win.

UTEP (18-1, 9-0 Conference USA) will be playing against a Marshall team that is having a roller coaster season. They are 4-5 in conference play, but they have been victorious in an unorthodox fashion.

Coming off an impressive 86-80 win against fourth-place Louisiana Tech, the Miners are no longer tied for first with Western Kentucky in Conference USA due to their nine-win record. The Miners struggled in the first half to cement the lead, but they used their home court advantage to extend their lead in the second half.
“It was a battle-great game, great win against a team that has been playing really good ball,” head coach Keitha Adams said. “L.A tech has a fantastic team.”
Adams does not let the wins take over her team’s locker room; after last year’s losses, the Miners know there is still a lot of basketball to be played. Adams and her squad have labeled this year “the payback tour.”

“We are completely focused on who we are playing and what the game plan is,” Adams said. “We are not thinking about the past and we are not thinking about the future. Even when I get questions asked about two weeks in the past, I always say I don’t know what you’re talking about. I stay locked in and I try to keep our kids locked in.”
The Miners will have to find a way to neutralize Marshall’s senior guard Leah Scott. The 6-foot guard is averaging 15 points per game. She is also leading her team with 117 total rebounds.

Fortunately for the Miners, Marshall’s team does not have an array of offensive weapons that UTEP has proven to have. UTEP has four players that all average 10-or-more points per game, with the leader among them being Cameasha Turner with 15.3.
UTEP also cares about teams who rebound strongly, according to guard Starr Breedlove. The team relies on Chrishauna Parker, who in the last game had 10 rebounds against a board-heavy Louisiana Tech team.

“Finally got somebody out there that we know for sure is going to rebound,” Breedlove said. “Our whole team rebounds, but we know she’s automatically going to.”
The Miners will be on the road for their next two games, against Marshall (Thursday, Feb 4) and against second-place Western Kentucky (Saturday, Feb. 6). If the Miners are able to get both wins, the Miners not only get better control of Conference USA, but they also may gain enough attention to be in the top 25 of the nation.

For Turner it does not matter who they are playing-the guard is staying focused, and playing one game at a time.
“We got to keep pushing forward, take from this game and get better,” Turner said. “Each game we got to move forward. We can enjoy this game tonight (against Louisiana Tech) and we got to look forward to Marshall. They beat us last year-pay back tour continues.”

As for Adams, Marshall is just another opponent she would like to get revenge on. Adams does not like to talk much about other teams right after a game, but she said enough to let everyone know Marshall is on the payback tour.
“Marshall beat us last year here (at the Don Haskins),” Adams said. “We were 12-16 last year.”

Juan Carlos Navarette may be reached at [email protected].