A combination of poor free throw shooting and some defensive issues kept the UTEP women's basketball team from winning on the road, losing 85-69 against Louisiana Tech on Thursday night.
The Miners went 4-8 in Conference USA and 0-8 on the road, falling into a three-way tie with the Textors and Jacksonville State for sixth through eighth place in the nine-team league. As it stands, two of those three teams will receive byes in the first round of his CUSA tournament.
more:CUSA Women's Basketball Standings
UTEP never led, but was still within 68-62 with 7:58 left after a 3-point play by Jane Asinde. The Texters then took his lead back to double digits with his 7-2 run and homered. Louisiana Tech ended the game with a 17-7 surge.
Asinde led UTEP with 19 points, Ibane Tensai had 17 points and Miriama Sou had her best game as a minor with 11 points and six rebounds.
The Miners did a lot of things right, shooting 49% after shooting above 50% most of the game, but forced just 13 turnovers. Three of those were in the first half when the Textors built a lead that they never relinquished. — and allowed Louisiana Tech to shoot 54%.
UTEP went 13-of-22 from the free-throw line, while LA Tech went 20-of-24, a huge difference in a game where many of the stats were close.
As it turns out, these weren't winning numbers for a UTEP team that has yet to find a way to win on the road.
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UTEP concludes a two-game road trip with Saturday's game at Sam Houston. The 1pm Mountain Time Tips from Huntsville will be streamed on ESPN+.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com. @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.
