Saturday, January 28
El Paso, TX
2 PM CT
University of North Texas
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71
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UTEP
Women’s Basketball Holds on Late at UTEP for Second Straight Road Win
1/28/2023 6:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Mean Green earn back-to-back road wins for the first time this season
EL PASO, Texas (Jan. 28, 2023) – Led by a strong third quarter and 20 first half points from Quincy Noble, UNT earned its second straight road win as they took down UTEP 74-71 inside the Don Haskins Center Saturday afternoon.
Noble finished the contest with 23 and the Mean Green got 14 points from Aniyah Johnson and 13 more out of Jaaucklyn Moore to win back-to-back road games for the first time this season.
The win improved UNT to 8-13 overall and 5-6 in C-USA play while UTEP dropped to 13-6 and 6-4 in conference competition. It is just the second loss for the Miners in El Paso this season.
As a team, the Mean Green shot 45.8 percent from the floor and forced 20 turnovers in the win.
After UTEP hit a 3-pointer to open the game, UNT took an early lead with a quick 9-0 run that featured four different scorers for the Mean Green.
Trailing 16-9, the Miners closed the first quarter on a 7-2 run that made the score 18-16 at the end of one.
Starting the second quarter, Noble began to take over as the Mean Green went on a 12-2 run that featured eight points from the senior out of McKinney, Texas, to give UNT a 30-18 lead.
UTEP was able to answer, however, closing the first half on an 11-3 run to make the score 33-29 in favor of UNT at halftime.
Noble finished the first half with 20 points and went 8 for 14 from the floor. It was the second time this season (at Wichita State) Noble has scored at least 20 points in a half.
With the score 40-34, UNT swelled the lead to 15 with a 14-5 run to make the score 50-36 with 3:23 left in the third.
The Miners made a run in the fourth, starting the quarter on a 10-2 run thanks in large part to back-to-back 3-pointers to bring the deficit to five at 62-57.
UTEP continued to chip away down the stretch, cutting it down to a one-point game at 66-65 with 2:18 left to play.
UNT didn't blink, however, as Johnson hit back-to-back layups as a part of a quick 5-0 run to swell the lead back to six with :56 seconds left in the matchup.
After UTEP brought things back to a two-point game, Ereauna Hardaway hit a free throw and Kendall McGruder grabbed a key offensive rebound to give the Mean Green an extra possession.
The sophomore drew a foul and calmly stepped to the line to knock down a pair of free throws and seal the win for UNT, 74-71.
Quoting Coach Mitchell
"We love it. Not the prettiest win but we will take them how we get them. I'm really proud of our team. There was a big time comeback effort from UTEP, but I thought we made the plays we needed to make. When we had to have a stop, we got it. And then huge free throws from Kendall there. It was a total team effort. Everyone stepped up. No matter how many minutes they played, everyone gave us something. That's what we have to have in order to have weeks like this."
Next Up
UNT will have a week until their next game as they return to action next Saturday at home against Rice at 3:30 p.m.
Noble finished the contest with 23 and the Mean Green got 14 points from Aniyah Johnson and 13 more out of Jaaucklyn Moore to win back-to-back road games for the first time this season.
The win improved UNT to 8-13 overall and 5-6 in C-USA play while UTEP dropped to 13-6 and 6-4 in conference competition. It is just the second loss for the Miners in El Paso this season.
As a team, the Mean Green shot 45.8 percent from the floor and forced 20 turnovers in the win.
After UTEP hit a 3-pointer to open the game, UNT took an early lead with a quick 9-0 run that featured four different scorers for the Mean Green.
Trailing 16-9, the Miners closed the first quarter on a 7-2 run that made the score 18-16 at the end of one.
Starting the second quarter, Noble began to take over as the Mean Green went on a 12-2 run that featured eight points from the senior out of McKinney, Texas, to give UNT a 30-18 lead.
UTEP was able to answer, however, closing the first half on an 11-3 run to make the score 33-29 in favor of UNT at halftime.
Noble finished the first half with 20 points and went 8 for 14 from the floor. It was the second time this season (at Wichita State) Noble has scored at least 20 points in a half.
With the score 40-34, UNT swelled the lead to 15 with a 14-5 run to make the score 50-36 with 3:23 left in the third.
The Miners made a run in the fourth, starting the quarter on a 10-2 run thanks in large part to back-to-back 3-pointers to bring the deficit to five at 62-57.
UTEP continued to chip away down the stretch, cutting it down to a one-point game at 66-65 with 2:18 left to play.
UNT didn't blink, however, as Johnson hit back-to-back layups as a part of a quick 5-0 run to swell the lead back to six with :56 seconds left in the matchup.
After UTEP brought things back to a two-point game, Ereauna Hardaway hit a free throw and Kendall McGruder grabbed a key offensive rebound to give the Mean Green an extra possession.
The sophomore drew a foul and calmly stepped to the line to knock down a pair of free throws and seal the win for UNT, 74-71.
Quoting Coach Mitchell
"We love it. Not the prettiest win but we will take them how we get them. I'm really proud of our team. There was a big time comeback effort from UTEP, but I thought we made the plays we needed to make. When we had to have a stop, we got it. And then huge free throws from Kendall there. It was a total team effort. Everyone stepped up. No matter how many minutes they played, everyone gave us something. That's what we have to have in order to have weeks like this."
Next Up
UNT will have a week until their next game as they return to action next Saturday at home against Rice at 3:30 p.m.
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
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