EL PASO, TEXAS (KTSM) – It wasn’t easy, but they got it done in the end.
The UTEP women defeated UAB 68-64 in overtime on Saturday afternoon at the Don Haskins Center to snag their seventh win in a row. The streak is the longest of the Kevin Baker era, and is the most wins in a row by a Miners team since 2015-16.
The Miners (12-5, 9-3 C-USA) needed a late fourth quarter run to force the extra period against a feisty UAB (7-9, 2-8 C-USA) team. Down by two with eight seconds left, Michelle Pruitt came through with the game-tying field goal on the pass from Katia Gallegos to knot the game at 60 and force overtime.
“I was really impressed with our team down the stretch because [UAB] had the momentum for most of the game,” head coach Kevin Baker said. “They controlled the tempo and controlled us much better than yesterday. The resiliency to kind of win a basketball game in a very ugly way, we just had to figure out a way to get it. I was really proud of our defense the entire game, but really in the fourth quarter and in overtime, I thought we did a tremendous job. We played our man, but also played our matchup in some crucial times, and that is not easy to do. Our team is really learning how to guard and learning how to get stops at big times. I am really proud of this group. It is tough to win any game in college basketball, but it is sure tough to win seven in a row, so I am proud of this team for being able to do that.”
The Miners were led by Gallegos and Pruitt, who each scored 18 points. Pruitt set career highs with the 18 points, as wella as a team-high 13 rebounds, 8 of them on the offensive glass.
13 of Gallegos’ 18 points came in the second half and overtime. The Franklin graduate also added seven rebounds and five assists.
Next up, UTEP hits the road to face off against FIU on Feb. 12-13 in Miami.
