The UTEP Miners (12-5, 8-3) women’s basketball team dominated the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers (7-8,2-7) in the first game of a back-to-back series Friday night.
Starting out a bit shaky, the Miners had three straight turnovers leading to a 5-point deficit while UTEP was held scoreless over the first two minutes of the game. Freshman forward Erina Arike scored the Miners’ first points inside, setting the tone that UTEP was not afraid to take it to the basket.
Sophomore point guard Katia Gallegos then answered with a 3-point shot to tie the game 5-5; Gallegos then made a shrewd defensive play getting the steal, then dishing an assist for Alike to score again in the paint to put the Miners up for the first time on a 7-point run.