Sarah Ann Dueñas/El Paso Times
Five games ago, the Rice and UTEP women's basketball teams were in similar spots.
The Miners were, in fact, a game ahead of the Owls in the Conference USA standings, a battle between teams that figured to be in the race for the final spot or two in the league tournament.
Rice isn't in that battle any more after winning four of their last five games, a streak that has coincided with UTEP losing five straight.
The Owls now represent a sterner test for UTEP, and also a look at what can happen to the Miners in the five final games before the C-USA tournament in Birmingham.