The theme will repeat itself over and over this season.
The 13-1 UTEP women take on 5-9 UTSA Sunday, a game that pits a basketball team at the top of the Conference USA standings against a team near the bottom, and that would be just about impossible to discern from hearing the Miners talk about it.
"They beat us both times last year," coach Keitha Adams said. "We were 12-16, we have a lot of bumps and bruises, black eyes from last year."
Jenzel Nash doesn't have a black eye, she has a broken nose from a weight-lifting mishap that will have her in a face shield for most of the rest of the regular season, but that's a metaphor the Miners can ride with.