The UTEP women's basketball team leans on its defense, but for one half against Charlotte on Monday afternoon, that defense didn't keep the 49ers from filling the net.
That meant the Miners had to keep plugging and trust that all their defensive work would pay off eventually.
It eventually arrived in the fourth quarter. A Charlotte team that came in last in Conference USA in scoring offense shot 52.5 percent in the first three periods, then went 3-of-13 from the field in the fourth quarter as UTEP pulled away for a 68-60 victory.
Trailing 53-50 with 8:00 to play, the Miners closed the game on an 18-7 run to move to 5-2 in C-USA and ease the memory of Thursday's loss to Rice.