The UTEP women’s first trip away from El Paso was as productive as the four home games, as the Miners stayed unbeaten with a big third quarter to top Missouri-Kansas City 75-64.
The Miners are now 5-0, while the Roos fell to 2-4.
UTEP struggled as the end of the first half and was down 37-29 with 8:28 left in the third quarter, then went on a big 24-4 run that flipped the game and left them ahead 53-41 with 2:27 left in the period. When they pulled ahead at 41-39 midway through the quarter it marked their first lead since 2-0 and they didn’t trail again.
Ivane Tensaie, a game removed from her hero turn in the home win against Tennessee-Martin, sparked the run and scored 16 of her 19 points in the second half. Ndack Mbengue had a breakout game with a career high 18 points to go with 10 rebounds.
Mary Moses Amaniyo continued her excellent run of basketball with a double-double, notching 13 rebounds with 11 points. She has had double-doubles in four of UTEP’s first five games.
Her rebounding was part of the definitive advantage for UTEP, which won the boards 45-30 and second-chance points 23-5.
Up next
The Miners return to the Don Haskins Center to host Denver on Saturday, Nov. 29. The 2 p.m. tipoff will be streamed on ESPN+.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: UTEP women’s basketball uses big third-quarter run to top Kansas City
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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