EL PASO, TEXAS – Match-ups with power-conference members Kansas State, LSU and SMU in addition to continuing regional rivalries against New Mexico and New Mexico State highlight the UTEP women’s basketball team’s non-conference portion of the schedule for the 2014-15 season, which was announced by head coach Keitha Adams Thursday. The Conference USA slate will be released in the coming weeks.
Season tickets for the 2014-15 season are available now for purchase. Fans may call (915) 747-6150 or e-mail seasontickets@utep.edu to secure theirs today. For the first time in program history the reserved floor seats are sold out but fans may purchase a general admission season ticket for only $60. Another option is the “Family Pack” (2 adults, 2 youth, ages 2-12) for just $150.
“We are excited to announce the non-conference schedule to our fans,” Adams said. “We have plenty of new faces and look forward to our fans getting to know this team. We had a really special season last year, and our fans were a part of it. I’m back and ready to go to work and I want to encourage all of our fans to come back to The Don as well!”
UTEP will tune up for the year with an exhibition contest against St. Mary’s (Texas) on Nov. 7. The Miners will tip things off in earnest by welcoming I-10 rival New Mexico State to the Don Haskins Center on Nov. 14. It will be the seventh time in school history that UTEP will lock up with the Aggies in the lid lifter. In a break from 40 years of tradition, though, the Miners will not partake in a home-and-home series with NM State.
Other home games on the docket include Northern Arizona (Nov. 19), Eastern New Mexico (Dec. 2), Houston Baptist (Dec. 6), 2014 NCAA first-round participant Prairie View A&M (Dec. 20) and Alcorn State (Dec. 28).
The Miners will play the first of two road contests in the non-conference slate at former long-time league foe SMU on Nov. 16. UTEP’s other contest in hostile territory will come against I-25 rival New Mexico at The Pit on Dec. 14.
For the third straight season, the Orange and Blue will travel to a tropical location for a holiday tournament. UTEP will compete at the 2014 Hardwood Tournament of Hope in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, from Nov. 26-28. It will play three games in as many days, challenging LSU, Kansas State and Santa Clara in an order yet to be determined.
UTEP has never faced LSU nor Santa Clara, but it will be locking up with the Wildcats for a third straight year. The Miners are 3-2 all-time against KSU, aided by wins in 2012-13 and 2013-14.
The Lady Tigers advanced to the Sweet 16 of the 2014 NCAA Tournament. It was the SEC stalwart’s third straight trip to the Big Dance and 15th in the past 16 years.
The Miners are coming off a magical 2013-14 season in which they tied school and Conference USA records for wins in a season (29-8) while earning runner-up honors in the 2014 WNIT. UTEP also established school standards for field goals (955), three-pointers (218), free throws (697), points (2,825), points per game (76.4), rebounds (1,606), offensive rebounds (577), assists (542) and steals (355).
The fans played a huge role in the success with the Miners ranking 15th nationally for total attendance (94,832) and 27th in single-game average (3,793) out of 349 NCAA Division I programs.
For timely updates on the program, please like the team on Facebook & follow it on twitter