Liberty Hands UTEP First C-USA Loss, 86–66

Overview

• Liberty beat UTEP 86–66 at the Don Haskins Center, leaving the Miners 1–1 in Conference USA play and 9–4 overall.
• UTEP hit 22 of 24 free throws but shot 32.3% from the field and 21.1% from three, while Liberty got 22 points from Avery Mills and 20 with seven assists from Claudia Acin.
• Portia Adams led UTEP with 17 points, Heaven-Samayoa-Mathis added 14 points and four assists, and Mary Moses Amaniyo posted 14 points and 14 rebounds for her sixth double-double.
• One day earlier, UTEP opened league play by defeating Delaware 82–71, forcing 21 turnovers and shooting 50% behind Ndack Mbengue’s 26 points and 14 rebounds and Ivane Tensaie’s six threes for 20 points.
• Coach Keitha Adams pointed to a costly first quarter and called for better defense on off-shooting days, with road games next at Middle Tennessee on Jan. 8 and WKU on Jan. 10.