Boosted by superb ball movement and stifling defense, the LadyMustangs overtook the UTEP Lady Miners (10-6, 5-2) 54-39.
Playing 10 of their last 12 games on the road, the Mustangscapped their return home with a win.
The win snapped a three-game skid for the Lady Mustangs.
Prior to the game, the Lady Miners had won their last five WACcontests.
Paving the way was senior guard Andrea Cossey whose effortproduced 13 points and seven rebounds.
Cossey was making her first start in SMU’s last sevengames.
In the first half, both teams struggled to put points on theboard with the Mustangs finishing the half with a 10-pointadvantage as the score sat at 22-12.
The Lady Miners’ 12 points were the least amount SMU hasallowed in a half all season.
The Lady Miners failed to improve their dismal shooting from thefield only hitting 30 percent in the second half compared to theLady Mustangs 57.9 percent.
The Lady Mustangs led most of the time with their largest leadof 18 points coming late in the second half.
Despite some late turnovers by the Lady Mustangs, UTEP couldonly watch as the Mustangs completed 6-of-9 free throws in thefinal 10 minutes to add to their lead.
That lead was solidified when senior guard Shanta Ramdhanny hittwo three-pointers in less than two-and-a-half minutes.
Ramdhanny finished the night with 11 points.
From there the Lady Miners found themselves in a hole they couldnot dig out of.
Cossey stripped the Lady Miners of any hope still lingering asher late three-point attempt swished forcing the Lady Miners toleave Moody Coliseum without the jewel of a win.
No UTEP players scored in the double digits.
The Lady Miner who came closest was Vladia Zagurskyte with eightpoints. Zagurskyte also added six rebounds.
Junior guard Kaira White saw limited playing time and onlycontributed one point after enjoying continuous success on the LadyMustangs’ road trip.
Junior guard Shonte Roberts, sophomore forward Sarah Davis, andsenior post Kim Walter each contributed nine points.
The Lady Mustangs next take on the Boise State Lady Broncos(6-11, 3-5) at 2 p.m. on Saturday in Moody Coliseum.
