Despite shooting 36.4 percent in the first half, The Lady Mustangs of SMU turned it around in the second half and held off the UTEP Miners, 82-73.

Lead by Keena Mays and her 26 points, The Mustangs shot 55 percent from the field in the second half, including 4-7 from the three point line. Mays also added 7 assists and 5 steals.

Alisha Filmore was the second leading scorer on the team, going 5-11 from the field and 3-5 from three-point range, adding 21 points. Akil Simpson also added 16 points on 6-9 shooting.

The Mustangs and The Miners traded shots for most of the first half with Mays contributing 12 of her 26 points in the first half. The Miners out shot the Mustangs, shooting 41 percent and 5-8 from three, but were out rebounded by the Mustangs 24 to 19.

The Mustangs were also able to take advantage of The Miners’ mistakes, scoring 9 points off of turnovers and adding 9 more second chance points.

In the second half, The Mustangs dominated most of the 20 minutes, leading by double digits for most of the half. The Mustangs made 15 of their 27 shots taken in the second half, and were 4-7 from the three-point line.

The Miners had some troubles in the second half, which made it easier for the Mustangs to keep their lead. The Miners were just 6-12 from the free throw line and turned the ball over 8 times, which lead to 11 Mustang points.

The Miners, however, did not go away easily. With 4 minutes left in the game, Kayla Thorton, The Miners’ leading scorer, hit a jumper to cut the lead to 7 points. But just 90 seconds later, Simpson made a lay up to increase the Mustangs’ lead to 9 and SMU was able to hold their own for the rest of the game.

Next up, The Mustangs will look to keep their in-conference record perfect when they take on UAB on Thursday.