Steinberga saves the day for UTEP with layup for win over Rice, 49-48
UTEP Athletics:
Senior Anete Steinberga banked home a lay-up with 10 seconds to play to propel UTEP to a 49-48 win at Rice Thursday evening. The Owls (9-9, 1-4 Conference USA) had a chance to pull out the victory but a quality Miners’ (15-2, 3-1 C-USA) double team forced Jessica Kuster, who finished with a game-high 21 points, to give it up and the shot by Christal Porter rimmed out as time expired. UTEP moves to 3-1 on the road this year, including 2-0 within C-USA play.
Chrishauna Parker led the Orange and Blue with 12 points while Steinberga and Kayla Thornton each added 10. Parker had a huge impact on the eventual game-winning bucket, coming up with a loose ball to save the possession before Irene Gari used a beautiful lob pass to find Steinberga.
“It was a great win,” UTEP head coach Keitha Adams said. “We hung in there and fought until the end. We struggled shooting tonight but we played hard on defense and hung in there. It’s always a great win when you win on the road.”
UTEP will look to make it a perfect road trip when it plays at Houston on Sunday. Rice visits Southern Miss on the same day.
