With a mix of orange and crimson spotted across the stands of the Pan American Center, another battle of I-10 pitted the University of Texas at El Paso and New Mexico State University against each other for their 101st meeting on Feb. 21.
NMSU ranks 11th in Conference USA (CUSA) with a 4-10 conference record and 8-18 overall, while UTEP sits narrowly ahead in 10th place with a matching 4-10 within conference but 12-13 overall.
Fresh off a Valentine’s Day loss against Liberty University, NMSU offense grabbed ahold of the lead first and held it over UTEP for all but a minute in the first quarter, ending at 14-11.
NMSU’s Imani Warren caught eyes in the first quarter, with five points in the first 10 minutes and inching her way closer to a possible 19th double-digit scoring game of the season, eventually achieved in the second quarter with 10 points total.
Heading into the next 10 minutes, a 3-pointer by UTEP’s Ivane Tensaie gave the Miners a boost to snatch back the lead, and a following layup and jump shot by Delma Zita and Tensaie, respectively, successfully kept the Aggies from scoring for approximately four minutes.
“[We] played good three quarters, and unfortunately, we just continue to struggle to put four quarters to bed,” Head Coach Jody Adams said. “When somebody punches us, we’ve got to punch back.”
As UTEP feistily held onto their lead, NMSU’s offense fought hard; even with a last second three-pointer by Keira Hudson, the Aggies couldn’t take back their place, falling into halftime at 29-28.
Hudson, a freshman from New South Wales, Australia, hit her career high 34-minute playing time for NMSU against UTEP three weeks ago when she scored 12 points. Hudson surpassed that in this game with 15 points total, barely under her season high of 16 points.
Bringing back their fire, the Miners and Aggies came back onto the court with both defenses and offenses undaunted. However, the Miners nabbed possession of the ball first, further scrambling away from NMSU.
Leading by 11 points at the five-minute mark, NMSU slowly brought up their score but ultimately fell to 55-42.
Now in the last quarter of the game, Aggie guard Emma Christiano’s 3-pointer helped give NMSU their edge back, and resume efforts to climb their way to the top.
Even with three offensive rebounds and an opponent turnover, the fourth quarter just couldn’t give way to the Aggies. UTEP held steady and overtook NMSU with a final score of 69-58.
“I have a great group of just great, great people,” Adams said. “But you know, to play this game and be successful at it, you got to do harder, and you got to [play] hard when it’s ugly, when you’re embarrassed, when you failed, and you got to bounce back so quickly, and you got to come together, tighter. As a team.”
NMSU women’s basketball will return on Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. against Kennesaw State University in the Pan American Center.
![Group leaders [left to right] Jacarthie Brazil, Kira Baum, Carter-Elise Keating, and Abby Watkins pose for a picture after a successful interview. April 21, 2026.](https://nmsuroundup.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/01_AnnaB_Health-Club_LowRes.jpg)
