The UTEP women were never very likely to upset Middle Tennessee in their own gym — the Miners aren't as good yet as the Blue Raiders, but they did get better on defense and gave a solid account of themselves in a 76-53 loss.
Two days after a defensive collapse, the problem was with their offense, as they shot 35 percent from the field and just couldn't score enough to keep pace with a team tied for first in Conference USA.
Middle Tennessee improved to 146-25 in their own gym under coach Rick Insell while going to 14-8 overall and 9-2 in Conference USA on the year, while UTEP fell to 6-16, 3-7.