Tuesday, December 21, 2021

NM State Aggies vs UTEP Miners Women’s Basketball 12-15-21 Part 1

 

Okay, here we are for another rivalry game.  This time the Aggies are playing their I-10 foes, UTEP.  So . . .

 

Whoa, whoa, whoa there, jdh417!  I seem to recall you swore blind that you were done Aggie Women’s Basketball for the season after their loss to UNM a couple of weeks ago.

 

Yeah, I was hoping everyone had forgotten that.  I have a simple explanation.  I’m on vacation this week and there was nothing on TV tonight.  If that isn’t a good enough explanation, let me further add that I’ve been bored since Saturday afternoon and needed something interesting to do.  I did go to the mall next door and do some Christmas shopping on Monday.  It was miserable.  By the time I was done, I felt like I’d run a marathon.  This would hopefully be less stressful.

 

Ron was at least eager to go.  We went for Whataburger before the game.  I used a coupon on the back of an Aggie ticket.  Both our meals were really good.  Ron was also nice enough to take me over to the post office.  My mailbox was broken into a few weeks ago, and I was going to have to pick up my mail at the office.  Thankfully, it was a short wait.  Boy, did the mailman give me a look when he brought out my mail.  I had a ton.  It was mostly charity solicitations.  There was no timetable on when my apartment building’s box would be fixed.  See you next month.

 

At the Pan-Am Center, there was a frighteningly small crowd a half hour before the game.  The number of Aggie and Miners fans was about equal.  This game was a reschedule from two weeks ago.  The school session was over and it was now Christmas shopping season.  Things filled up a little better by the time the game started.  However, more UTEP fans showed up as well.  I’d say Aggie fans outnumbered them, but not by much.

 


The girls were on court warming up when we got there.  The Miners weren’t wearing masks.  The Aggies were.  This makes no sense.  (Not to mention, masks don’t work.  If they work, why aren’t they working?)  Katerina Zec, my previous opposing team crush, is long gone from the Miners, but I do like Katia Gallegos on the team.  She is cute.  I’d seen her play before (11-13-19).  She looks small and thin compared to the other girls, but plays big.  Her shorts seemed too short and were hiked up into her rear. 

 

There was no band tonight.  The Cheerleaders were late-arriving.  About half of them took a seat and weren’t even cheering.  There was a reason for that, as we found out later.  The Anthem was about to start and the Miners were a no-show.  PA Ed seemed a bit confused.  The Anthem played without them and then they came on court. 

 

El Paso Sportstalk was talking about the game the next day, since they had broadcast it.  I called in and talked to the producer about the Anthem, but I wasn’t on the air.  They had a bunch of guests lined up for the show and didn’t have time to discuss it.  The producer did seem very curious.  He hadn’t heard of them doing anything like this, so I don’t think they’re doing this at home games.  I’m going to withhold judgment or speculation.  The teams did line up and shake hands after the game, so this wasn’t personal.  [Unlike the profanity-laden first draft of this paragraph.]       

 

First Quarter

With a bad taste in my mouth, the game started.  (Now, I’m kind of sorry I came.)  Aggie Jade Bradley got a couple of points early, but then picked up two fouls in seconds of each other and had to come out.  Point guard, Mel Isbell, hit a three to put the Aggies up 7-3 with 6 minutes left.  Soufia Inoussa found Taylor Donaldson on a fast break to make it 11-5 Aggies.  During a UTEP free throw, one was waved off on a rare lane violation.  A media timeout came at 4:30 left in the quarter.

 

PA Ed suddenly sounded a little questionable, like he had a cold.  He’s a trooper.  The Aggie bench was making the most noise in the arena.  Elina Arike was UTEP’s big middle.  She seemed even bigger than Bigue Sarr on the Aggies and out-muscled her in the paint for a shot under the basket.  Katia hit a 3 to close it to 12-10 Aggies.  Taylein Grays went inside for a basket to make it 14-10.  Mel had a steal and tapped it to Taylein for a layup.  Taylor got a steal and the assist to Soufia for a layup.  Elina could shoot from the outside, too.  She hit a 3 for the Miners before the end of the quarter.  22-18 Aggies after 10 minutes.

              

Second Quarter

There was a Fry Shuffle fan contest on the video board.  They were giving away a Whataburger gift pack.  I’d already had mine today.  I’d gotten a Honey BBQ Chicken Strip sandwich.  I got the barbeque sauce all over my hands and mouth and it was totally worth the mess.  I think Katia’s parents were behind us, as they were cheering for her.  She is from El Paso.  I don’t know why they weren’t with the other UTEP fans in the visitors section behind their bench.

 

UTEP showed off some great passing skills to find the open man (woman), as Eliana Cabral buried a 3 after several passes around the horn.  Sarr was back on court with a pair of layups under the rim.  Two minutes in, it was 26-23 Aggies.  Taylor pulled up for a 3 to make it 32-25 with 6 minutes left in the quarter.  UTEP started full court pressing, though the Aggies were able to beat it.  Katia made a 3 to make it 34-28 Aggies.  Sarr picked up another foul and had to come out.  A couple of bad Aggie turnovers closed the score to 34-32. 

 

After the Media timeout, UTEP converted on a pair of free throws to tie it at 34.  The ball got stuck between the rim and board on a possession afterward.  No one on court was tall enough to jump for it.  Finally, a ref got another ball and dislodged it with a shot.  Taylor broke the Aggie drought with a jumper.  Coach Atkinson put in some reserve players that I hadn’t seen before to give the regulars a rest.  Coach Baker did the same for the Miners.  A couple of players were wearing different numbers than on the scorecard.  I had to hope that they didn’t score until I figured out who they were.  The fouls increased until the end of the half.  Taylor hit a last second 3.  It was 42-39 Aggies at the half.

 

Halftime

We found out why some of the Cheerleaders were relaxing during the game.  They were busy doing a group performance for halftime.  It was a high-energy acrobatic routine.  The guys were doing some high tosses of the girls.  I went to the bathroom afterward.  When I came back, a couple of the girls were behind us talking to probably their parents.  I should have congratulated them, but like high school, I was too embarrassed to talk to Cheerleaders.


Continued in Part 2.

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