Game 20 Preview: at UTEP

Game 21 • at UTEP
El Paso • Don Haskins Center (11,659)
Sam Houston (13-7, 6-3 CUSA) vs UTEP (10-11, 2-8 CUSA)
Saturday, February 7 • 2:00 PM CT

TV: ESPN+
RADIO: BSN (Stephanie Keele)
HOW TO FOLLOW: Live Stats • @Bearkats_WBB
Series vs the Miners: 0-7

EL PASO – Sam Houston will look to bounce back and secure its first-ever win against UTEP on Saturday afternoon at the Don Haskins Center.
Tipoff for the game is set for 2 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN+.
The game can also be heard online on the Bearkat Sports Network and the Bearkat Athletics app with Stephanie Keele moving behind the mic for the Kats for the 2025-26 season.

KATS LOOK TO BOUNCE BACK
- Sam Houston is coming off a 65-57 loss at New Mexico State on Thursday night, where the Bearkats' late rally fell short despite a 10-0 fourth quarter run, marking their second conference road loss of the season.

- Deborah Ogayemi tied her career high with 19 points and added 10 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season. She has now scored in double figures in 11 of her last 14 games.

- The Bearkats lead CUSA and rank 18th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 56.1 points per game, while holding every non-P4 opponent under 70 points this season.

- Sam Houston has held four opponents under 40 points during the 2025–26 season after doing so just seven times in program history entering the year, with the last occurrence coming in 1988.

- Since joining CUSA in 2023–24, Sam Houston has totaled 32 overall wins, holding opponents under 70 points in 27 straight victories and in 31 0f its last 32 wins, with the lone exception being an 87-81 overtime win over WKU in 2023–24.

- Fanta Kone is closing in on historic marks, needing 10 assists to reach 100 on the season and 22 steals to reach 90. No Bearkat has recorded back-to-back seasons of 100+ assists since Britni Martin (2011-13) or 90+ steals since LaKeita Richardson (1993-95)

Quick Hitters & Need to Know

- Aysia Ward-Strong and Nyla Inmon recorded matching 14-point, 11-rebound double-doubles in last week's win over Jacksonville State, marking the third time in four seasons the Kats have had multiple double-doubles in a single game.

- Ward-Strong finished with five blocks against Kennesaw State and already has 13 on the season, surpassing her 12 blocks from all of last year.

- Sam Houston leans heavily on its senior core, as Ogayemi (37.7), Ward-Strong (37.1), and Kone (36.8) rank as the top three CUSA minutes per game during conference play.

- The Bearkats are one of the nation's most disruptive defenses, ranking third nationally by forcing 26.9 turnovers per game, averaging 14.4 steals per game (7th nationally, 1st in CUSA), and owning a top-15 national turnover margin (+8.16).

- Kone continues to set the pace in Conference USA, leading the league in assists (4.7) and steals (3.2) for the second straight season and positioning herself to join Jamierra Faulkner as the only players in league history to lead both categories in consecutive seasons.

- Sam Houston places three players in the top five in CUSA in steals per game: Kone (3.5), Ward-Strong (2.9), and Ogayemi (2.6).

Series History
- The programs have met seven times with the first matchup occurring during the 1992-93 season.

-In the most recent meeting, the Miners narrowly defeated the Bearkats 65-64 in El Paso, leaving Sam Houston still in search of its first-ever win in the series.

Game 20 Preview: at UTEP

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Players Mentioned

Nyla Inmon

Fanta Kone

Deborah Ogayemi

Aysia Ward-Strong

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