For 34 minutes and some change, UTEP played their best basketball of the season at the most important time. They hit shots, controlled the tempo, took care of the ball, and kept Old Dominion’s all-world player in check.
But it all fell apart in the final six minutes of the game.
Old Dominion finished the game on a 17-2 run, and C-USA Player of the Year Jennie Simms scored 17 second half points, 10 in the fourth quarter to hand UTEP their early exit from the C-USA Tournament in Birmingham for the second straight season.
It was a fast paced, offensive shootout in the first quarter that saw UTEP shoot over 60 percent from the field, and led 23-21 after the first quarter which was filled with back-and-forth action.