After 45 years, it’s time UTEP women’s basketball gets some recognition. More specifically, it’s time Kayla Thornton gets some recognition. It’s time UTEP retires her jersey. No more waiting, no one else, just her.
The next time a jersey is raised to the rafters at the Don Haskins Center, it should be Thornton’s jersey.
The 2018-19 season marks five years since Thornton last played for the Miners, wearing the number five jersey. In short, she is the greatest player in program history. But her greatness started before she stepped on campus.
A product of Northeast El Paso, via military parents, Thornton was a standout athlete at Irvin High School.