Rice pulls away from UTEP women in final quarter and a half

Sabinea Lipe takes charge for UTEP Wochit

There was a small difference between UTEP's 82-59 loss to Rice on Thursday night and all their other losses to elite teams in Confererence USA this year.

This time, the Miners overcame their slow start, erased their double-digit deficit and caught all the way up, pulling even with the Owls at 48 just past the midpoint of the third quarter.

This time, the separating run that sent UTEP to defeat came a little earlier, as the defending league champions ripped off nine points in three possessions over the next 1:13 to secure a game where they never trailed.

Rice added a late 12-point run to end up with a convincing margin in a game that was tied with 4:46…