Meet the new Miners: UTEP women welcome 10 new faces

By the numbers the UTEP women's basketball team comes into the 2023-24 season with 10 newcomers.

They also have a new coach in Keitha Adams, so from her perspective it feels like they have 14 newcomers — the whole roster except for transfer Jane Asinde, who came with Adams from Wichita State.

This level of turnover isn't completely unprecedented in the era of the transfer portal, but bringing in five freshman (three internationals) and five transfers is significant as the Miners look to build around a corps that includes three returners with starting experience.

"Sometimes we look like ball players, sometimes we look like chickens with our heads cut off, we have so many new people," Adams said. "It gets interesting. They're talented, we have some nice pieces, but we have so many people with so much learning to do and so much teaching.

"It's going to take some time. But they are a great group of gals and they are working hard."

Here are the new Miners.

More: UTEP women's basketball schedule

Jane Asinde, 6-2 Sr. C, Wichita State

The Ugandan steps right in as a preseason all-Conference USA selection and is UTEP's most veteran player on the roster. She's also the only one of UTEP's 15 players who has experience playing for Adams.

Last season Asinde averaged 13.1 points and 9.8 rebounds a game, her second season at Wichita State after an all-American turn at Grayson College.

"We're growing every day," Asinde said. "We have a great team and we're getting to gel together. Lovely people, lovely players, we are ready to compete, play basketball and win a lot of games.

"We're learning a lot, because we have a lot of new players. I'm also learning how my other players play, how I'm going to play with the post players, learning how the guards are going to feed the posts. That's one of the things I'll have to adjust to.

"That's not easy, but we're learning every practice, one practice at a time."

Adams said Asinde has a head start picking up the new system because it isn't new to her.

"Her head isn't on a swivel like everyone else's, every one else's head is on a swivel," Adams said.

Ivane Tensaie, 5-7 Jr. G

Tensaie played eight games last year at Penn State but made a bigger mark the year before when she was the NJCAA freshman of the year for North Dakota State College of Science. In 2021-22 she averaged 20.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists a game.

She is one of three newcomer point guards on the roster and figures to be the starter in the opening scrimmage.

"It's a little bit (of an adjustment) but I'm beginning to enjoy adapting more to the ball screen, stuff like that," said Tensaie, a player Adams recruited when she was at Wichita State. "I've been able to get ahead of it a little bit. It's been going well."

Luisa Vydrova, 6-1 Fr. F

Vydrova brings experience from the Czech junior national team and from a team in Czzechia's U19 league.

Last season for her club team she averaged 14.5 points and 6.3 rebounds. In the 2022 FIBA U18 Women's European Championship she averaged 7.9 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists a game.

"I really like the warm weather," Vydrova said. "I'm from a country where it's starting to be cold so I'm enjoying the sun. The people are really nice here. So far for me it's been a really great experience.

"As a team we need to start learning how to play with each other but it's going well.In basketball we need to get the system, what coach wants from us, and to learn the rules. From back home that's different.

"Also to defend without fouling, which is also different from back home."

Delma Zita 5-8 Jr. G

Another newcomer point guard, Zita will be the quickest player on the UTEP roster. The Mozambique native spent the last two years with New Mexico Junior College where she averaged 10.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.2 steals a game.

In a game against Christian Community College, Zita just missed a triple-double, scoring 32 points to go with 11 rebounds and nine steals.

Aaliyah Stanton 5-5 Fr. G

The freshman point guard has impressed with her quickness at learning the system, as Adams calls her one of the team's best listeners.

She put up massive numbers at Rancho Christian High School in Southern California, averaging 30.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 4.0 steals. She was her classification's player of the year when she led her team to the state semifinals.

Dunja Zecevic 6-1 Fr. F

The Serbian averaged 7.6 points and 4.1 rebounds a game in the Euroleague last season and hit a four-game stretch at the end of the season where she averaged double figures.

In national team duty for Serbia's Youth National Team she averaged 8.7 points and 4.9 rebounds in the 2022 Division B FIBA U18 European Championship.

Mariama Sow 6-3 Jr. F

The tallest player on UTEP's roster, Sow, a native of Senegal, played for New Mexico Junior College with Zita last season.

She adds a rebounding dimension to the roster, as she averaged 5.8 points and 5.8 rebounds a game last season. Her career high in scoring was 21 points in a game against Bethany College.

D'Arrah Allen 5-8 Jr. G

The Southern Californian comes to UTEP from Seward County College in Kansas. Last season she averaged 10.1 points and 1.0 steals a game. In her senior year at Leuzinger High in California she averaged 22.9 points, 3.3 assists and 3.3 steals a game.

Thelma Barbitch 5-10 Fr. G

Barbitch joins UTEP from Perols, France, a small village on the French Riviera. She's an upsize guard with an older brother playing professionally in France.

Aspen Salazar 5-9 Fr. G

The guard from Las Cruces Centennial High is the lone local on the roster and continues an Adams tradition of having Borderland players on the team.

As a senior, she averaged 19.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 4.2 steals a game.

Bret Bloomquist can be reached at 915-546-6359; bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Meet the new Miners: UTEP women's basketball welcome 10 new faces