EL PASO, Texas (Interstat) — Two of the nation’s hottest women’s basketball teams will meet Thursday when the UC Irvine Anteaters visit the UTEP Miners at the Don Haskins Center.

UC Irvine (9-2) enters on a seven-game winning streak, its most recent a 77-57 rout of California Baptist on Saturday. The Anteaters’ surge has been powered by guard Hunter Hernandez, who is averaging 19.3 points during the streak. She scored a season-high 31 points in a win at Cal State Northridge on Dec. 6 and followed with 27 points against California Baptist.

UTEP (7-2) saw its own seven-game win streak snapped in a road loss at BYU last Saturday. Prior to that, the Miners had not lost since their season opener. Guard Sirviva Legions has been a consistent scorer, reaching double figures in five of the last six games, including 17 points in a win over Denver on Nov. 29.

The matchup pits UC Irvine’s high-scoring offense against a UTEP squad that had held opponents to an average of 58.1 points before its last two road games against power conference foes Texas Christian and BYU. The Anteaters have won by an average margin of 24.3 points during their streak, with their last five victories all coming by at least 20 points.

This nonconference clash serves as a final tune-up before both teams begin their respective league schedules in January. UC Irvine opens Big West play on Jan. 1, while UTEP starts Conference USA action on Jan. 8.

Thursday’s game will be the first meeting between the programs. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. MST at the Don Haskins Center.