PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico women’s basketball team faced a tough challenge from No. 14 West Texas A&M as the Hounds’ perfect seven-game home winning streak was snapped by the Lady Buffs 72-61 Tuesday night in Greyhound Arena.
The matchup presented by Big Valley Auto featured two of the top three teams in the Lone Star Conference, but the Hounds (12-5, 7-2 LSC) found themselves down early to the Lady Buffs (15-2, 7-2 LSC).
Eastern gained the first lead of the contest on a pair of Chelsea Hunter free throws to make it 2-0 with 8:33 to go. The two defenses clamped down through the first five minutes as neither team was able to convert a field goal until WTAMU’s Lexy Hightower knocked down a three-pointer at the 5:15mark to give the Lady Buffs the 3-2 edge.
After Jena Mehlbrech knocked down a pull-up jumper to narrow the gap to 8-6 with 3:09 left, the Lady Buffs extended their lead to 11 thanks to a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to set the score at 19-8. Junior forward Laura Rowe knocked down a pair of free throws to narrow the gap to 19-10 going into the second quarter.
The Greyhounds kept the West Texas lead to within eight on a Tilasha Okey pull-up jumper with 4:22 to go before WTAMU responded with an 8-0 run over a two minute stretch to hold their largest advantage of the game at 35-19.
Eastern’s defense clamped down over the final two minutes of the half, closing out with four unanswered on a pair of Treyanna Clay free throws and an Alivia Lewis layup to trim the deficit to 35-23 at the half.
The Hounds struggled to shoot the ball in the opening half, converting on 8-of-31 (26 percent) from the floor and went 1-for-8 (13 percent) from the three-point arc.
The Lady Buffs opened the third quarter with a 6-2 run to tie its largest lead of the game at 41-25 with 8:31 to go.
Eastern chipped away over the course of the quarter, outscoring the Lady Buffs 10-4 over the next five minutes, capped off on a Mehlbrech fastbreak layup off a Lewis steal to make it a 45-35 game with 3:16 on the clock. West Texas defense prevented the Hounds from digging away any more into the deficit as the Lady Buffs took a 51-39 edge into the final quarter.
West Texas held its double-digit lead during the early portions of the fourth until the 5:15 mark when Lewis ignited a 6-0 Hounds run that was closed out on a Mehlbrech three-point play with 4:07 left to trim the Lady Buffs advantage to 55-50.
Mehlbrech and WTAMU’s Hightower traded buckets to keep the Hounds within five, but Eastern could climb no closer as the Lady Buffs pulled away to hand the Greyhounds their first home defeat of the season.
ENMU managed to outshoot West Texas in the second half (45-to-37 percent), but the Lady Buffs were able to pull away with efficiency from the free throw line (15-of-17, 88 percent).
The Greyhounds were led offensively by Clay and Mehlbrech with 13 points apiece while Hunter rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points and seven rebounds. Lewis finished a point shy of a double-double, scoring nine points and ripping down a career-high 15 rebounds. Freshman guard Zamorye Cox and senior forward Shelby Jones led the ENMU passing efforts, recording five assists apiece.
Eastern will have a short turnaround as the Greyhounds will look to bounce back in a Thursday matchup with Texas Woman’s, which will wrap up the Hounds’ four-game home stand. ENMU will host the Pioneers at 11 a.m. for its annual Kids Day game, presented by Clovis Media Group.
