PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico women’s basketball team maintained its place at the top of the Lone Star Conference Thursday night in Greyhound Arena as the Hounds came back late to defeat Tarleton State 73-67.
The Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night game sponsored by Wells Fargo, presented a back-and-forth affair between two of the best teams in the NCAA Division II South Central Region, but the Hounds (11-4, 6-1 LSC) closed out the game with a 10-2 run to take down Tarleton State (10-5, 3-4 LSC) in their first home game of 2019.
After a pair of early lead changes through the first three minutes, the TexAnns gained the early footing with a 6-0 run over a three-minute stretch to hold the 9-4 advantage with 3:52 to go in the first quarter. Eastern battled back with a 6-1 streak of its own off a pair of three-pointers from Chelsea Hunterand Tilasha Okey to lock the game up at 10-all with 2:54 remaining.
TSU reclaimed a four-point edge with just over a minute to go, but Eastern concluded the quarter strong. Sydney Clark made a layup to trim the deficit to just two at the 53 second mark before Hunter came up with two big plays on the ensuing possessions.
On the defensive end, Hunter gathered a steal and then came down with an offensive rebound before finding freshman guard Zamorye Cox on the wing as her three-pointer sent ENMU into the second quarter with the 15-14 edge.
The second quarter saw a struggle with seven lead changes and four ties throughout the 10-minute period. With the Hounds trailing by four with 1:21 to go until the halftime break, Cox made a free throw to trim the deficit to three and Hunter sank another three-pointer shot following a Clark steal with 41 seconds left to tie the score at 34.
The TexAnns notched a three-point play on the ensuing possession before Hunter knocked down a jumper in the paint with five seconds to go to send the Hounds into the half down just one at 37-36. Hunter led ENMU with 10 points going into the break while Cox and Okey each chipped in eight.
Tarleton State got off to a strong start in the third quarter, opening the period with an 11-3 run in the first 3:54 to take a nine-point lead at 48-39, the TexAnns’ largest advantage of the night.
ENMU continued to chip away throughout the period and trailing by five in the final two minutes, Eastern made a big push to close the gap. Treyanna Clay scored four points on a layup and a pair of free throws while sophomore guard Jena Mehlbrechknocked down a three-pointer with 16 seconds left to cut the deficit to 54-53 heading into the final quarter of play.
TSU regathered a four-point edge at 60-56 with 6:33 remaining in the fourth when the Hounds fought back with five unanswered, capped off on a Shelby Jones layup with just over four minutes left to give Eastern its first lead since the 4:20 mark in the second quarter.
While the TexAnns scored five of the next seven to reclaim a 65-63 lead with 2:56 to go, the Greyhounds put together a strong response as Clay scored the next five points for the Hounds, capped off on a huge three-point play on a layup and a free throw with just 50 seconds left to put Eastern up by two possessions at 69-65.
On the following possession, Tarleton closed the gap back to two on a pair of free throws by Nina Alvarez, but Cox sealed the victory with a three-pointer off a Jones assist with 16 seconds left to make it a 72-67 game. Jones added a free throw in-between two defensive stops as the Hounds held on for the victory.
As a team, the Greyhounds shot 28-of-63 (44 percent) from the floor and 7-of-17 (41 percent) from the three-point arc. Eastern had another outstanding night on the glass, outrebounding the TexAnns by a 42-29 margin and a 16-9 edge on the offensive glass.
Clay led all scorers with 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting and went 5-for-7 from the free throw line. Cox added 11 points on 4-of-9 from the floor and 2-for-5 from the three-point arc to go with six assists, her second-highest output of the season. Hunter rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points on 4-of-5 field goals and 2-of-2 from the three-point arc while Alivia Lewisfinished just one-point shy of a double-double with nine points and 12 rebounds to go with four assists and three blocks.
With the win, Eastern stayed in a three-way tie for first place in the LSC with West Texas A&M and Angelo State with a 6-1 mark in conference play. It was ENMU’s first win of the season against a regionally-ranked top 10 team as Tarleton State entered the match in a tie for ninth in the D2SIDA South Central Region Poll.
The Hounds will be seeking their second-straight win against a regionally-ranked team Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. as Eastern will host regionally seventh-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce for Military Appreciation Day sponsored by Roosevelt General Hospital.
