PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico women’s basketball team is prepared to hit the road once again as the Hounds will travel to Lawton, Okla. on Thursday to take on Cameron at 4:30 p.m. before heading to Wichita Falls, Texas on Saturday for a 1 p.m. battle at MSU Texas.
LAST TIME OUT
The Greyhounds won a thriller their last time out on Jan. 24 against Texas Woman’s. Hosting its fifth-annual Youth Day game, presented by Clovis Media Inc., Eastern fought back with some clutch shots down the stretch to win 79-78 in the Hounds’ first overtime game of the 2018-19 season with a season-high 2521 in attendance.
ENMU trailed by three with less than 18 seconds to play when freshman guard Zamorye Cox knocked down a long three-pointer from the left wing to tie the game up at 68. Both teams managed to come up with big defensive stops on their ensuing offensive possessions, forcing an overtime period.
In overtime, neither team could garner more than a three-point edge as the lead changed hands four times and was tied twice. With 26 seconds to go and the score tied at 75, senior forward Treyanna Clay knocked down a pair of free throws to give Eastern the two-point advantage before the Pioneers put together a response of their own with a three-point play on the following possession to make it a 78-77 game with nine seconds left.
On the final possession of the game, sophomore guard Jena Mehlbrech was fouled going up for a potential game-winning shot, sending her to the foul line with 0.2 seconds on the clock. Mehlbrech calmly knocked down both free throws to seal the overtime victory for the Greyhounds.
Clay led ENMU with 23 points, her second-highest scoring output of the season which was also her best scoring performance in Lone Star Conference play. Senior forward Shelby Jones finished just shy of a double-double with a season-best 13 points and nine rebounds while sophomore forward Alivia Lewis turned in 14 points and eight rebounds to go with a career-high six blocks.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
Cameron enters the week with a 7-11 overall record and a 4-6 mark in LSC play. The Aggies are coming off a split in last week’s games, dropping an 89-54 decision at No. 19 Angelo State before bouncing back with an 80-74 win at Texas A&M-Kingsville.
As a team, the Aggies possess the sixth-best scoring offense in the LSC at 70.7 points per game, but have struggled on the defensive end giving up a league worst 76.5 ppg. Cameron is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the conference, converting the most three-point shots per game at 9.3 at the second-best percentage at 35 percentage. However, the Aggies are a turnover prone team, holding the lowest turnover margin in the Lone Star at -4.83.
The Aggies offensive efforts are led by a freshman guard from Australia in Maighan Hedge, who averaging 14.6 ppg and is the team’s top three-point shooter (42 percent), the top free thrower (83 percent), and passer with 50 assists. Senior guard Natalie Halbleib ranks second on the team at 13.9 ppg is tied with the team-lead with Ava Battese with most three-pointers made (42) and is the team’s top defender with 21 steals. Senior guard Parfitt McNair rounds out the double-digit scoring for Cameron at 10.1 ppg and is second on the team with 43 assists.
While Cameron is 2-7 in away and neutral site games, they’ve played stronger basketball in Aggie Gym, possessing a 5-4 home record and are 3-2 in LSC games. They’ve picked up some wins against tough opponents at home this season, including a pair of wins against regionally-ranked teams with a 66-62 victory over the now regionally No. 4 ranked Lubbock Christian on Dec. 8 as well as an 83-79 win over Tarleton State on Jan. 3, who is currently ranked seventh in the D2SIDA South Central Regional Poll.
HISTORY WITH THE AGGIES
As the two teams are entering their 40th meeting since the series started on Jan. 30, 1988, the Greyhounds possess a 25-14 lead in the all-time series and have won six straight against the Aggies.
It is the second time this season the two teams are playing each other after the Hounds picked up a big 85-65 victory after they met in Portales back on Dec. 1. The Hounds had to rally from a seven-point first quarter deficit, but put together a strong second quarter by outscoring Cameron 20-6 in the period to take a 34-25 advantage into the halftime break. The trend continued in the second half as the Greyhounds 50 percent from the floor as they pulled away to claim the victory. Four Greyhounds scored in double-figures, led by Clay with 16 points, while Dasia Johnson and Tilasha Okey chipped in 14 points apiece and Chelsea Hunter added 10 off the bench.
The last time the two teams met in Lawton, Okla., the Greyhounds jumped out to an early advantage and took a 36-26 lead into the halftime break. The Aggies made a furious rally in the second half and claimed a 53-52 lead with 2:40 left, but Johnson made a big fastbreak jump shot on the ensuing possession to give the Greyhounds the 54-53 edge. The Hounds kept the Aggies off the board in the final 2:40 to walk away with the 57-53 win. Senior guard Mikaehla Connor led the Greyhounds scoring efforts with 16 points and recorded seven rebounds.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
MSU Texas makes its way into the week with a 6-11 overall record and are 3-7 in Lone Star Conference contests. Last week, the Mustangs dropped a pair of tough matchups, first falling 71-67 at Texas A&M-Kingsville on Thursday before dropping a hard-fought 73-62 loss at No. 19 Angelo State on Saturday.
Despite the Mustangs .353 win percentage and .300 record in LSC games, MSU Texas has been a tough team at home with a 5-3 mark in D.L. Ligon Coliseum and are 2-2 at home in LSC games.
MSU Texas currently ranks seventh offensively in the Lone Star, averaging 70.2 ppg and have the fifth-best scoring defense in the league at 63.9 ppg. However, the Mustangs haven’t been as efficient in conference games as they are averaging just 67.1 ppg in conference contests and are giving up 70.2 ppg, ranking eighth in the league.
Sophomore center Hannah Reynolds is the team’s top performer both offensively and defensively. Reynolds leads the team with an 11.3 ppg scoring average and is shooting 44 percent from the floor. She is the team’s top rebounder with 109 boards at a 6.4 rpg clip and is the best shot blocker in the Lone Star with 45 blocks. Senior guard Chelcie Kizart is the only other player on the team averaging double-figures in scoring with a 10.4 ppg average and is the team’s top three-point shooter with 26 makes at a 37 percent clip. Kizart leads the team with 27 steals is second with 52 assists, only behind junior guard Mica Schneider whose 68 assists is the third-most in the Lone Star and her 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio is the second-best in the league.
HISTORY WITH THE MUSTANGS
Saturday’s game marks the 49th meeting between the Hounds and Mustangs as MSU Texas leads the all-time series with a 28-20 record dating back to the first meeting on Jan. 6, 1986. However, the Greyhounds have started to turn things around on the Mustangs in the last three seasons as Eastern has won five of the last six meetings.
The two teams met once already this season in Portales as Eastern came away with an 80-64 win to open conference play on Nov. 30. The Greyhounds got off to a fast start against the Mustangs, jumping out to a big 46-19 edge at the halftime break. The Hounds had five players score in double-figures with Clay leading the way with 15 points. Cox chipped in 14, Hunter and Mehbrech finished with 12 points apiece and Lewis rounded out the double-digit scorers with a double-double, totaling 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Eastern will be looking to avenge a loss to MSU Texas the last time the Hounds played in Wichita Falls, dropping a 73-57 decision to the Mustangs on Jan. 13, 2018.
BALANCING ACT
Even though the Greyhounds are one of only two teams in the Lone Star with one player averaging double-figures in scoring, the Hounds possess the fifth-best scoring offense in the Lone Star at 71.1 ppg and are the fourth-best in conference games at 71.5 ppg. While Clay is the only player scoring in double-digits at 14.4 ppg, the Hounds scoring balance has presented problems to opponents as ENMU has eight players scoring at least six points per game.
BACK-TO-BACK
Lewis has continued to assert herself on the defensive end for the Greyhounds as two more outstanding defensive performances against No. 14 West Texas A&M and Texas Woman’s last week garnered her Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week. It was the third time this season Lewis received the award and is currently the only player in the Lone Star to earn the award more than once.
Despite suffering a 72-61 loss to the Lady Buffs last Tuesday, Lewis recorded a career-high 15 rebounds and was a point shy of a double-double to go with a pair of blocked shots. Lewis followed it up with six blocks in the 79-78 overtime win against Texas Woman’s, tying Precious Herrin and Johna McClelland for the most blocked shots in a game in the last 20 years of the program. Lewis also put together a strong offensive game, tying her career-high with 14 points to go with eight rebounds.
FINE FINISH FOR FIFTY
The Greyhounds 79-78 win in overtime over Texas Woman’s was not only ENMU’s first overtime win of the season, but it also marked the 50th Lone Star Conference victory for Eastern New Mexico Head Coach Joshua Prock. Since becoming the Greyhounds’ head coach before the 2013-14 season, Prock has amassed a 50-48 record in LSC play, which includes a 38-14 record in conference games the last three seasons. Prock’s most successful season came during the 2016-17 campaign when the Greyhounds amassed a 20-9 overall record and went 16-4 in conference play to win the LSC Championship. Eastern is in the hunt for the conference title once again this season as the Hounds currently own a 13-5 record and are tied for second with an 8-2 record midway through the conference season.
MAKING A LIVING AT THE LINE
Heading into the weekend, Clay is currently the only player in the Lone Star to attempt more than 100 free throws and is one of two players in the LSC to attempt more than 70 in conference games. Last week, Clay was a pivotal player at the line as she converted 9-of-10 attempts in the win against Texas Woman’s. It was the second time this season she attempted 10 or more free throws after she made 8-of-12 in the 90-79 win against Texas A&M-Commerce on Jan. 19.
