PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico women’s basketball returns to non-conference play on Saturday as the Hounds host Northern New Mexico at 2 p.m. inside Greyhound Arena. The contest is sponsored by Combs Property Management.


LAST TIME OUT

The Greyhounds (6-1, 2-0 Lone Star Conference) got off to a strong start in conference play last week, as ENMU opened its LSC slate with an 80-64 win over MSU Texas on Nov. 29 before handing Cameron an 85-65 defeat on Dec. 1.

In the MSU Texas game, the Hounds got off to a fast start and never trailed. After leading by seven after one quarter of play, Eastern dominated in the second quarter, outscoring the Mustangs by a 29-9 margin to take a 46-19 lead into the halftime break. ENMU led by as much as 34 with 2:55 to go in the third quarter.

Senior forward Treyanna Clay led five Greyhounds in double-figures with 15 points. Freshman guard Zamorye Cox scored a career-high 14 points while Chelsea Hunter and Jena Mehlbrech each chipped in 12. Sophomore forward Alivia Lewis rounded out the double-figure scorers with her first double-double of the season with 11 points and tied a career-high 13 rebounds to go with three blocked shots.

Against the Aggies, the Greyhounds had to overcome a slow start as the Aggies led by as much as seven in the first quarter and possessed a five-point advantage after one quarter of play. However, Eastern once again put together a strong second quarter effort, outscoring Cameron by a 20-6 margin to hold a 34-25 edge over the Aggies heading into the halftime locker room. The Hounds continued to build upon their advantage in the second half, as ENMU led by as much as 24 with 3:43 to go in the fourth quarter.

The 20-point margin of victory over the Aggies marked was the largest since Nov. 30, 1999 when ENMU defeated Cameron 79-54 in Portales.

Clay led four ENMU players in double-digit scoring with 16 points along with a season-high four assists and four steals. Junior guard Tilasha Okey turned in a career-high 14 points along with Dasia Johnson, who led the team with five assists. Hunter rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points and a career-high three steals. Lewis led the rebounding efforts with 12 boards.


SCOUTING THE EAGLES

Northern New Mexico enters the contest with a 1-11 record and have lost 11 straight since the Eagles won their season opener against the University of the Southwest. NNMC is coming off a 77-52 loss to Wayland Baptist on Tuesday.

Averaging 50.6 points per game, the Eagles are led in scoring by sophomore guard Melanie Secody with an 11.6 points per game average while the next highest scorer is junior forward Jazlynn Muniz at 9.9 ppg.

Leading the rebounding efforts for NNMC coming into the game is freshman forward Katelyn Yuzos at 5.8 rebounds per game while sophomore guard Leah DeAguero tops the roster with 24 assists for a 2.7 apg average.


HISTORY WITH THE EAGLES

Saturday’s game marks only the third meeting between the two squads. Eastern won the previous two, which include a 72-57 victory on Dec. 16, 2014 followed by a 71-60 win on Dec. 31, 2015 with both games played in Portales.


HISTORIC START

After moving to 6-1 with the win over Cameron, Eastern is off to just it’s third 6-1 start since moving to the NCAA in 1984. The last time ENMU won six of its first seven games was during the 2005-06 campaign. If the Greyhounds can get a win over the Eagles, it will be the first 7-1 start since the 1992-93 season when the Hounds went 23-5 and was the Lone Star Conference Champion.


SECOND QUARTER STRIDES

The Hounds have done a phenomenal job at making adjustments between the first and second quarters in their seven games this season. While only scoring four more points than their opponents in the first quarter, the Greyhounds have outscored their foes by an astounding 121-60 margin in the second period. Eastern was especially efficient in the second quarter last week against MSU Texas and Cameron, outscoring the two teams by 34 points combined in the two games.


CLAMPING DOWN ON THE COMPETITION

The Eastern defense faired very well against two of the top offensive teams in the LSC last week. The Hounds held an MSU Texas team averaging 76.8 ppg to just 64 points and 33 points through the first three quarters. The Greyhounds followed it up by holding a Cameron team averaging 74.2 ppg to just 65 points, the second-lowest scoring output of the season for the Aggies while holding LSC scoring leader Maighan Hedge, who entered the contest with a 17.1 ppg average to just seven points, her lowest clip of the season.


PIN-POINT PASSING AND SHOOTING

Johnson, the senior point guard out of Hutto, Texas, has put together an extensive streak by recording five or more assists in each game during the Hounds four-game win streak. On top of leading the team with 4.6 assists per game, Johnson is also the team’s most precise three-point shooter, knocking down 10-of-19 from beyond the arc for a 53-percent clip.


BOARDS AND BLOCKS

Continuing to build her legacy in the low block, Lewis once again continues to rebound and block shots at an amazing rate. After recording a career-high 13 rebounds two weeks ago against Colorado State-Pueblo, Lewis followed it up with another 13-rebound performance against MSU Texas and tallied another 12 boards against Cameron. Lewis has finished four straight games with 12 or more rebounds, the last time an ENMU player accomplished that feat was during the 2006-07 season when Elizabeth Richards went five straight games with 12 or more rebounds. Lewis is currently the top rebounder in the LSC at 10.6 rpg while also leading the league with 19 blocks.


FLIPPING THE OFFENSIVE SWITCH The Hounds offensive production has taken off in the last three games. After only averaging 57 ppg in the first four games with a season-high output coming in a 66-38 win over New Mexico Highlands, the Greyhounds offense has come alive in the last three games, scoring 80 or more points in each of the last three contests, averaging 84.7 ppg.