Women’s Basketball 1/23/2020 7:15:00 PM Zac Alfers
LAREDO, Texas – Eastern New Mexico women’s basketball shot the lights out of the gym in the second-half as it rallied from a nine-point deficit to defeat Texas A&M International 68-60 Thursday night.
Redshirt freshman Natalie Stice paced the explosive offensive charge for the Hounds as she led all scorers with 22 points. The Tahoka, Texas native shot 6-for-11 from deep and is now tied for the fourth-most three-point field goals in a single-game in program history.
Point guard Zamorye Cox continues to impress in her sophomore season as she added 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and matched Stice’s game-high four steals. Senior Natalie DeLonge dominated in the paint for Eastern as she recorded her first double-double as a member of the Greyhounds, finishing with 14 points and 15 rebounds.
Not usually known for its three-point shooting prowess, ENMU knocked down ten field goals from beyond the arch and converted at an efficient 38.5 percent clip. The Green and Silver were relentless on the boards and out-rebounded the Dustdevils 41-32. The Hounds forced 21 turnovers and turned that into 17 points while also adding 15 points off the fast break.
The High Plains squad struggled to find easy shots in the opening period and only managed four buckets in the first ten minutes of the game as International jumped out to a 19-10 lead. A beautiful spin move from DeLonge led to an easy layup and sparked a 12-10 run for the Hounds in the second frame that trimmed the deficit to seven.
The Hounds incorporated a full court trap defense coming out of the locker room and took over in the third quarter. Junior Alivia Lewis sent a skip pass over the Dustdevil defenders to a wide open Stice who buried the long-range jumper for the first points of the second half. Back-to-back steals on the ensuing possessions allowed the Hounds to pull within a single point as they trailed 29-28 just a minute into the third.
With the game tied at 31-31, Cox drove down the middle of the lane as the defense collapsed around her before dishing the ball out to Stice who knocked down another three-pointer to give the Hounds their first lead of the contest. A NBA-range three-pointer from Cox at the end of the third gave the Hounds a 46-39 advantage entering the final quarter of play.
Stice proved she is more than just shooter as she drove past her defender to begin the fourth and euro-stepped past an International post player before gently laying in a finger roll layup. With time winding down the Dustdevils threatened to regain the lead as they trailed 61-60 with a little over two minutes left in the game. The Hounds fed the ball to Lewis who backed down her defender and used a terrific drop step to create separation. Lewis finished through the contact and converted the traditional three-point play to put a halt to the International rally.
The Green and Silver are back in action on Saturday as they concluded their road trip with a game against Texas A&M-Kingsville, scheduled to tip off at 1 p.m.
