PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico forced 41 turnovers and cruised to a 93-48 victory over Northern New Mexico College on Thursday morning inside Greyhound Arena.
The Hounds put on a defensive showcase on the program’s sixth annual Youth Day Game in front of a crowd of just over 3,300 elementary and junior high students from across the High Plains region. Sophomore Zamorye Cox recorded the second highest steal total in program history with seven throughout the contest and chipped in 14 points and seven assists to the offensive effort.
Despite a sluggish offensive start that saw the Greyhounds record just a single point in the first three minutes of the contest, the Eastern New Mexico offense proved to be efficient for the remainder of the contest. Junior Laura Rowe connected on three first quarter three point buckets to jump start the Hound offense after the slow start and pushed the Hounds to their sixth straight non-conference win of the season.
Rowe matched Cox and senior Natalie DeLonge with a team-high 14 points for the contest and spurred a 26-4 run over the course of the next seven minutes of the opening quarter to extend the Hound advantage to 27-9 with just over remaining in the opening frame. A 27-14 Greyhound lead after the conclusion of the first quarter was narrowed to just seven points with the score at 29-22 with 3:57 remaining in the half.
The Greyhound offense once again came alive and capitalized on six Northern New Mexico turnovers in the final three minutes of the half to build back up an 18-point lead at the half. The Eagles were unable to cut the disadvantage to less than 20 points following the 8:49 mark of the third quarter as Eastern New Mexico cruised to it’s second win of the season over Northern New Mexico.
Nine different Hounds recorded steals on the afternoon while Cox’s seven takeaways is the most for a Greyhound since Elizabeth Richards had eight steals back on Dec. 22nd, 2005 against Western New Mexico.
DeLonge combined with fellow posts Alivia Lewis and Jasmine Williams to maintain total control of the paint for the majority of the contest for the Hounds. DeLonge finished with seven rebounds while Lewis led the team with eight boards and Williams finished the afternoon with five.
A Greyhound defense that forced turnovers all afternoon proved to be strongest in the final quarter as they conceded just a single Eagle field goal, limiting Northern New Mexico to just 1-of-10 from the field in the fourth quarter. The Hounds limited the opposition to a 35.4 percent (17-of-48) field goal percentage for the game.
The Hounds finish the season with an undefeated non-conference record of 6-0 and will turn their attention for the remainder of the season to Lone Star Conference competition. Eastern New Mexico will begin that stretch of conference contests next Thursday and Saturday with games on the road at St. Mary’s and St. Edward’s.
