The Eastern New Mexico women’s basketball team is set to close out the regular season on Saturday with a 1 p.m. tip-off at Texas Woman’s.
Following Saturday’s contest, the Hounds will look forward to the Lone Star Conference Tournament being played at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas from March 7-10.

LAST TIME OUT
The Greyhounds gave a strong challenge to No. 18 West Texas A&M on Tuesday night as the Hounds led for most of the way and held as much as a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter against the Lady Buffs. However, WTAMU held Eastern to just six points in the final 8:42 of the fourth quarter before nailing the game-tying three-pointer with 12 seconds left to force overtime.
Chelsea Hunter put Eastern in-front 60-59 on a pair of free throws with 2:17 to go in the overtime period, but the Hounds struggled in the final two minutes as the Lady Buffs ended the game on an 8-0 to hand the Hounds a 67-60 defeat.
Junior guard Tilasha Okey led the Hounds with 11 points off the bench while senior forwards Treyanna Clay and Shelby Jones each chipped in 10.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Texas Woman’s enters Saturday’s matchup with a 10-17 record and a 7-12 mark in Lone Star Conference play. The Pioneers are coming off a 59-47 loss at home to No. 18 West Texas A&M on Thursday night, but locked up the No. 7 seed in the LSC Tournament after Texas A&M-Kingsville and Western New Mexico both lost.
TWU ranks eighth in the LSC in scoring offense (62.6 points per game) as well as eighth in scoring defense (67.2 ppg). Despite the Pioneers struggles on the offensive and defensive ends, TWU is efficient when they reach the charity stripe with the league’s best free throw percentage (74.2 percent).
Leading the Texas Woman’s offense is junior guard Carissa Moody, who is scoring at a 13.5 ppg clip while shooting 46.1 percent from the floor and 32 percent from the three-point arc. Moody also ranks second in the Lone Star in rebounding, averaging 8.8 rpg, only behind ENMU’s Alivia Lewis (8.9 rpg). Freshman guard Macy Wilkerson has also stepped up on the offensive end this season for the Pioneers, averaging 11.2 ppg while leading the team with 46 made three-pointers. Senior guard K.J. Stastny will run the point for the TWU offense as she leads the team with 76 assists at 3.2 apg, the seventh-best rate in the LSC.

HIGH STAKES FINALE
In the final game of the 2019 regular season, the Greyhounds will have a lot to play for. The Hounds are playing for the chance to be the No. 3 seed in the Lone Star Conference Tournament as well as improve their chances on securing a spot in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament. Eastern currently sits in a tie for third in the LSC standings with Tarleton State and were ranked seventh in the latest NCAA Division II South Central Regional Rankings. The Hounds need a win for a chance at the No. 3 seed in the LSC Tournament and face MSU Texas, who has locked up the No. 6 seed in the conference tourney as well as secure a spot in the NCAA South Central Regional.

ROAD RASH
As well as the Hounds have played at home this season, the road has not been so kind as ENMU holds a 4-8 record in road contests and are 4-5 in conference road games. After starting out 4-1 as the visiting team in LSC games, the Hounds have dropped four straight on the road. The Hounds came close to snapping the road skid on Tuesday at No. 18 West Texas A&M, but the Lady Buffs managed to rally from nine down in the fourth quarter to force overtime before handing the Hounds a 67-60 defeat. However, Eastern has fared well at Kitty Magee Arena with a 14-13 record in Denton, Texas and have won the last two games played at the venue. In last year’s meeting, ENMU dominated the Pioneers, leading for 38 minutes and by as much as 16. Texas Woman’s only lead came on the opening bucket of the game as the Hounds pulled out the 64-58 victory. Shelby Jones was one of the Hounds leading scorers in the contest, knotting a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds while tallying a pair of steals.

SEEDING POSSIBILITIES
With the LSC regular season ending on Saturday, there is still a lot to be decided when it comes to LSC seeding. The Hounds are currently in a three-way tie for third in the LSC standings and would lock up the No. 3 seed with a win and a Tarleton State loss at UT-Permian Basin. The Hounds would then play No. 6 seed MSU Texas in the conference tourney, as the Mustangs already locked up the sixth-seed with a win or loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday. In the event that Eastern New Mexico, Tarleton State, and Texas A&M-Commerce all tie with 14-6 conference records, Tarleton State would have the tiebreaker over the Greyhounds for the No. 3 seed while the Hounds would own the tiebreaker over Texas A&M-Commerce for the No. 4 seed. If Eastern falls to Texas Woman’s and the Lions win at Western New Mexico, the Hounds would be the No. 5 seed and face No. 4 seed Texas A&M-Commerce in the first round of the LSC Tournament.

CHASING HISTORY
While the Hounds continue their chase toward a spot in the NCAA Tournament, senior forward Treyanna Clay is close to landing a spot in the ENMU record book. With 153 made free throws this season, the Tucson, Ariz. product is just 21 free throws away from tying Jennifer Goble’s program record for most free throws made in a season. Clay already occupies one ENMU record after she made the most free throws in a single game with 17 against Tarleton State last week, breaking Goble’s record of 15 makes during the 1990-91 season.