The Eastern New Mexico women’s basketball team will open its 2019 portion of the schedule with a pair of Lone Star Conference road games against Western New Mexico at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday and UT Permian Basin at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

LAST TIME OUT
The Hounds are coming off a tough loss on New Year’s Eve at Lubbock Christian, as ENMU dropped a 64-48 decision to the Lady Chaps to close out the non-conference portion of the schedule. The Greyhounds trailed by just seven going into the halftime break, but a slow start to the second half compounded by the Lady Chaps catching fire from the floor in the second put the game out of reach.
Senior forward Treyanna Clay led Eastern with 15 points and 10 rebounds while freshman guard Zamorye Cox added 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 3-for-6 from the three-point arc to go with a career-high five steals.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
Western New Mexico returns to conference play with a 5-4 overall record and a 1-1 LSC mark. The last time the Lady Mustangs were in action was on Dec. 30 as WNMU came away with a 63-53 win at home against Sul Ross State. The Lady Mustangs had a strong month of December by going 3-1, which includes a 61-41 win over UT Permian Basin.
The Lady Mustangs balanced scoring effort is led by junior guard Paulina Rodriguez, scoring at a 10.7 points per game clip in six games. Rodriguez is one of the team’s top shooters at 46 percent and has shot a blistering 15-for-30 (50 percent) from the three-point arc, but has missed the last three games. Redshirt junior guard Sara Lopez has picked up the scoring slack with a 10.6 ppg average and is coming off a season-high 19-point performance against Sul Ross.
Senior forward Tatyanna McFarland commands the rebounding presence for Western, ranking second in the LSC with a 9.2 rebounds per game average while averaging 10 ppg. Lopez and Rachel Francisco lead the team’s passing efforts with 19 assists apiece.

HISTORY WITH THE MUSTANGS
The Greyhounds possess a commanding advantage in the all-time series with a 20-8 record. However, the Hounds will be seeking vengeance against the Lady Mustangs after Western snuck away with a 60-59 victory over the Hounds in Silver City in their last meeting on Feb. 6, 2018. Despite the loss, ENMU has controlled the series of late, winning nine of the last 11 matchups.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
UT Permian Basin enters the weekend with a 3-7 overall record and is 0-2 in LSC games. The Falcons got off to a slow start to open the season, losing seven of their first eight games, but have since bounced back with a pair of wins over Arlington Baptist on Dec. 14 and most recently an 87-44 victory at Texas A&M-International on Dec. 29.
The UTPB offense is led by senior forward Khali Pippins-Tryon with an 11.1 ppg average. Junior forward Lemia Ntor-Ue is the only other Falcon scoring in double-figures at 10.6 ppg. Redshirt sophomore forward Juliette Akinwole tops the rebounding efforts with 49 boards for a 6.1 rpg average while Sarah Bersang is the team’s top passer with 31 assists.

HISTORY WITH THE FALCONS
Saturday’s matchup marks just the seventh meeting in the all-time series between the Greyhounds and Falcons. The Hounds have won four of the first six games, including a 68-65 thriller in their last meeting in Odessa, Texas. Eastern will look stay undefeated in Odessa as the Greyhounds have never lost in UTPB Gymnasium.

ROCKY ROAD
The Greyhounds have had some tough luck on the road during the 2018-19 season as the Hounds are still seeking their first road win after going 0-3 in road contests during the 2018 portion of the schedule. Eastern has fared well in home and neutral site games with a 5-0 record in games played at Greyhound Arena and are 2-0 in neutral site games with a pair of wins in Canyon, Texas.

REBOUNDING RIVALRY
Thursday’s matchup will feature a matchup of the two top rebounders in the Lone Star. ENMU’s sophomore forward Alivia Lewis is the conference’s top rebounder, averaging 9.5 rpg and her counterpart McFarland is just behind her with a 9.1 rpg. Lewis recorded eight rebounds in the losing effort against Lubbock Christian on Monday. The last time Lewis played in Silver City, she tied her career-best rebounding effort with 11.

LIVING ON THE LINE
The game on Thursday will not just feature the two top rebounders in the LSC, but also the two most prolific free throw shooters in the league. While McFarland has attempted the most free throw attempts with 55, Clay ranks right behind her in second with 52 free throw attempts. Clay has taken better advantage of her opportunities, as she has converted on 38 of her attempts for a 73 percent average while McFarland has only made 30 at 55 percent.

HOUND ON THE HUNT
Sophomore guard Chelsea Hunter made her first career start for the Greyhounds on Monday and will be looking to step into a stronger scoring role. Hunter has made some strong contributions off the bench for Eastern this season, scoring a career-high 12 points back on Nov. 29 against MSU Texas and followed it up with a 10-point effort in the win over Cameron.