PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico women’s basketball team is preparing to face No. 17 West Texas A&M, the fourth-ranked team in the South Central Region in a crucial matchup with NCAA Tournament implications.
Tuesday’s night’s game, scheduled for a 4:30 p.m.tip-off, will have national attention as the game will be featured on ESPN3’s Division II Showcase available on ESPN3 and the ESPN app.
The contest will have much at stake as the Lady Buffs are currently fighting for the No. 1 spot and the right to host the South Central Regional while the regionally sixth-ranked Greyhounds are fighting for a spot in the NCAA Tournament field after dropping a pair games last week to No. 9 Texas A&M-Commerce and No. 7 Tarleton State, both teams sitting right behind the Hounds in the regional rankings.
LAST TIME OUT
In Thursday’s game against the Lions, the Hounds kept things close in the first half as Eastern trailed by just one at 26-25 heading into the halftime break. After taking a 28-26 lead early in the third quarter on a Zamorye Cox three, the Lions responded with a 22-6 run to take their largest lead of the contest at 48-34. The Greyhounds trimmed the TAMUC advantage to eight before the Lions pushed their advantage back to 14 with 4:26 to go in the fourth quarter. Eastern fought back to make it a six-point game on a pair of Treyanna Clay free throws with under a minute left, but the Greyhounds could climb no closer.
ENMU faced a similar predicament against the TexAnns on Saturday. After Chelsea Hunter made a fastbreak layup with 2:47 to go in the third quarter, Tarleton State put together a 17-2 surge over a five minute stretch to push their advantage to 19 at 66-47 with 7:47 to go in game. The TexAnns maintained a 19-point edge until the 5:52 mark when the Hounds started an inspired comeback, outscoring TSU 27-9 over a 5:27 stretch to make it just a one-point game at 76-75 on a Hunter steal and layup on the inbound pass with 25 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, the TexAnns were able to convert a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession and Cox’s game-tying three-point shot fell short to hand the Hounds a tough defeat.
SCOUTING THE LADY BUFFS
West Texas A&M enters Tuesday night’s contest as the No. 17 team in the nation and the fourth-ranked team in the South Central Region. The Lady Buffs possess a 23-3 record and are currently tied for the lead with Angelo State in the Lone Star Conference at 15-3.
The Lady Buffs are coming off a pair of big road wins last week, first taking down Tarleton State 76-62 on Thursday before defeating Texas A&M-Commerce 71-60 on Saturday, giving them a 6-1 record against ranked opponents in the South Central Region.
West Texas possesses the second-best scoring offense in the Lone Star, averaging 77.3 points per game and 75.9 ppg in league games. However, the Lady Buffs aren’t just one of the best scoring teams in the LSC, but are one of the nation’s most efficient offenses with the best shooting percentage in NCAA Division II at 51.2 percent.
Leading the Lady Buffs scoring efforts is junior guard Lexy Hightower, who is averaging 15.7 ppg and the second-most in LSC games at 17.9 ppg, only behind ENMU’s Treyanna Clay at 18.2 ppg. From the field, Hightower ranks third in the Lone Star at 52.1 percent shooting in conference games and fourth overall at 52.3 percent. Junior forward Tyesha Taylor leads the Lone Star with a shooting percentage of 64, which ranks third in all of NCAA Division II while averaging the seventh-most points in the LSC at 14.8 ppg. Junior guard Deleyah Harris leads the rebounding efforts with the fifth-most boards in the league at 196, averaging 7.5 rpg. Junior guard Megan Gamble will run the point for the Lady Buffs as she currently holds the league lead with 142 assists at a 6.2 apg clip.
SECOND HOME
Despite the Hounds struggles against the Lady Buffs at home recently, Eastern has seen a lot of success in the First United Bank Center the past three seasons. Since the 2016-17 season, the Hounds hold a 6-0 record in the building, defeating the Lady Buffs the last two times they played there and have went 4-0 in the last two WTAMU Thanksgiving Classics. The Hounds opened this year’s classic with a 58-54 win over CSU-Pueblo before taking down New Mexico Highlands for a second time this season by a score of 89-54. The last time the Hounds and Lady Buffs played in Canyon, Eastern rallied from a 17-point deficit when Mikaehla Connor‘s layup with five seconds left tied the game and the Hounds came up with a big defensive stop to force an overtime period. ENMU was able to outscore West Texas 10-8 in OT to come away with a 73-71 win.
MAKING MILESTONES
In her first season with the Greyhounds, senior forward Treyanna Clay has been setting several season and career milestones. The Iona College transfer set a career milestone on Saturday, when she scored her 1000th career collegiate point from the free throw line against Texas A&M-Commerce. Clay set a program record against the Lions when she converted 17-of-20 from the foul line, breaking Jennifer Goble’s single game record of 15 made free throws against Angelo State during the 1990-91 season. Clay is also in the hunt to break Goble’s season record of 174 made free throws set during the same season. Currently with 151 makes, Clay is just 23 made free throws away from breaking the ENMU record. So far this season, Clay has scored 430 points, which is tied for the third-most points scored in a single season in the last 20 years at Eastern New Mexico. Clay has also been a dominant force on the defensive end with 56 steals, second only Tiana Bryant’s 73 set during the 2005-06 season.
LEAVING A STRONG FIRST IMPRESSION
Freshman guard Zamorye Cox has been making marks of her own in her first season with the Greyhounds. The hometown Portales product has already dished out the eigth-most assists in a single season in the last 20 years with 94, just three back of Lakeeyscia Griffin’s seventh-best mark set during the 2012-13 season and six back of current ENMU graduate assistant coach Mikaehla Connor‘s 100 set during the 2016-17 season.
“ROWE”ING FORWARD
With several Hounds in foul trouble, sophomore guard Laura Rowe stepped up with some big contributions toward ENMU’s comeback against Texas A&M-Commerce. Rowe scored a career-high 14 points in 17 minutes of action, eight of which came during the fourth quarter when the Hounds rallied back from a 19-point deficit to make it a one-point game in the final minute before falling 80-75. It was the second time in the last four games that Rowe scored in double-figures off the bench for ENMU after chipping in 10 points in just six minutes of action in a 76-57 win over UT-Permian Basin on Feb. 7.
HUNTER TAKING AIM FOR SOME BUFFALO
Sophomore guard Chelsea Hunter will be looking to pick up where she left off in the Texas A&M-Commerce game. Along with Rowe, Hunter came away with a career-high 14 points on a blistering 6-of-9 from the field and 2-of-3 from the three-point arc. It was the sixth double-figure scoring game for Hunter this season and the second in the last three games. Hunter has played a bigger role in the Hounds offense of late, averaging 11.3 ppg in the last three games after averaging just 6.2 ppg in the 20 games prior.
