PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico women’s basketball team returns home this week for the first time in 40 days as the Hounds are prepared for a pair of challenging matches against regionally ranked opponents.
The Greyhounds will host Tarleton State for Faculty/Staff Appreciation night presented by Wells Fargo at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. On Saturday, the Hounds will be taking on Texas A&M-Commerce at 2 p.m. for Military Appreciation Day presented by Roosevelt General Hospital.
The ENMU women’s basketball team will also be selling exclusive t-shirts during the remainder of its 2019 home season. The shirts will be on-sale for $15 for sizes small through extra large and $25 for two shirts with each additional shirt priced at $10. XXL and XXXL shirts will be sold for $17 and $30 for two with each additional shirt at $12.
LAST TIME OUT
The Greyhounds split their Lone Star Conference matchups last week, dropping their first conference game of the season on Thursday 79-52 to No. 18 Angelo State before bouncing back with a big 76-53 win at Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday.
In its game against the Rambelles, Eastern fell behind early after only scoring two points in the opening quarter, shooting eight percent from the field. The Hounds started finding an offensive rhythm in the second half, outscoring ASU 23-21 in the third quarter, but Eastern could not find a way to curb the Rambelles red-hot shooting in the second half to rally back.
On Saturday, Hounds put together a strong response to their first league loss by getting a 23-point win against the Javelinas. Not only was it ENMU’s largest margin of victory in LSC play, but it was also the Greyhounds biggest win in Kingsville since 1993 when the Hounds defeated the Javelinas 94-51. In Saturday’s match, Kingsville trimmed the Eastern lead to 16-15 with 7:07 to go until halftime, but the Hounds surged ahead by closing out the half with a 19-8 run in the final 6:12 to hold a 35-23 edge going into the halftime break. With the win, the Hounds moved back into a tie for first place in the Lone Star Conference.
SCOUTING THE TEXANNS
Tarleton State enters the week with a 10-4 overall record and a 3-3 mark in LSC play. The TexAnns were ranked ninth in this week’s D2SIDA South Central Regional Poll after dropping an 89-80 decision at Texas A&M-Commerce on Tuesday before coming back with a 79-41 victory against Texas Woman’s.
TSU has won some big in-region non-conference games at home this season against Lubbock Christian and St. Mary’s, but have been challenged in LSC action, dropping matches at home against Angelo State and at Cameron in addition to its loss at Commerce. While holding a 2-1 mark at home in conference games, the TexAnns are just 1-2 in LSC road contests.
As a team, the TexAnns rank fourth among Lone Star Conference teams in scoring offense at 75.5 points per game, but are tied for second in conference games, averaging 73.7 ppg. However, the TexAnns have struggled defensively in LSC games, giving up the seventh-most points at 66.7 ppg in conference play.
Offensively, Tarleton State has four players averaging in double-figure scoring, led by Mackenzie Hailey. The junior forward ranks third in the LSC in scoring average (15.4 ppg) and is second in the league in field goal percentage (53.3) while leading the team in rebounding (6.9 rpg) and blocked shots (17). Senior guard McKinley Bostad is right behind her in the scoring column at 14.8 ppg and is the primary facilitator of the TSU offense with a team-high 50 assists, averaging 3.8 apg. Senior guard Kaylee Allen provides some offensive and defensive punch for the TexAnns, scoring at a 14.3 ppg clip and serves as the team’s top three-point shooter with 23 made threes while her 34 steals is the second-most in the LSC.
HISTORY WITH THE TEXANNS
Since the inception of the series in 1980, Tarleton State has a 32-16 record against the Hounds. However, Eastern has been able to get the better of the TexAnns in the last two seasons as Eastern has won four of the last five games.
The last time the two teams met in Portales, TSU rallied from a 15-point deficit to tie the score at 58 with 1:05 left. Then freshman forward Alivia Lewis came up with some big plays in the final minute for the Greyhounds, knocking down three free throws to give ENMU a three-point advantage and came up with a big block with 30 seconds left to keep the TexAnns off the scoreboard. On the ensuing possession, Lewis converted on a fastbreak layup with 17 seconds to go to ultimately seal a 64-59 victory for ENMU.
The Greyhounds will be seeking revenge on Tarleton State after the TexAnns ended Eastern’s season with an 83-61 win during the first round of the Lone Star Conference Tournament on Mar. 2, 2018.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
The regionally seventh-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce comes into the week with a 10-4 record and are tied for the Lone Star Conference lead with a 5-1 mark. The Lions have won seven straight, including a pair of victories in conference play with an 89-80 win against Tarleton State last Tuesday and a 78-63 win over Texas Woman’s on Saturday.
Commerce will provide a challenge for the Greyhounds defense as they are currently the second-best scoring offense in the LSC at 76.6 ppg and are the top scoring team in LSC games at 79.0 ppg. The Lions are also one of the top scoring defenses in league play, giving up the fourth-least ppg at 62.5.
The Lions offense is controlled by sophomore guard Chania Wright, who is the sixth-best scorer in the LSC at 14.4 ppg with the eighth-best shooting percentage (40.7). Redshirt senior guard Princess Davis serves as the catalyst for the top-ranked TAMUC offense as the only other player in double-figure scoring (12.5 ppg) and is tied for the most assists in the Lone Star Conference with 67, averaging 4.8 apg. Davis has also made her impact on the defensive end for Commerce as the team’s leader in steals (24). Sophomore forward Agang Tac has the top rebounding mark on the team with 106 boards (7.6 rpg) and is the team’s top shot blocker (12).
HISTORY WITH THE LIONS
Since the two teams started playing each other in 1985, Eastern leads the all-time series with a 33-29 overall mark. The recent history has been back-and-forth between the two teams as each have split the last 10 matchups down the middle with both teams winning all of their respective home games against each other since 2014.
In last year’s matchup in Portales, the Greyhounds rallied back from a four-point deficit with five minutes left, outscoring the Lions 15-7 in the final 4:47 to come away with the 64-60 victory.
FACULTY/STAFF APPRECIATION NIGHT
About 15 minutes prior to the start of Thursday night’s game against Tarleton State, the ENMU women’s basketball team will be showing its appreciation for the faculty and staff of Eastern New Mexico University as each student-athlete will be walking out with a member of the ENMU faculty or staff that she appreciates. The ENMU Athletic Department will also be showing its appreciation as all ENMU faculty and staff will have free admission to the games with an ENMU Faculty/Staff ID.
FOUR HORSE RACE
After the Greyhounds win over Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday along with No. 2 West Texas A&M beating 18th-ranked Angelo State on a buzzer beater and Texas A&M-Commerce beating Texas Woman’s, there is currently a four-way tie for first place at the top of the Lone Star Conference standing. This weekend will serve as an important one for separating the pack as three of the top four teams will be playing each other with Commerce playing at West Texas A&M on Thursday before facing the Hounds on Saturday.
STRONG STRETCH
Even though the Hounds are returning home, they are in the midst of a challenging part of the schedule. With the Greyhounds facing Angelo State last Thursday, Eastern is in the middle of a five game stretch where it is facing four of the top 10 regionally ranked teams. The Hounds fell to the then second-ranked Rambelles last Thursday and will now face three straight regionally-ranked teams at home with No. 9 Tarleton State Thursday night, seventh-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday and top-ranked West Texas A&M on Tuesday. Eastern is currently 0-2 against regionally-ranked teams, but this week’s games will also be the first against top 10 teams at home as the previous two losses came on the road at No. 3 Angelo State and No. 5 Lubbock Christian.
BALANCED BENCH
In ENMU’s win over Texas A&M-Kingsville last week, the Hounds found great contributions off the bench. The Greyhounds outscored the Javelinas 31-1 in bench production while Lewis and sophomore guard Jena Mehlbrech each scored in double-figures with 11 and 10 points respectively. Mehlbrech snapped out of a cold stretch against the Javelinas. After scoring just five points on 2-of-8 shooting in the previous five games, Mehlbrech connected on 5-of-8 of her shot attempts for her fourth double-digit scoring game of the season.
SNAPPING THE THREE-POINT SLUMP
After going 0-for-16 from the three-point arc through the first 13 games, senior forward Treyanna Clay broke out of the slump against the Javelinas. Clay converted on 4-of-6 from the three-point arc, including going 4-for-5 in the second half. Two of Clay’s three-point conversions came on Eastern’s last two possessions of the third quarter to send the Hounds into the fourth quarter with a 57-39 advantage. Clay completed the contest with 18 points, her second-highest point total of the season after scoring a career-high 25 points at Oklahoma Christian back on Dec. 17, 2018.
DECIDED ON THE GLASS
The Greyhounds dominated the glass in the opening half against Texas A&M-Kingsville, outrebounding the Javelinas 27-7, which included 14 offensive rebounds. Eastern finished the game with a 43-24 edge in the rebounding category, which was the second-largest rebounding margin for the Hounds this season after out-boarding Northern New Mexico 51-29 in their 104-44 non-conference win back on Dec. 8, 2018. This season, the Greyhounds are 7-1 in games they’ve outrebounded the opponent while they are 3-3 in games where they’ve either finished with the same amount of rebounds or have been outrebounded. In LSC games, Eastern ranks second in the conference in rebounding margin with a 4.2 rpg edge.
DISCOVERING HER OFFENSIVE GAME
After having just two double-digit scoring games through the first 12, Lewis found her offensive game this past week at Angelo State and Texas A&M-Kingsville. Lewis recorded her second double-double of the season in the loss to the Rambelles with 10 points and 10 rebounds before following it up with 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds against the Javelinas. After shooting 40 percent from the floor in the first 12 games, Lewis converted on 10-of-20 (50 percent) shot attempts in the two games combined. Lewis also continues to hold the top spot as the LSC’s top rebounder with 130 boards and a 9.3 rpg average.
