Game Recap: Women’s Basketball | 2/13/2020 8:19:00 PM | Zac Alfers
Stout Defense Carries Women’s Basketball to Victory Over Texas Woman’s
Eastern New Mexico women’s basketball was able to rely on its impenetrable defense to overcome an off-shooting night as the Greyhounds defeated Texas Woman’s 50-41 Thursday evening.
The Hounds continue to prove why they possess one of the best defenses in the Lone Star Conference by limiting the Pioneers to a 33.3 team shooting percentage and not allowing a single three-pointer on 11 long-range attempts. The Green and Silver really stepped up their game in the second half as they held TWU to just five made field goals for a total of 17 points in the last 20 minutes of regulation.
Senior Natalie DeLonge constantly forced herself inside for easy shots as she finished with a game-high 13 points while junior Alivia Lewis was relentless on the glass and grabbed 12 boards to go along with six points, three assists and a pair of blocks. At the helm of the Greyhound offense was sophomore Zamorye Cox who filled up the stat sheet in multiple categories, adding eight points, five rebounds and five assists.
The High Plains squad came out firing and connected on eight of their first 15 field goal attempts but struggled to create consistent offense from that point on. Eastern finished with a 32.7 percent clip from the field and shot just 1-for-10 from beyond the arch.
The Greyhounds routinely drove to the basket with force, creating contact and getting themselves to the line in order to supplement their offensive mishaps. ENMU tallied 17 points from the charity stripe compared to seven from the Pioneers.
After securing rebounds, the Hounds were able to push the ball up the floor and create mismatches on the fast break as they continually caught the TWU’s transition defense off guard. The Greyhounds outscored the Pioneers 13-0 on fast break opportunities.
With two minutes remaining in the game, the Pioneers were threatening to take a late lead as they trimmed the Greyhound advantage to 41-39 before a pair of free-throws from Cox sparked a 9-0 run to close out the game.
Redshirt freshman Natalie Stice was able to score five points in a ten second span to push the Hounds to their 17th win of the season. Stice started the run with two made free-throws before stealing the Pioneers inbound pass the following possession and bolted down the court. The Tahoka, Texas native finished off the fast break layup despite being fouled hard by the Pioneer defender and later converted the traditional three-point play.
The Greyhounds are back in action on Saturday as they celebrate Valentines day with a matchup against Tarleton State at 2 p.m. in their annual Pink Out Game.
