General  Ryan Shumaker

Moment number two of our “Top 10 Moments of 2019-20” came back on Mar. 5th as Eastern New Mexico women’s basketball took down Tarleton State by a final score of 66-62 in the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament Quarterfinals.

The no. 5 seeded Hounds recorded the only upset of the tournament that night, rallying in the fourth quarter to avenge a regular season loss against the no. 4 seeded Texans to secure a spot in the LSC Semifinals. Last year’s squad joined the 1992-93 team as the only two teams in the history of the program to advance to the LSC Semifinals.

The Hounds trailed by seven entering the fourth quarter, but finally found their offensive stride and outscored the Texans 21-10 in the final frame, including a pair of 6-0 and 8-0 runs throughout the quarter. Sophomore Zamorye Cox was electric throughout the final frame, finishing with 24 points and seven assists for the contest on her way to being named to the LSC All-Tournament team.

Eastern New Mexico regained the lead for the first time since the 7:43 mark of the third quarter thanks to a Cox layup with 5:16 remaining in the fourth. Tarleton State would quickly shift the momentum back into their favor and regained the lead, which would extend to as many as three at the 3:12 mark, before Cox and company took over for the final three minutes of the contest.

The Hounds pieced together an 8-2 run over that stretch, a run that was capped off with a steal-and-score from Cox with eight seconds remaining to solidify the upset for Eastern New Mexico. Posts Natalie DeLonge and Alivia Lewis both made key buckets throughout that run, finishing off a great effort by both future Second Team All-LSC selections.

DeLonge scored 18 points and totaled eight rebounds while Lewis recorded eight boards of her own and also totaled a game-high five blocks.

The Hounds 22nd win of the season on that night inside the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas essentially clinched a selection into the South Central Regional Tournament, the second selection in a row for Eastern New Mexico and the third in the last four seasons. Those 22 wins for the 2019-20 season are the second most recorded by any team in the history of the program, and solidified the 2019-20 Hounds as one of the best units in Eastern New Mexico history.

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