Women’s Basketball 2/26/2020 3:43:00 PM Zac Alfers
Women’s Basketball Hosts Final Homestand of 2019-20 this Weekend
The 2019-20 regular season will come to an end this weekend as Eastern New Mexico women’s basketball hosts Cameron and Midwestern State.
The Hounds tipoff against Cameron this Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the Faculty/Staff Appreciation Game sponsored by Holiday Inn/ Super 8 / Best Western and will close out their final homestand against Midwestern State on Saturday at 2 p.m. during Senior Day sponsored by First Financial Credit Union.
LAST WEEK
With NCAA Tournament aspirations, Eastern competed against nationally ranked #3 Texas A&M-Commerce before closing out its 2019-20 road schedule against UT Tyler last weekend.
The Hounds tipped off the week against the Lions and got off to a hot start but were unable to maintain their momentum as they fell to Commerce 73-59 this past Thursday. ENMU’s game plan entering the game was to exploit their size advantage in the post but the Hounds struggled to create easy opportunities from their forwards as they were outscored 42-26 in the paint. The Lions did a great job of running the floor and attacking the basket quickly before Eastern’s defense could get set up, finishing with 25 fast break points while holding ENMU to just one point in transition. Both teams came to play defensively as neither of the two squads were able to shoot better than 40 percent from the field with TAMUC knocking down 26 field goals compared to 22 from the Hounds. Commerce was able to build on their lead from the free throw line as the Hounds connected on 12-of-19 attempts from the charity stripe while the Lions shot an efficient 17-for-20.
The Greyhounds were able to halt their two-game losing skid by efficiently shooting the basketball and dominating on the boards as they easily defeated UT Tyler by a 81-46 final. The Hounds began the game on a hot streak and never cooled down, knocking down their first seven shots following the opening tip. Eastern went 12-for-16 from the field while holding the Patriots to just 3-of-14 shooting to jump out to a commanding 26-8 advantage after the first quarter of play. The Greyhounds continued to add to their lead throughout the ball game and finished with an impressive 48.1 team shooting percentage as the High Plains squad lit it up from the field. On the boards, the Green and Silver where just as impressive as they out-rebounded the home team 57-27 and tallied 20 second chance points. Utilizing the team’s height and athleticism down low, the Hounds pounded the ball inside and outscored the Patriots 36-16 in the paint thanks in part to the dominant play of senior post player Natalie DeLonge. DeLonge finished with a game-high 20 points on a 10-for-13 shooting night. The Klamath Falls, Ore. native also added six rebounds and showed great passing instincts, totaling three assists.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
The Aggies wrapped-up their home schedule last week on a high note with a 79-58 victory over Oklahoma Christian before posting a dominate 102-88 win over UAFS in the team’s senior day game. The 102 points the Aggies scored against the Lions was the third-most scored by any LSC competitor this season.
The Aggies are a high-powered offensive team that is comfortable in high-scoring shoot-outs as opposed to the defensive battles the Greyhounds prefer to play. Cameron ranks second in the league with 73.4 points per game but rank dead last in defensive scoring as they surrender 77.5 points per game. CU’s offense revolves around their ability to effectively shoot the three-pointer as they have knocked down 251 field goals from beyond the arch, nearly 50 more than the next closest team. Cameron connects on 34.1 percent of their long-range attempts, the third-best mark in the league.
Sophomore guard Maighan Hedge represents the most effective scorer in the conference as she averages an LSC-high 20.1 points per game. Hedge, the Melbourne, Australia native, owns a 42.5 shooting percentage from the field which includes a 37.4 percent from deep. She is also an extremely capable passer and leads the squad with 91 assists.
Senior guard Amaka Nwakamma has found a way to contribute in muliple ways averaging 10.6 points, 5.6 rebounds per game and has swiped a team-high 36 steals. In the low post, the Aggies will look to sophomore forward Whitney Outon who has quickly established herself as the team’s best rim protector in just her second collegiate season. Outon has blocked 24 shots to go along with 18 steals.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
The Mustangs enter the weekend on a three-game winning streak following victories over UAFS and Oklahoma Christian their last time out.
The Mustang defense has struggled to contest shots all season and rank in the bottom five in both defensive field goal percentage and defensive three-point percentage. Teams connect on 41.2 percent of their shots from the field when facing Midwestern and are shooting 34 percent from beyond the arch, the fifth and the second-highest marks in the LSC. The Mustangs are however, a very good shot blocking team averaging 4.79 blocks per game. Aggressive defense often times leads to a high number of fouls which is also the case with MSU as they have allowed 548 free-throw attempts which ranks as the fourth-most in the league.
Senior forward Elizabeth Cathcart is the team’s top scorer and rebounder as she is averaging 13.1 points and 6.6 boards per game. Helping carry the load is senior guard Mica Schneider and junior forward Hannah Reynolds as the other two Mustangs who are averaging double-digit scoring figures. Schneider has been putting up 12.5 points per contest and does most of her damage from beyond the arch as 44 of her 95 made field-goals this season have been from long-range. Reynolds has used her 6-4 frame to her advantage inside as she averages 10.7 points per contest while recording a team-high 34 blocked shots on the year.
The Mustangs offense heavily involves their ability to share the basketball and they rank fourth in the conference with 14.71 assists per game.
A BID FAREWELL
Three ENMU seniors prepare to cap off their collegiate careers as Natalie DeLonge, Jerraysha Smith and Jasmine Williams will don the Green and Silver for the final time this weekend with the conclusion of the 2019-20 regular season. DeLonge spent most of her career at Western Oregon but has appeared in 24 games and made 22 starts at center this season for the Greyhounds. Delonge ranks second on the team with 11.7 points per game while totaling 109 rebounds, 18 blocks and ten steals. DeLonge’s best performance came last week against Commerce as she scored 19 points and hauled in 13 rebounds. Smith came to Portales as a junior after transferring from Central Arizona Community College. During her Greyhound career, Smith has appeared in 19 games and has compiled 37 points, 27 rebounds, four steals and four blocks. Smith set career-highs in minutes played (20), points (7) and rebounds (9) in a win over Adams State on Nov. 30, 2019. Williams, the South Carolina State transfer, has been tremendous in her lone season with the High Plains squad and is averaging 7.4 points and eight rebounds per game. Williams has totaled seven double-doubles and 191 rebounds this season which ranks second and fifth in the conference, respectively. One of Williams’ most memorable performances came against UT Permian Basin on Jan. 11, 2020 when she recorded a career-best 23 points to go along with 12 rebounds.
A DEFENSIVE FORCE
The backbone of the 2019-20 women’s basketball team has been its tenacious defense and it ranks in the top five of most defensive categories amongst Lone Star Conference competitors. The Green and Silver have limited their opposition to 58.5 points per game and own an 8.2 scoring margin with both statistics ranking fifth in the league. Eastern does a fantastic job of closing out on long-range shooters and have limited their opposition to a 26.5 percent shooting percentage when attempting shots from beyond the arch, the lowest mark in the LSC. Inside the arch teams have not fared much better when facing the impenetrable Greyhound defense as they rank third in the league with a 36.6 defensive shooting percentage from the field. The Hounds force 17.8 turnovers per game and own the fifth-best turnover margin in the league at 2.19.
The Hounds boast some of the best individual defenders in the league as well. Point guard Zamorye Cox has proven herself to be one of the elite defenders along the perimeter in her sophomore season and has shown an aptitude for picking people’s pockets. Cox paces the league with 70 total steals while averaging 2.7 per game. Post player Alivia Lewis is also a capable defender from the low block and has corralled 205 rebounds while rejecting 39 shots during her junior campaign. Lewis ranks second in the league in rebounding and 11th in blocked shots.
PLAYOFF PUSH
The playoff hunt is heating up as teams battle for position with the LSC Tournament approaching. The tournament will feature the top 12 schools in the conference with the No. 1 through No. 4 seeds receiving first-round byes. Round one will be held on-campus with the higher seed hosting the lower seed as the winners of those play-in games and the top four teams in the conference advancing to the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas. Currently, the Hounds own a 12-8 league record and are tied for the No. 5 spot in the conference standings. As it stands now, Eastern will most likely host a playoff game next Tuesday with a slight chance at earning a first-round bye if Tarleton State is upset by Texas A&M-Kingsville in their final game of the season.
REGIONAL POWERHOUSE
The Hounds have been ranked in all 13 additions of the D2SIDA South Central Regional Poll and rank No. 8 it the final release of the rankings.
Last week, the NCAA released their first regional rankings that will serve as the building block for the NCAA Tournament. The top eight schools in each region will receive bids to the NCAA Regional Playoffs. The Hounds are currently ranked No. 9 in the first release of the NCAA South Central Regional poll and will have to climb up at another position if they hope to secure a spot in their third NCAA Tournament in the past four years.
