Women’s Basketball 10/25/2019 4:59:00 PM Zac Alfers
PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico women’s basketball program is gearing up for the 2019-20 season as they prepare for a pair of road exhibition contests against NCAA Division I opponents UTEP and Arizona this weekend.
The Hounds open their exhibition docket in El Paso, Texas against UTEP on Saturday at 1p.m. before traveling to Tucson, Ariz. the following day to take on 2018-19 WNIT Champion Arizona at 4 p.m.
LAST SEASON
Under sixth year Head Coach Josh Prock the Eastern New Mexico women’s basketball team finished the 2018-19 campaign with its second NCAA Tournament appearance in the past three seasons. The Greyhounds posted a 19-11 overall record and finished Lone Star Conference play with a 14-6 mark, earning a fifth-place finish in the league standings. The Hounds played especially well in front of their home supporters as they set the best home record in the program’s 45-year history, posting an impressive 12-1 record inside Greyhound Arena.
Eastern put together one of the finest statistical seasons in program history, as last year’s squad ranks second all-time with 2,103 total points and 289 total steals. The Hounds corralled 1,220 rebounds while dishing out 462 assists as a unit which are the third-highest marks in the ENMU record book. Last year’s team ranks fourth in field goals made (750) and three-point field goals made (175), fifth in blocked shots (107), seventh in free throws made (428) and ninth in scoring average (70.1).
SCOUTING THE MINERS
The Miners won less than 30 percent of their games a season ago, posting a 9-22 overall mark and going 5-11 in CUSA play on their way to 11th-place finish in the conference standings. UTEP went 4-11 in front of its home supporters, its worst home record in the last 14 seasons. The Miners return a hefty load of returners including three starters and seven letter winners from the 2018-19 squad. Leading the pack is senior guard/forward Katarina Zec who averaged 10.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game as a junior.
Sophomore forward Ariana Taylor and senior guard Neidy Ocuane will also look to regain their starting spots. Taylor finished with the second most blocked shots last season (15) and averaged 5.9 points per game. Ocuane averaged four points and 2.1 assists per contest and also totaled 16 steals.
Other notable returners include senior guard Ariona Gill (8.7 ppg/4.4 rpg), senior guard/forward Jade Rochelle (4.0 ppg/4.7 rpg) and sophomore guard Sabine Lipe (3.2 ppg/2.3 rpg).
The Miners brought in seven newcomers (junior college transfers Tia Bradshaw, Michelle Pruitt and DejaNae Roebuck, and freshmen Avery Crouse, Katia Gallegos, Arina Khlopkova and Tayana Modawar) to bolster the unit. The group features three top-100 JUCO players, including two All-Americans and four high school standouts.
Head Coach Kevin Baker leads the UTEP women’s basketball program and has registered the most wins by any Miner coach through their first two seasons in program history with 26. Baker set the school record in 2017-18 for victories in a coach’s debut season with 17.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
The Wildcats turned in their best season since 2004 in 2018-19 going 24-13 overall with a 7-11 mark in PAC-12 play. UA earned an eighth-place finish in the conference and finished the year with a WNIT Championship.
The Wildcats were tabbed to finish in sixth place in the preseason PAC-12 Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll, earning 73 total points, 15 more than seventh place Utah and four less than fifth place Arizona State. Arizona hasn’t been picked to finish this high in the conference since the 2005-2006 preseason poll.
Arizona returns eight players from a season ago and bring in seven newcomers. Looking to pick up where she left off last year is 2018-19 WBCA All-American and Preseason All-PAC-12 selection Aari McDonald. As a redshirt-freshman, McDonald broke the men’s and women’s single-season scoring record, totaling 890 points. She led the conference and was third in the nation averaging 24.1 points per game. McDonald became the first NCAA Division I player to have 800 points, 200 rebounds, 150 assists and 90 steals in a single season since 2000.
In the frontcourt, the Wildcats return PAC-12 All-Freshman honoree Cate Reese. Reese started all 37 games for UA and was second on the team with 11.8 points per game while leading the squad with 6.8 rebounds per game. She led all PAC-12 freshman in points and scoring while posting seven double-doubles. Reese was named to the 2020 Katrina McClain Award watch list which recognizes the top power forwards in women’s NCAA Division I basketball.
At the helm of the program is Arizona’s leading scorer and WNBA Champion, Head Coach AdiaBarnes. Barnes enters her fourth season and is signed through the 2024 season.
2019-20 Preseason Story Lines
The Hounds return one of the most versatile post players in the LSC in Alivia Lewis. The 6’2, Albuquerque, N.M. native averaged 8.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, which ranked second and third respectively amongst conference competitors. The second leading scorer for the Hounds last season, Zamorye Cox looks to improve off her stellar freshman campaign. ThePortales High School standout averaged 9.6 points per game and showed an aptitude to create for her teammates dishing out 3.6 assists per contest. Looking to gain a full-time starting spot along the perimeter, shooting guard Chelsea Hunter returns for her junior campaign. Hunter, the Lubbock, Texas native, appeared in 27 games and made 20 starts while averaging 6.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Hunter also got after the ball defensively, swiping 38 steals and was a sniper from beyond the arch shooting .294 (25-for-85) from three-point range.
SAME HOUNDS, NEW LOOK
The Greyhounds return 11 players from last year’s team including three starters while CoachProck adds seven new players to the 2019-20 roster. With four transfers and three true freshman joining the team, the Greyhounds strengthen their lineup and bolster their depth coming off the bench.
Highlighting the incoming recruiting class are transfers Anasha Hurst and Natalie DeLonge. A 5-8 guard from St. Louis, Mo, Hurst joins the Green and Silver after spending the last two seasons at Kirkwood Community College. Hurst averaged 8.7 points, 2.7 assists and two steals per game as a sophomore and was named First Team All-Region and also led her squad to a NJCAA National Championship game. A 6-4 post player from Klamath Falls, Ore.,Delonge joins the Hounds after spending the last three years at Western Oregon University.Delonge was named Second Team All-GNAC and earned Academic All-GNAC honors last season as a junior. In her final season with the Wolves, Delonge led the team with 15.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game which ranked fourth and seventh respectively, throughout the conference. She averaged one block per contest which was tied for the seventh-highest mark in the GNAC.
SCHEDULE OUTLOOK
The Hounds will be tested early as they take on three NCAA Division I schools with exhibition games against UTEP, Arizona and the University of New Mexico. ENMU’s regular season will begin on the road in Durango, Colorado to compete at the LSC/RMAC Conference Challenge. Eastern faces New Mexico Highlands on Friday, Nov. 8 and will finish with tourney host Fort Lewis the following day.
The Greyhounds conference opener is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 23 against rival West Texas A&M at 1 p.m. inside First United Bank Center. The Green and Silver return to Canyon, Texas the following week as they compete in the WT Pak-A-Sak Thanksgiving Classic, taking on Adams State Friday, Nov. 29 and CSU-Pueblo on Saturday, Nov. 30.
ENMU fans can get their first look at the team on Thursday, Dec. 5 when the Greyhounds host Northern New Mexico, at 11 a.m. in the home opener. Children from several local schools will be an attendance as the game will also be the program’s sixth annual Youth Day Game.
NEW LOOK LSC
The Lone Star Conference will expand from 11 teams to 18 schools with Lubbock Christian, St. Edward’s St. Mary’s, Texas A&M International, Oklahoma Christian, University of Arkansas Fort Smith and UT Tyler joining the mix. The LSC will be divided into three divisions and will play 22 conference games with division foes playing home-and-away against each other and once versus the rest of the conference. The top four schools from each division will move on to the postseason tournament with the opening round being held on campus of the higher seed before the final eight teams battle it out at Comerica Center in Frisco Texas. The Hounds division will include Angelo State, Lubbock Christian, UT Permian Basin, West Texas A&M and Western New Mexico.
HOUNDS ON THE ROAD
Last season the Green and Silver posted a 5-8 mark when playing outside of Greyhound Arena, stumbling a bit in road contests towards the end of the season going 1-4 in their last five away games. The Hounds concluded the 2018-19 regular season with an important 71-63 road win at Texas Woman’s. The result moved the Hounds into a three-way tie for third in the LSC, securing the No. 4 seed in the LSC Tournament.
