Game Recap: Women’s Basketball | 2/22/2020 8:00:00 PM | Zac Alfers
Efficient shooting and tremendous effort on the boards helped carry Eastern New Mexico women’s basketball to an 81-46 victory over UT Tyler Saturday afternoon in the team’s final road contest of the season.
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 to jump out to a commanding 26-8 advantage after the first quarter of play.
The Greyhounds continued to add to their lead through out 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 an 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.
Sophomore point guard Zamorye Cox also turned in an outstanding performance and recorded her first double-double of the season, finishing with 15 points and ten rebounds. Cox contributed in every facet if the game and also tallied four assists to go along with three steals.
Post player Taylee Rippee and guard Natalie Stice each recorded career-highs with Rippee scoring 12 points and Stice dishing out six assists.
The turnover battle was very tight with the Hounds holding a slight 17-15 advantage in possession miscues. The big difference came in Eastern’s ability to capitalize following a change of possession as they added 22 points off turnovers and held the Patriots to 12.
The Hounds move to 18-8 on the year with a 12-8 LSC record and will return home next weekend as they close out their regular season schedule against Cameron and Midwestern State. The Green and Silver are in prime position to make a postseason run and will look to gain some momentum coming into the LSC Tournament.
