Women’s Basketball 2/5/2020 3:34:00 PM Zac Alfers
Women’s Basketball Prepares For Tough Road Trip
PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico women’s basketball gears up for one of its toughest road trips of the 2019-20 season as they face off against a pair of regionally ranked opponents this weekend.
The Hounds begin the week with a game against the No. 6 ranked team in the South Central Region, Angelo State on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. The Green and Silver will then focus their attention to the No. 4 regionally ranked team and the #22 squad in the nation, Lubbock Christian on Saturday at noon.
LAST WEEK
Eastern is off to the third-best start to a season after victories over UT Permian Basin and Western New Mexico last week pushed its record to 15-5 on the season.
The Hounds used outstanding effort on the glass to cruise to a 66-43 win over the Falcons to tip off their week. The Greyhounds dominated on the boards from the opening tip, out-rebounding the Falcons 59-29 for an astounding +30 rebounding margin. Eastern’s 59 boards mark the most by any Lone Star Conference team this season and is tied for fifth in the program’s single-game record book. Lone Star Conference double-double leaders Alivia Lewis and Jasmine Williams proved why they lead the league in that category as they both recorded their seventh double-double of the year against the Falcons. Lewis finished with a game high 14 points and 13 rebounds while also dishing out three assists, swiping two steals and blocking two shots. Williams recorded ten points to go along with 11 rebounds on an extremely efficient 5-for-6 shooting night.
ENMU registered its fourth-straight win after defeating Western New Mexico 83-53 for its biggest margin of victory on the season. Stellar defense combined with outstanding three-point shooting allowed for the Hounds to dominate in every facet of the game. Eastern swiped 14 steals and forced the Mustangs into committing 22 turnovers which the Hounds efficiently converted into 34 points. The Green and Silver shot the basketball well right from the opening tip, especially from beyond the arch as they connected on 11-for-21 of their long-range attempts for a 52.5 percent shooting clip. The High Plains squad used unselfish play and excellent ball movement and finished with assists on 18 of the team’s 31 field goal attempts.
SCOUTING THE RAMBELLES
The Rambelles began last week with their fourth-consecutive victory over UT Tyler before having their winning streak snapped by No. 4 Texas A&M-Commerce. Angelo State owns an 8-1 home record this season and have rattled off seven-straight wins inside Stephens Arena.
The Rambelles boast a potent offense and average 73.6 points per contest, the second-best mark in the LSC. Angelo State does a fantastic job taking care of the basketball and only commit 15.3 turnovers per game which is the third-lowest mark amongst conference competitors. ASU struggles however forcing turnovers (14.6 TO/G) and own a -.67 turnover margin.
The Rambelles have four players averaging double-digit scoring figures led by senior forward De’Anira Moore who puts up 17.3 points per game. Moore has a knack for creating contact and getting herself to the line as she leads the conference with 102 made free-throws which she has knocked down at a 72.4 percent rate. She averages 8.1 rebounds per game from the post and has proven an outstanding shot blocker, averaging 2.1 blocks per contest.
The Angelo State backcourt of senior Catara Samuel and freshman Sawyer Lloyd are two extremely versatile guards who can score, rebounds, pass and defend at a high level. Catara averages 13.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while leading the team with 32 steals. Lloyd is the team’s best shot creator and paces the squad with 2.8 assists per game while contributing 11.3 points per game. Lloyd has also corralled 93 rebounds and swiped 27 steals.
SCOUTING THE LADY CHAPARRALS
The Lady Chaps were able to secure victories in their first 14 games of the season and have since posted a 3-3 record in their last six outings which includes an overtime loss to the Greyhounds three weeks ago, the Chap’s first loss of the year.
Despite its recent struggles, Lubbock Christian is still one of the most potent offenses in the league and own the third-best scoring margin as they out-score their opponents by 14.3 points on average. The Lady Chaps pace the league in three-point shooting percentage (36 %) and free-throw percentage (77.8 %) while ranking second with a 44.7 team shooting percentage from the field. LCU is a fantastic passing team while also excelling at taking care of the basketball. The Lady Chaps own the best assist/turnover ratio in the league at 1.16.
Senior forward Maddi Chitsey serves as the squads go-to scoring option as well as their best rebounder, averaging 14.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Chitsey uses her 6-2 frame and athleticism to her advantage as well and is one of the league’s premier shot blockers ranking third with 2.2 blocks per game.
Facilitating the Lady Chap offenses is junior guard Allie Schulte who averages a team-high 2.7 assists per game. Lighting it up from outside is junior guard Ashton Duncan who leads the league with a 41.6 three-point shooting percentage and averages 2.6 field goals per game from beyond the arch.
A DEFENSIVE FORCE
The Greyhounds have relied on their relentless defensive pressure to instill fear in opposing offenses and have established themselves as one of the best defenses in the conference as they rank in the top five of most defensive categories. The Green and Silver have limited their opposition to 58.5 points per game and own a 9.3 scoring margin with both statistics ranking fifth in the LSC. Eastern does a fantastic job of closing out on long-range shooters and taking away the three-point shot as evidenced by its league-low 27.5 defensive three-point shooting percentage. Inside the arch teams have not fared much better when facing the stout Greyhound defense as they rank fourth with a 36.9 defensive shooting percentage from the field.
Point guard Zamorye Cox has proven herself to be one of the elite defenders along the perimeter in her sophomore season. Cox ranks second in the league with 55 total steals while her average of 2.7 per game is tied for the best in the LSC. Post player Alivia Lewis is also a capable defender from the low block and has rejected 26 shots so far in her junior campaign. Lewis averages 1.4 blocks per game which ranks eighth in the conference.
CHAIRWOMEN OF THE BOARDS
A big reason for ENMU’s defensive success can be credited to the High Plains relentless effort on the boards. The Greyhounds utilize their size and athleticism to dominant in the rebounding phase of the game, limiting second chance points. The Green and Silver lead the league in rebounds per game and offensive rebounds per game while posting the third-best rebounding margin. The Greyhounds average 17.3 offensive rebounds which ranks eighth in all of NCAA Division II women’s basketball. Their 44.7 rebounds per game ranks 15th and their 9.3 rebounding margin is tied for 16th in the nation.
CAREER COACHING MILESTONE
Josh Prock enters his 12th season as a head coach, his seventh as the leader of the ENMU women’s basketball program and recorded his 200th NCAA career victory two weeks ago. Prock now owns a 202-127 overall record with a 94-95 mark with the Hounds. With eight games left in the season, Prock has a legitimate chance to earn his 100th win as the leader of the ENMU women’s basketball team. Prock is currently the second winningest coach in program history but if he can break the century mark he would join ENMU legend Head Coach Wayne Moore as only the second coach to reach the 100-win threshold in the 46-year history of the program.
REGIONAL POWERHOUSE
The Hounds have been ranked in all eleven additions of the D2SIDA South Central Regional Poll. The Hounds sit in the No. 7 spot in the Week 10 Regional Rankings with the opportunity to climb even further with some quality wins down the stretch. Eastern will face four more regionally ranked opponents before the LSC Tournament including rematches with Angelo State and Lubbock Christian this weekend as well as a home game against Tarleton State followed by a game with the #4 team in the nation, Texas A&M-Commerce on the road. The Hounds have already defeated two teams in the current rankings with their wins over Fort Lewis and Lubbock Christian.
WEEKDAY WARRIORS
Most people can’t wait for the weekend but the Hounds have suffered all of their losses on Saturday, posting a 5-5 record in weekend games. When playing during the week, the Green and Silver are 10-0 including a flawless 7-0 record when playing on Thursdays. With the remainder of the season being played on either Thursday or Saturday, the Hounds will have to snap their sluggish play on the weekends in order to get themselves back on track. Two weeks ago, the Green and Silver did exactly that as they snapped its three-game losing skid on Saturdays with a win over Texas A&M-Kingsville. Last week’s win against Western pushes the Greyhound’s winning streak to four and also marks their second straight win in Saturday games.
