PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico women’s basketball team is prepared to open Lone Star Conference play this week as the Hounds host MSU Texas at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday before challenging Cameron at 2 p.m. on Saturday inside Greyhound Arena.
The Thursday contest against MSU Texas is sponsored by Wienerschnitzel while the Saturday’s game against Cameron is brought to you by Roosevelt County Electric Cooperative.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hounds (4-1) went 2-0 in the West Texas A&M Pak-A-Sak Thanksgiving Classic last week, pulling out a hard-fought 58-54 win over Colorado State-Pueblo on Nov. 23 before defeating New Mexico Highlands 89-54 for the second time this season on Nov. 24.
Against CSU-Pueblo, the Thunderwolves rallied from a 29-23 halftime deficit with a 13-6 run through the first 6:34 of the third quarter to take the 36-35 advantage before Eastern closed out the quarter with a 7-0 run to take a 42-36 lead into the fourth. The Greyhounds stretched the lead to as much as 11 on a Shelby Jones jumper with 6:25 left, but Pueblo put together a rally. The Thunderwolves managed to cut their deficit to three on a three-pointer with eight seconds left to make it a 57-54 game, but Jones sealed the victory for the Hounds with a free throw after getting fouled on the in-bounds play.
In the New Mexico Highlands game, ENMU pulled away early by opening the game with a 15-2 streak in the first 3:51. The Hounds continuously pulled away from the Cowgirls to hold a massive 55-22 edge going into the halftime locker room. The Greyhounds shot a blistering 66-percent on 23-of-35 from the floor and went 8-for-12 (67-percent) from the three-point arc in the opening half.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
MSU Texas enters this weekend’s contests with a 1-3 record after starting the season with three straight losses to Oklahoma Christian, Newman, and Texas Wesleyan before getting their first win of the season in a 118-38 affair with Dallas Christian.
The Mustangs through the first four games rank second in the LSC by putting up 76.8 points per game, but have not scored more than 75 in any game outside of their win over Dallas Christian.
Much like the Hounds, the Mustangs feature a balanced scoring attack with four players averaging double-figures, led by junior forward Liz Cathcart at 11.5 ppg. Sophomore center Hannah Reynolds has been a force on the inside for the Mustangs, ranking second on the team at 11.3 ppg while leading the squad with 7.8 rebounds per game and is currently the top shot blocker in the LSC at 2.5 blocks per game. Senior guard Chelcie Kizart fuels the MSU perimeter offense and defense, as she is tied for the team-lead with 14 assists and seven steals while averaging 10 ppg.
HISTORY WITH THE MUSTANGS
MSU Texas possesses the advantage in the all-time series with a 28-19 record dating back to the first matchup in 1986. However, Eastern has turned the tide in recent history by winning four of the last five meetups. In last season’s game in Portales on Feb. 15, 2018, the Mustangs rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to tie the game up at 57 with 7:13 to go in the game. Eastern answered with an offensive explosion, outscoring the Mustangs 24-9 in the final seven-plus minutes to come away with the 81-66 victory.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
Cameron comes into this week with a 2-4 record and has been battle tested in its first six games. The Aggies have faced six NCAA Division II teams with winning records to start out the season with an average win percentage of .757. With the Aggies facing No. 7 West Texas A&M on Thursday, the matchup on Saturday will mark the eighth consecutive opponent with a winning record that Cameron has faced this season.
Offensively, Cameron ranks fourth in the league with a 74.2 ppg average, but rank dead last in scoring defense, giving up 82.7 ppg.
The Aggies feature the top scorer in the LSC in freshman guard Maighan Hedge, who is averaging 18.5 ppg and ranks second in the conference in field goal makes (38), field goal percentage (.500), three-point field goal makes (18) and three-point field goal percentage (.500). Senior guard Natalie Halbleib is also one of the top scorers in the league with the sixth-best scoring average at 15 ppg and is second on the team with at 7.0 rpg. Senior forward Lejha Smith is the team’s top rebounder at 7.7 rpg while senior guard Parfitt McNair is the offensive catalyst with a team-leading 17 assists.
HISTORY WITH THE AGGIES
Eastern New Mexico leads the all-time series with a 24-14 record dating back to 1988. The Greyhounds have won five straight against the Aggies, which includes a 65-57 win on Feb. 17, 2018 in Portales. Jones was a dominant force inside for the Hounds, scoring a team-leading 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting and converted on 7-of-8 free throw attempts in the victory.
ALL-ABOARD
Sophomore forward Alivia Lewis was named to the All-Tournament Team after putting together two of the best rebounding performances of her ENMU career. Lewis tied her career-high with 12 rebounds against the Thunderwolves while finishing just three points shy of a double-double with seven points in the contest to go with one block and one steal. Lewis was even better against the Cowgirls, setting a new career-high with 13 rebounds while also tying a season-high three blocks to go with eight points on 3-of-6 shooting from the floor. Heading into this week’s matches, Lewis currently ranks second in the LSC and 45th in the nation at 9.8 rebounds per game while also ranking second in the conference with eight blocks.
COX FILLING UP THE BOX SCORE
Ever since moving into the starting role, freshman guard Zamorye Cox has made a big impact on the team. In the Pueblo game, Cox scored seven points and made of 5-of-6 crucial free throws in the final minute to help the Hounds seal the win over the Thunderwolves. She followed it up with her best performance in the ENMU program against the Cowgirls, turning in a career-high eight points while dishing out seven assists, the most assists recorded by a Greyhound this season to go with a pair of steals.
CAREER HIGH-LANDS
In the Hounds victory over New Mexico Highlands, four ENMU players put together career-high scoring performances. Along with Cox, sophomore guard Jena Mehlbrech led the team with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and going 3-for-4 from the three-point arc, surpassing her previous best of four points set in the CSU-Pueblo game. Freshman forward Kamirah Decker totaled 14 points, going 6-for-7 from the floor as she passed her previous best set in the first game against New Mexico Highlands on Nov. 9. Junior guard Tilasha Okey in her first year with the Greyhounds scored her collegiate-high with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the three-point arc, topping her previous best of 10 points set at Division I Iona in a game against Toledo.
SNAPPING A SHOOTING SLUMP
The Greyhounds as a team snapped an extensive shooting slump in their game against the Cowgirls. After shooting less than 35-percent from the field and 25-percent from the three-point arc in their previous four games, the Hounds shot 53-percent from the field and 48-percent from three-point range. The 89 points scored was the most by an ENMU team since Jan. 22, 2014 when the Hounds defeated Texas A&M-Commerce 90-76.
REGIONAL RECOGNITION
The Greyhounds received some regional recognition this week after the Hounds debuted at No. 8 in the D2SIDA South Central Region Media Poll on Monday. The Hounds are getting attention after getting off to a 4-0 start against NCAA Division II competition to open the 2018-19 season, which hasn’t happened since the 2005-06 year when ENMU started off the year with a pair of wins over Western New Mexico, Montana State-Billings, and Fort Lewis.
