Saturday, January 23, 2016
PORTALES, N.M. — The Eastern New Mexico University women' s basketball team (7-10; LSC 2-5) furiously rallied from a 12-point deficit to pick up a win in Saturday's Lone Star Conference game against Texas A&M-Commerce (9-9; LSC 3-4).
Kassandra Harris poured in 20 points and grabbed five rebounds to fuel the Greyhounds' 73-65 victory at Greyhound Arena.
Eastern has won its last three home games against the Lions and three of the last five games in the overall series. The win also marked the Hounds' first LSC win at home since an 81-79 win over Texas A&M-Commerce, last February 17
th. ENMU connected for a season-best 25 free throws, and matched a season high with 30 attempts. Tonight's game marked the Hounds largest rally from a deficit since coming back from 22 down at Angelo State, last season for a 65-56 win.
Each team scored 12 points in the opening quarter, but the Lions opened the second period with a 6-0 run. A three-point play from Harris pulled ENMU within 18-15, but Texas A&M-Commerce followed with an 11-2 surge capped by a Artaejah Gay layup to seize a 29-17 advantage with 3:25 left in the half.
A jumper form Harris ignited an 11-3 surge which stretched into the opening moments of the second half, when a
Johna McClelland layup pulled Eastern to within 32-28. A&M-Commerce scored the next five points to extend its lead to 37-28 with 8:02 remaining in the third quarter on a Princess Davis layup, but the Greyhounds were prepared to strike.
McClelland hit another jumper to spark a 13-2 run. She scored eight points in that run, which was capped by a
Sarah Stinnett fast break to give ENMU a 41-39 lead. That run spanned 2:56 of play. The Lions managed to pull even on a pair of Audrisa Harrison free throws, but Eastern took the lead for good on a fast break layup from Harris. At the end of the third quarter, the Hounds held a 51-46 advantage and had outscored the Lions by a 25-14 margin over the course of that period. Eastern limited Texas A&M-Commerce to just 3-for-13 from the floor in the third quarter.
Eastern held a 32-26 point advantage in the paint which helped post a slim 35.9-31.3 percent edge in shooting. Another key to the Hounds victory was an .833-.606 advantage in free-throw percentage. The Hounds shot 25-for-30 from the charity stripe and connected on 15 consecutive attempts. Stinnett finished with 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, while McClelland and
Jordyn Cooper had 13 points each.
Eliza Martinez chipped in two blocked shots, while
Jaylyn Cooper had three steals and a pair of assists. Davis paced the Lions with 13 points and five steals.
The Eastern New Mexico University women's basketball team will return to action one week from today, to visit West Texas A&M. Tipoff is schedule for 1 p.m. MT.