Thursday, February 11, 2016

LAWTON, OKLA. — The Eastern New Mexico University women's basketball team (9-13; LSC 4-8) chased Cameron (12-9; LSC 6-6) throughout Thursday's Lone Star Conference game at Aggie Gym. The Hounds finally caught them to take their only lead of the game on Sarah Stinnett's jumper with 10 seconds left, on the way to a dramatic 72-69 Greyhound win.

The win snapped a four-game skid in the series and was ENMU's first road win over the Aggies since a 77-74 decision on December 12, 2009. The Hounds also had dropped their last four at Cameron. The Greyhounds allowed 47 points in the opening half, but held Cameron to just 22 in the second half.

The Aggies got off to a quick start and seized a 27-12 lead on Brandi Gomez's free throw with just 15 seconds left in the opening quarter. The Greyhounds answered decisively to tie the game with a 15-0 run, which spanned nearly five minutes. The run ended with four straight layups, with Stinnett tying the game with 5:33 left in the half. The final four baskets of the ENMU run all were layups, with one from Mikaehla Connor and two from Eliza Martinez.

Just 25 seconds after the game was tied, the Aggies heated up again with a 17-4 surge to take a 44-31 lead. Jordyn Cooper drained a three-point bucket to pull Eastern within 10 points, but Gomez answered with a trey of her own, to give CU a 47-34 halftime lead.

The teams exchanged baskets in the early portion of the third quarter, with Cameron retaking a 15-point lead, 52-37, on a layup from DJ Vallier with 7:52 on the clock. Four Stinnett free throws fueled a 9-2 surge which pulled ENMU within eight points with 4:25 left in the quarter. The Aggies pushed the lead back to 11 points twice, the final time coming on a Savanna James layup for a 60-49 margin with 47 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Stinnett and Johna McClelland hit jumpers to open play in the fourth quarter, as Eastern went on a 10-4 run. A trey from Jasmine Hotchkins concluded the run to trim the Hounds' deficit to 64-49, with 6:20 left. Cameron scored five of the next seven points to extend their lead to eight with just 3:40 to play. A three-point play from Stinnett started an 11-0 run from the Hounds to close the game. Stinnett's jumper with 10 seconds left gave ENMU its first lead and Cooper hit two free throws with one second remaining.

The Aggies shot 64.3 percent (9-14) from beyond the three-point line in the opening half, but was held scoreless (0-10) from outside the arc in the second half. ENMU enjoyed a 52-42 edge in rebounding, which included a 22-16 lead on the offensive glass. Stinnett poured in a season-high 26 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out five assists, and had a pair of steals, to lead Eastern. Eliza Martinez blocked a shot for the tenth consecutive game. Cooper scored 10 points, while McClelland added nine point and 12 boards. Dayla Threatt paced Cameron with 20 points.

The Eastern New Mexico University women's basketball team will host Midwestern State on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. MT.