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Zias stage rally, beat East Central

Freedom New Mexico

ADA, Okla. — Sophomore forward Til-Lois Fifer’s jumper with 2:37 left kicked off a game-ending 7-0 run that lifted Eastern New Mexico University to a 58-52 victory over East Central on Sunday in a Lone Star Conference women’s crossover game.

Fifer scored a career-best 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds to help the Zias (6-5) snap a four-game losing streak. Sophomore point guard Tori Northcutt collected 10 of ENMU’s 15 assists, reaching double figures in that department for the fourth time in her career and second time this season.

East Central (3-4) took its largest lead of the game at 39-33 on Angela Kalanoska’s 3-pointer with 14:26 left. The Zias responded with a 7-0 run capped by Vanessa O’Neal’s basket, for a 40-39 advantage with 11:20 to go and the teams seesawed from there until the closing minutes.

The Zias never led by more than three points until their game-ending run.

ENMU led 18-15 with 11 minutes left in the half, but the Lady Tigers scored 13 of the next 18 points for a 28-23 lead with three minutes left in the half. A 3-point play by ENMU freshman Kassie Daugherty with 2:47 to go cut the margin to two and provided the final points for either team in the half.

Sophomore guard Cat Clay added 12 points for the Zias. Guards Casi Rawls and Kacey Thomas topped the Lady Tigers with 17 and 15 points, respectively.