ENMU women's basketball team rallies for win

CANYON, Texas - Freshman Alivia Lewis posted a double-double, and hit a pair of free throws to help Eastern New Mexico steal a 62-61 victory Friday over Colorado State-Pueblo to open the Pak a Sak Thanksgiving Classic.

Lewis' free throws, which came with :43 left and sealed a 10-point, 10-rebound afternoon, represented the 21st and final lead change on the day and pushed ENMU (2-2) to the .500 mark for the first time in this early season.

Mikaehla Connor scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, while Jasmine Hotchkins hit all three of her baskets from the arc on a nine-point effort.

The Thunderwolves started the game with a 7-0 run, led by as many as eight in the first half, and led for just over 32 minutes of action. But they fell short on a pair of game-winning opportunities in the final minute.

With 12 seconds left, CSU-Pueblo got a layup opportunity for Katie Cunningham. It was off, but the Thunderwolves got second life on an offensive rebound by Molly Rohrer. After a timeout, the Thunderwolves ran a play for Rohrer, but her jumper was off as time expired to spoil what had been a great team effort.

Rohrer scored 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting lead four CSU-Pueblo players in double figures, and was one rebound short of a double-double herself.

Neither team led by more than four in the second half, and the Greyhounds never led by more than two the entire game.

The teams were close in many statistical departments, with a 34-33 rebounding advantage by the Thunderwolves and a 40-38.8 shooting percentage advantage for Eastern New Mexico. The Greyhounds did hold a 23-14 advantage off the bench, largely thanks to Lewis and Brandi Gomez with a six-point day.

The overall series is now 7-6 in favor of the Thunderwolves, with ENMU's win breaking a five-game streak that had stretched to 1999.

The Greyhounds are back in action at the Classic 11 a.m. today against Texas A&M-International.