Zias drop to 1-1 in LSC South play

ANYON — Carlie Howard hit back-to-back 3-pointers in an 11-0 run midway through the second half as West Texas A&M beat turnover-prone Eastern New Mexico 80-73 in a Lone Star Conference South Division women’s basketball game Tuesday at the WT Event Center.

Celeste Stevenson finished with a game-high 23 points and nine rebounds and Tywanda Harris added 14 points off the bench as the Lady Buffs (12-2, 1-1 South) gained a conference season split with the Zias.

Laci Lee and Elizabeth Richards scored 19 points each for the Zias (6-8, 1-1), who beat WT 76-57 a month ago in Portales in the LSC opener for both teams.

The Zias, who shot 53 percent (26-of-49) from the field, committed 30 turnovers, including 19 in the first half while falling behind 36-28.

Eastern started pecking away at WT’s lead early in the second half. Lee scored six points in a 17-8 run capped off by Heather Brown’s 3-pointer as Eastern drew within 50-49 with 12:23 left.

Lee then gave Eastern its first lead since the middle of the first half with a pair of free throws three minutes later that made it 55-53.

But West Texas retook the lead on Harris’ free throw as Lady Buffs scored 14 of the next 16 points to regain control of the game.

WT hit 6-of-6 free throws in the final 37 seconds to secure its seventh-straight win and 11th in the last 12 games.

WT now leads the all-time series 43-9.