Zias' weekend heads south

ABILENE, Texas — The weekend of promise turned into a nightmare for Eastern New Mexico University’s women.

Playing for a chance at a surprising Lone Star Conference South Division championship going into the weekend, the Zias absorbed their two worst losses of the season, including Saturday’s 75-42 setback against Abilene Christian.

The win boosts the Wildcats (18-9, 10-4 South) into a tie for second with the Zias (16-11, 10-4), but ACU gets the higher seed in the Lone Star Conference tournament because it swept ENMU.

That means the Zias, as the South’s No. 4 seed, will travel on Tuesday for a first-round game while the Wildcats will have a home game against a North opponent.

In addition, the Zias may have lost starters Laci Lee and Jereena Bosket to injury for their first-round game. Bosket suffered a concussion in the second half and likely won’t play in the first round, while Lee sustained a high ankle sprain late in the game and is listed by coach Dan Buzard as “questionable.”

“It’s just a matter of trying to get treatment for her tomorrow (Sunday),” Buzard said of Lee, who led the Zias in Saturday’s game with 13 points. “I don’t know if we can get her ready.”

ACU dominated from the start, putting four players in double figures. LSC South preseason player Melanie Carter scored 15 points while senior forward Lynsie Blau added 12 points and 11 rebounds.

ENMU, the best shooting team coming into the weekend, hit just 14-of-65 attempts against the Wildcats.

“When you shoot 21 percent, you’re not going to beat anybody,” Buzard said. “We didn’t catch any breaks this weekend. We had some good looks at the basket, but the shots just didn’t go down.”

Sophomore forward Elizabeth Richards added 10 points and a team-high six rebounds for ENMU. But Bosket and freshman guard Heather Brown, both averaging between 10 and 12 games, combined to score just three points and go 0-for-18 from the field.