Cameron outlasts ENMU

The ENMU women’s basketball team learned the hard way that it’s not how you start a game, it’s how you finish.

The Greyhounds led 27-13 after one quarter on Thursday, but Cameron dominated most of the remainder of the day and pulled away to an 82-73 Lone Star Conference victory at Greyhound Arena.

ENMU (5-7, 0-2 LSC) got off to quick start, but the Aggies rallied for their first lead at 54-53 in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Clovis High alum Brandi Gomez, her only shot of the game.

link Staff photo: Kevin Wilson

Greyhound guard Sarah Stinnett dives to knock the ball loose from Cameron guard Brandi Leal in the closing minutes of Thursday’s Lone Star Conference game at Greyhound Arena. Stinnett scored 18 points in the contest.

Four Aggies scored in double figures, led by guards Dayla Threatt (19 points) and Brandi Leal (12). They needed just 22 shots to put up their 31 points, including a 4-for-8 effort from distance by Leal.

“I thought we were very passive in the first quarter,” Cameron coach Tom Webb said. “I talked to our team about playing together. We don’t have any superstars on the team, but we play well together.”

Cameron had three fewer field goals than ENMU, but went 11-of-21 from beyond the arc and 21-of-26 from the free throw line.

On the flip side, the Greyhounds had trouble shooting, although they did go 11-of-27 from 3-point distance. ENMU finished at just 35 percent overall (28-of-80), and converted only 6-of-15 free throws.

Senior guard Sarah Stinnett scored 18 points, while sophomore post Johna McClelland notched her first double-double at ENMU with 14 points and 13 rebounds off the bench. Senior guard Miranda Moore added 11 points.

ENMU briefly took back momentum early in the fourth quarter when Moore converted a four-point play for a 65-62 lead. However, Cameron countered with a 14-2 surge, capped by a 3 from Leal with 2:52 left, to all but put the game out of reach.

“Give Cameron a lot of credit because they made a lot of plays,” ENMU coach Josh Prock said. “That’s what the game comes down to. We just didn’t do a good job of making plays. We’ve got to get mentally tougher in that area, and we will for sure.”

ENMU heads on the road for its next two games, facing Midwestern State on at 3 p.m. (MST) on Saturday at Wichita Falls, Texas.