Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Eastern New Mexico guard Dasia Johnson swipes the ball from Texas A&M-Commerce's Brianna Wise in the first half of Thursday's game at Greyhound Arena.
Eastern New Mexico forward Kassandra Harris looks to score after getting by Texas A&M-Commerce defender Brianna Wise with an up-and-under in Thursday's Lone Star Conference game at Greyhound Arena. Harris scored 11 off the bench in the Greyhounds' 75-64 victory.
PORTALES — It may have not been the cleanest game, but the Eastern New Mexico women's basketball team stayed tied for first place in early Lone Star Conference play Thursday with a 75-64 home win over Texas A&M-Commerce.
The Greyhounds (5-2, 3-0 LSC) had five players in double digits, led by Amari Dennis with a season-high 16 points, and nursed a 45-30 halftime lead for the final 20 minutes.
"They went on a couple of runs," Dennis said, "but we stayed together every time and stop it. I'm more of a driver and all of my teammates can score, so when I drive I always look for my teammates to score."
The second half become muddied with turnovers and neither team finding a rhythm. Both teams finished with 24 turnovers, most recorded in the final two quarters.
"Their pressure bothered us a little bit there, especially in the fourth," ENMU coach Josh Prock said. "We turned the ball over too many times and that led to some easy baskets for them. We've got to do a better job of handling pressure. For most of the year we've been tremendous at handling pressure, so we just need to focus and revisit that."
The Lions, who are accustomed to a more frantic pace, kept the game even throughout the rest of the matchup, but couldn't do much more than trade baskets in the second half.
The Lions (6-3, 2-1 LSC) were led by Jenna Price with 15 points and eight rebounds.
The Greyhounds finished the night 24-for-62 from the field, shooting 29 percent from beyond the arc. The Lions couldn't find the basket on the night, going only 22 percent from the field and attempted just 12 3-pointers. Both teams shot well from the charity stripe, with Eastern going 35-for-44 and the Lions 20-for-25.
"We've done a tremendous job, especially coach (Jennifer) Principe, preparing these ladies for what other teams are doing," said Prock about the team's defensive effort. "So our girls are doing a great job of moving their feet, contesting shots and not making it easy for them."
Kassandra Harris and Mikaehla Connor added 14 and 13, respectively, for the Greyhounds. Johna McClelland also had 11 points while Jasmine Hotchkins scored 10.
The Greyhounds entered the contest in a four-way tie for first place with Angelo State, Tarleton State and Commerce, and ended Thursday in a three-way tie as both the Rambelles and TexAnns won road contests.
Tarleton State, coming off a 62-42 win at Western New Mexico, will come through Portales for a 5 p.m. Saturday contest at Greyhound Arena.
