Ex-Hounds lift Lady Buffs

PORTALES - For West Texas A&M and former Eastern New Mexico University women's basketball coach Josh Prock, Thursday's non-league matchup between the teams at Greyhound Arena was a tough one.

For former ENMU guard and Portales native Zamorye (Cox) Roberts, though, once the ball went up it was just another game.

Roberts scored 11 of her team-high 15 points during a game-breaking 18-0 run over a span of 7 1/2 minutes in the final quarter as the Lady Buffs (5-5) pulled away to a 68-51 victory over the Greyhounds.

"I was very happy to see everybody," said Roberts, a junior who spent two years at ENMU after playing four years at Portales High. "But when it came to (playing) the game, it was just basketball.

"Coach Prock has been amazing for me, and I wanted to keep playing for him."

It was an emotional experience for Prock, who spent eight seasons at ENMU and led the Hounds to three NCAA Division II tournament berths.

"This was a hard game (to play)," he said. "I really love those kids. Coach (Meghan De Los Reyes) has done a great job, and she's got those kids playing hard.

"I told Meghan, 'There's only two games I'm rooting against you.' I spent eight amazing years here, with the people in this community, and I love them."

Another former ENMU player who went with Prock this year, senior post Alivia Lewis, added 10 points and eight rebounds for WT. Roberts (16.4 ppg), who has missed three games, and Lewis (10.6) are the team's leading scorers, and Lewis also leads in rebounding (8.2).

Junior guards Lauren Taylor, who went 10-of-12 from the foul line, and Haylei Janssens also reached double digits for the Lady Buffs with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Sophomore guard Karley Motschenbacher chipped in nine points and 11 rebounds.

Trailing by four after three quarters, the Hounds closed to 50-49 on two free throws from senior guard Iyanna McCurdy with 8:06 left. Roberts then tallied the next five points, and the Lady Buffs held ENMU scoreless until reserve Alexsis Johnson's inside bucket with 39 seconds to go.

Roberts, who married Sam Roberts of Portales in August, said the Lady Buffs got the Hounds' best shot.

"I expected nothing less," she said. "They played hard and they're a good team. It was a challenge for us."

While WT outrebounded the Hounds just 47-44, including 22-19 on the offensive glass, it seemed like more than that because the Lady Buffs had an 18-7 advantage in second-chance points. They also held a 21-11 edge in points off turnovers, forcing ENMU into 25 mechanical errors.

"What really got us was they kept offensive-rebounding," De Los Reyes said. "I think that's where we started to slide a little bit.

"They do a good job with their length, and I think we settled a little bit at the end with some turnovers and some fadeaway (shots)."

Sophomore guard Natalie Stice played the entire 40 minutes for the Hounds and netted 15 points. She was the lone ENMU player in double digits, although senior post Kamirah Decker finished with nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

Prock and De Los Reyes both said the teams are transitioning to new systems.

"I knew it was going to take a while to get going," Prock said of his contingent. "At the end of the day, you want to play your best basketball in January, February and March, and I think we're headed that way."

Meantime, it was the first game in two weeks for the Hounds, who visit WT in Lone Star Conference play on Feb. 12.

"They're do a great job," De Los Reyes said. "Coach Prock is a new coach there and he's got a lot of new players, but you can just tell it's a really good program."

ENMU is idle now until Thursday, when it faces LSC rival Western New Mexico in another non-league outing at Silver City.