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ENMU women rock Mustangs

PORTALES – Eastern New Mexico University's Deja Adrian didn't miss a beat.

The junior guard-forward, second in the Lone Star Conference in scoring, returned from a four-game absence due to a knee injury on Thursday night and scored 21 points in ENMU's 80-55 rout of Midwestern State in Lone Star Conference women's basketball at Greyhound Arena.

Adrian shot 9-for-14 from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers, and posted a team-high six assists as the Greyhounds (10-10, 7-8 LSC) opened a key four-game homestand by avenging an 83-77 loss at Midwestern State in early January.

ENMU went 2-2 in Adrian's absence, losing those games by a total of seven points.

"It felt good to come back," she said. "I missed playing with my team.

"We had some tough losses, but today we were able to learn from our mistakes."

Adrian said she had no trepidation about returning to action after sustaining an MCL sprain in practice earlier this month.

"Once I got into the (flow of the) game, I wasn't even worried about it," she said. "We needed this one. Midwestern's not an easy team to beat, but we worked as a team tonight."

The Hounds shot a season-best 51 percent (30-of-59), including 13-of-30 from 3-point range. The 13 makes also represented a season high.

"My favorite stat of the night was our 21 assists," ENMU women's coach Meghan De los Reyes said. "We shot the ball well, but it was one of our best games as far as offensive execution."

While ENMU posted its most assists in a game this year, the Mustangs (5-17, 3-13) managed only four helpers in the contest.

The Hounds used a pair of 9-0 runs to open a 23-9 advantage late in the opening canto, and the margin was never again under double digits after that. Their biggest lead was 80-46 before MSU scored the game's final nine points over the last two-plus minutes.

Five players made at least two 3-pointers for ENMU. Even with their leading scorer back, De los Reyes said it's hard to know who might have a big game for the Hounds.

"I think that makes us harder to guard," she said.

Junior guard Ashley Shipley added four 3s and 18 points, including 10 in the opening five minutes, while freshman forward Julieta Ceja finished with 10 points. The Hounds limited Midwestern to 36 percent field goal shooting and held freshman forward Dyamon Griggs, who went 9-for-10 from the floor and finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds in the earlier matchup, to five points and six caroms in this one.

"I felt like they kind of stole the last game from us, but tonight I think we showed we're the better team," De los Reyes said. "Everybody was ready to fill their role."

Junior guard Natalie Stice, who transferred to Midwestern State after playing three seasons at ENMU, posted 11 points to share Mustangs scoring honors with senior guard Markayla Johnson.

The win keeps the Hounds in the thick of the chase for one of eight berths in the Lone Star Conference tournament in early March. ENMU hosted Cameron, a team it defeated on the road earlier, on Saturday before finishing the homestand this week against LSC contenders West Texas A&M and Lubbock Christian.

For the Mustangs, it was their sixth loss in the last seven trips to Greyhound Arena, and also matched their most lopsided setback of the season.

 
 
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