The Eastern New Mexico women’s basketball team will look to continue its recent success as they travel to Northern New Mexico on Wednesday for a showdown with the Eagles. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. inside Eagle Memorial Sportsplex.

LAST WEEK

The Hounds tipped off the 2019-20 season with an undefeated weekend at the LSC/RMAC Conference Challenge over the weekend with victories over New Mexico Highlands and Fort Lewis, out-scoring their opponents by an average of nine points.

Eastern scored its first bucket 12 second into the game against New Mexico Highlands and led for the remainder of the game, posting a 78-66 win in its season opener. The Hounds converted on 50 percent of their field goal attempts (28-56) and shot a stellar 45 percent (9-10) from three-point range. Five different Greyhounds recorded double-digit scoring figures with senior Natalie DeLonge leading the way with 16 points in her Greyhound debut. The Hounds dominated the glass throughout the game, out-rebounding the Cowgirls 47-25. DeLonge went 6-of-9 from the field to lead a balanced offensive attack for the Hounds as sophomore Zamorye Cox started off her 2019-20 campaign bettering her scoring average from last season with 11 points. The Portales native led the squad with seven assists and chipped in five rebounds to help get the Hounds started in the right direction. Freshman Taylor Hall impressed in her Greyhound debut, totaling 11 points as well and matched Cox with a team-high three makes from beyond the three-point arc. Guard Jena Mehlbrech and forward Alivia Lewis served as the final two scorers in double digits with 10 points apiece.

The Green and Silver were able to close out a tightly contested ball game against tournament host Fort Lewis Saturday afternoon with a 69-62 final. The Hounds have yet to trail so far this season and jumped out to a 7-0 lead to begin the game capped off by a three-pointer from junior Anasha Hurst. Junior Alivia Lewis finished with her first double-double of the season, tallying a game-high 20 points and 12 rebounds. Lewis shot 7-for-12 from the field, converting on 58 percent of her attempts and also led all competitors with three blocks. Senior Natalie DeLonge recorded 14 points and 7 rebounds while Sophomore Zamorye Cox totaled 12 points of her own to go along with her team-high five assists.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES

Since capturing a season opening victory, the Northern New Mexico Eagles have dropped their last six consecutive games after falling to Texas A&M International 97-66 Monday night. Since joining the NAIA in 2015, the Eagles have never posted a winning season, with their best campaign coming in their second inaugural season with a 13-17 overall record.

The Eagles are under the leadership of first-year Head Coach Mario Caetano who was named as the Interim Head Coach in December of 2018, finishing the last eight games for the Lady Eagles before dropping the Interim title this season. Caetano he served as the Men’s Associate Head Coach for 5 seasons, 2012-2017. During his tenure with the Eagles, he helped NNMC to their first ever Aii Conference Championship and NAIA National Tournament appearance (2014-2015).

NMMC’s offense is led by juniors Haley Eaves and Zhane Lewis. Eaves has been lighting it up from beyond the arch, shooting .295 percent from deep while averaging a team high 12.1 points per game. Lewis is a dominant force on the low block and his averaging ten points and 3.6 boards per contest.

Freshman guard Ahmaya Smith is establishing herself as an all-around player at the collegiate level and leads the squad in assists and steals through the first seven games of the season. The Las Vegas native is averaging 6.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

Despite only scoring five field goals in the early part of the season, freshman Telyssa Samuel is averaging 8.3 points per game and has consistently gotten herself to the free-throw line. Samuel leads the team in free-throws made and free-throw percentage, knocking down 15 of her 17 attempts for an impressive .882 percentage.

SAME HOUNDS, NEW LOOK

The Greyhounds return 11 players from last year’s team including three starters while Coach Prock adds seven new players to the 2019-20 roster. With four transfers and three true freshman joining the team, the Greyhounds strengthen their lineup and bolster their depth coming off the bench.

Highlighting the incoming recruiting class are transfers Anasha Hurst and Natalie DeLonge. A 5-8 guard from St. Louis, Mo, Hurst joins the Green and Silver after spending the last two seasons at Kirkwood Community College. Hurst averaged 8.7 points, 2.7 assists and two steals per game as a sophomore and was named First Team All-Region and also led her squad to a NJCAA National Championship game. A 6-4 post player from Klamath Falls, Ore., Delonge joins the Hounds after spending the last three years at Western Oregon University. Delonge was named Second Team All-GNAC and earned Academic All-GNAC honors last season as a junior. In her final season with the Wolves, Delonge led the team with 15.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game which ranked fourth and seventh respectively, throughout the conference. She averaged one block per contest which was tied for the seventh-highest mark in the GNAC.

SCHEDULE OUTLOOK

The Greyhounds conference opener is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 23 against rival West Texas A&M at 1 p.m. inside First United Bank Center. The Green and Silver return to Canyon, Texas the following week as they compete in the WT Pak-A-Sak Thanksgiving Classic, taking on Adams State Friday, Nov. 29 and CSU-Pueblo on Saturday, Nov. 30.

ENMU fans can get their first look at the team on Thursday, Dec. 5 when the Greyhounds host Northern New Mexico, at 11 a.m. in the home opener. Children from several local schools will be an attendance as the game will also be the program’s sixth annual Youth Day Game.

NEW LOOK LSC

The Lone Star Conference will expand from 11 teams to 18 schools with Lubbock Christian, St. Edward’s St. Mary’s, Texas A&M International, Oklahoma Christian, University of Arkansas-Fort Smith and UT Tyler joining the mix. The LSC will be divided into three divisions and will play 22 conference games with division foes playing home-and-away against each other and once versus the rest of the conference. The top four schools from each division will move on to the postseason tournament with the opening round being held on campus of the higher seed before the final eight teams battle it out at Comerica Center in Frisco Texas. The Hounds division will include Angelo State, Lubbock Christian, UT Permian Basin, West Texas A&M and Western New Mexico.

HOUNDS ON THE ROAD

Last season the Green and Silver posted a 5-8 mark when playing outside of Greyhound Arena, stumbling a bit in road contests towards the end of the season going 1-4 in their last five away games.

CONFERENCE LEADERS

Through two games, the Hounds have established themselves as one of the most efficient teams in the Lone Star when it comes to offensive and defensive shooting percentage. Offensively, Eastern ranks second with a .460 team shooting percentage while limiting its opponents to a .321 shooting percentage, the third-lowest mark in the league.

The Hounds also boast some of the best individual players in the conference with Lewis and DeLonge tied for ninth in scoring average (15/g) while Lewis ranks third with ten boards per game. Cox has also got off to a hot start as she leads the LSC with six assists per game from the point guard position.