ENMU women breeze by Javelinas

PORTALES — When your opponent is coming onto your court with a 5-39 record over two seasons, a 25-game conference losing streak and a 14-point loss when they hosted you, there aren’t many ways you imagine them beating you.

But you can never be too sure when a Lone Star Conference tournament seed is still up for grabs.

link Staff photo: Kevin Wilson

Eastern New Mexico University forward Kassandra Harris scores on a second-quarter layup for two of her game-high 20 points in the Hounds’ 67-42 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Eastern New Mexico University withstood a sloppy first quarter, and left little doubt after that, posting a 67-42 win to keep Texas A&M-Kingsville in the LSC cellar Wednesday at Greyhound Arena.

Kassandra Harris scored 20 points off the bench to lead the Greyhounds (8-11, 3-6), who currently hold the eighth and final spot for March’s LSC tournament in Allen, Texas. With any combination of four wins and Javelina losses, the Greyhounds will at worst lock up the eighth seed.

“All week long, I was telling the kids, ‘Don’t get complacent,’” ENMU coach Josh Prock said. “If you do, it can become that trap game.”

The Greyhounds did waste an early 7-0 lead, but left little doubt after closing the second quarter with a 17-3 run. The lead never dipped below double digits in the second half, and rarely went below 20 in the fourth quarter.

“After we shook off the rust in the first (19-19), we held them to 23 points the rest of the way,” Prock said. “That’s phenomenal defense.”

Senior guard Sarah Stinnett, who scored 10 of her 12 in the first half to go with four steals and three assists for the night, felt the defensive effort was great from all aspects.

“They all did great,” Stinnett said, when asked about the interior defenders who combined for nine blocks. “If we can funnel teams down into there, we’re usually in good shape.”

The Javelinas (5-14, 0-9), coming off the third winless season in LSC women’s history last year, had no double-figure scorers and were led by TaSheena Moore’s eight points. In all, Kingsville’s starting backcourt of Moore, Kaylin Roher and Jamesha Wade combined for 15 points on 5-of-29 shooting and 2-of-13 from 3-point range.

The Greyhounds resume LSC play Saturday at Angelo State, which upset West Texas A&M in triple-overtime Wednesday.