ENMU women hope third time no different

PORTALES — A year ago, Eastern New Mexico University won 20 games and a share of the Lone Star Conference's regular season title. This year, things haven't quite gone as well as some had had hoped, coming into the season, as a slow start to the 2017-18 campaign made it difficult for ENMU to repeat last season's success.

However, the Hounds have only gotten better as the season has worn on, winning 13 of their last 19 ballgames, following a rough 3-5 start. Eastern (16-11, 12-8 LSC) heads into today's Lone Star Conference Women's Basketball Tournament in Frisco, Texas as the fourth-seeded team.

The Hounds will face fifth-seeded Tarleton State (18-10, 12-8) in today's 5 p.m. MST quarterfinal. Other quarterfinal action today includes No. 1 Angelo State vs. No. 8 Texas Woman's, No. 2 West Texas A &M vs. No. 7 Midwestern State, and No. 3 Texas A & M-Commerce vs. No. 6 Cameron.

ENMU beat TSU in overtime, 79-72, back on Dec. 9, to begin the Greyhounds' current 13-6 stretch. More recently, Eastern took down Tarleton at Greyhound Arena, 64-59, on Feb. 1, in a game in which the Hounds never trailed.

"It won't be easy playing them for a third time," Greyhounds coach Josh Prock said of today's matchup. "They're a tough, well-coached team. We're gonna have to adjust on the fly. They're a very hungry team."

Prock expects his team to see a lot of the same stuff that TSU threw at them in the previous two meetings, including a lot of 2-3 zone. He then went on to say that Eastern's, "not going to reinvent the wheel" for this matchup.

TSU has three players in the LSC's top 10 in scoring, as Mackenzie Hailey, Katie Webster and McKinley Bostad average over 40 of the TexAnns' 66.8 points per game. In fact, the trio has combined for 48 points in each of the two matchups against Eastern, but the rest of the TexAnns have just 35 combined points in those two contests.

"It is tough (playing a team for a third time)," Prock explained. "Because, you know each other so well. At the same time, this is what you work for all year, is to get to the tournament."

As for the tournament itself, Prock expects his Hounds to play well and come out ready to play. Should ENMU advance past today's quarterfinal, they'll take on the Angelo State/Texas Woman's winner in a Saturday semifinal matchup at 1:30. The LSC title game, by the way, will be played on Sunday at noon, and will be aired on ESPN3.

Eastern is hitting its stride at the right time, as Prock has been impressed with his squad's turnaround. In fact, the Greyhounds did not win a single postseason game — LSC or NCAA Division II Tournament, a season ago, meaning that this year still has a chance to be as special as 2016-17, when the Greyhounds earned their first league title in 24 years.

"I just think this team's ability to come together, as the season goes on (has really stood to me)," Prock said. "They play really well together, and they keep getting better and better, defensively."