Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
LUBBOCK — It didn’t take Lubbock Christian long on Saturday to put the kibosh on any hopes of a second upset for Eastern New Mexico University’s women.
The Lady Chaps, defending NCAA Division II champions, had a 25-game winning streak dating to last season snapped in a 69-68 overtime loss at Greyhound Arena on Jan. 16. This time, though, they scored the game’s first seven points and led by as much as 30 in a 77-53 Lone Star Conference victory over the Greyhounds.
Junior forward Emma Middleton poured in 26 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free throw line for LCU (19-3, 13-3 LSC), now ranked 22nd in Division II after coming into the earlier matchup at No. 2. Junior guard Allie Schulte added 10 points for the Lady Chaps, who snapped the Hounds’ five-game winning streak.
Meantime, ENMU (16-6, 10-6), coming off a 24-point win at Angelo State on Thursday, shot just 30 percent from the floor and put only freshman guard Natalie Stice into double figures with 10 points.
The Hounds got as close as 14-12 early in the second quarter on a 3-point play by sophomore post Alivia Lewis, and put together an 8-0 run featuring two 3-pointers by junior guard Laura Rowe to close to 29-24 with just over three minutes left in the half. But LCU scored the final eight points of the stanza, then extended the run to 18-0 to begin the third period for a 47-24 lead with 6:17 left in the quarter.
LCU shot 54 percent from the floor, including 9-of-20 from 3-point distance. Senior guard Caitlyn Cunyus had eight of the team’s 21 assists.
Lubbock Christian 86, ENMU men 65 — Junior guard Lloyd Daniels scored 23 points, leading five players in double figures for the Chaparrals (14-7, 11-5).
Except for an early 3-3 tie, LCU led wire to wire in beating the Hounds for the second time this season. The Chaps won at Portales 62-60 on Jan. 16.
Freshman guard-forward Ty Caswell added 18 points and eight rebounds for the Chaps, while junior forward Parker Hicks and sophomore guard Cameron Copley scored 12 points apiece. Meantime, reserve freshman guard Aamer Mohammad finished with 11 points.
For ENMU (6-15, 6-10), which lost for the seventh time in eight games, junior guard Jose Serrano scored 19 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, while junior guard Isaiah Murphy finished with 4-for-4 shooting from 3-point range and 16 points in just 14 minutes and sophomore guard Devin Pullum added 10 points.
Trailing 46-29 at halftime, the Hounds tried to chip away during the second half. They got as close as 65-57 with about six minutes left, but an 11-0 run helped the Chaps pull away.
ENMU 84, Angelo State 60 (Thursday, women) — Senior post Natalie DeLonge scored a personal-best 21 points and senior post Jasmine Williams collected her seventh double-double of the season with 12 points and 16 rebounds as the Hounds dominated the Rambelles from start to finish.
It was ENMU’s largest road margin of victory all-time over ASU — eclipsing a 22-point win at Angelo in December 1996. It was also the largest margin of defeat this season for the Rambelles (12-7, 9-6), who now have three setbacks by 20 or more points.
ENMU, which avenged a 70-60 loss to Angelo at Greyhound Arena on Jan. 18, cruised into halftime with a 44-30 margin and never let the lead slip under double digits the rest of the way. Twelve of 15 Hounds who saw action contributed to the scoring column.
ENMU won the game inside, outrebounded Angelo 51-34 and outscoring the Rambelles in the paint 56-18. The Hounds had just two 3-pointers in the game, but shot 51 percent overall (38-of-74) while holding ASU to 29 percent (18-of-63).
Sophomore guard Zamorye Cox added 13 points and seven assists for the Hounds. Junior guard Lana Marov had 14 points for the Rambelles, while junior guard Megan Guadian added 10 points off the bench.
Angelo State 80, ENMU 77 (Thursday, men) — Senior forward Andres Ibarguen scored an efficient 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and the Rams prevailed late in a seesaw matchup to deal ENMU (6-14, 6-9) its ninth loss of the season by six points or less.
The lead changed hands 11 times and there were seven ties in the contest. The Rams (15-4, 11-4) took the lead for good at 74-73 on a fast break layup by senior guard Collin Turner with 2:10 left in the game.
Ibarguen shot 5-for-6 from the field and 6-of-8 from the foul line for ASU. Senior guard Camron Reedus scored 15 points off the bench for the Rams, while senior guard-forward Ronald Bell added 14 points and junior guard Paul Williams 13, the latter also off the pines.
For the Hounds, Pullum scored 14 points, junior guard Brandon Meadows added 12 points off the bench, and junior forward Yosnier Cobas had 10. The Rams forced ENMU into 24 turnovers, turning them into 31 points.
