ENMU women ready to go

PORTALES - Meghan De los Reyes has had quite a journey in her college coaching career.

A native of Massachusetts, she's been an assistant coach at Alaska-Anchorage, Southern Oregon and, most recently, Chico State in California.

Now she assumes her first head coaching role, leading the Eastern New Mexico University women's program as the Greyhounds try to bounce back from a year of inactivity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ENMU played three preseason exhibitions, and will open the regular campaign against Fort Lewis on Friday and New Mexico Highlands on Saturday in the LSC/RMAC Conference Challenge in Silver City.

After losing 84-25 at defending NCAA Division I national runnerup Arizona on Oct. 28, the team looked pretty good in matchups at New Mexico and against Northern New Mexico at Greyhound Arena. But it's still a work in progress.

"We're still working out all our rotations," De los Reyes said after Saturday's 78-45 blitzing of NNMC. "It's always going to be about us and playing our game, and bringing the energy we're capable of."

The Greyhounds return several players from their 2019-20 squad under Clovis native Josh Prock, who has moved on to take over the West Texas A&M program. Those players are looking to mesh with several newcomers brought in by De los Reyes.

Among them are D-I transfers MeMe Amand (Louisiana Tech), a 6-foot-3 senior post, and Iyanna McCurdy (Southeast Missouri State), a 5-foot-9 senior guard.

Amand led the Hounds with 16 points, shooting 8-for-10 from the floor, and eight rebounds in Saturday's win.

"We're trying to get our (team) chemistry together," said Amand, who averaged 5.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in 26 games at Louisiana Tech. "When we fall short, we have people on our bench to pick us up."

Although she's from Dallas, Amand said she's having no trouble adjusting to small-town life in Portales.

"My (junior college) was in Hillsboro, Texas (Hill College), so I love this," she said.

De los Reyes said McCurdy, who had 14 points in an 88-72 loss at UNM, will also be a major contributor.

"I can't speak highly enough about Iyanna," De los Reyes said. "She's been a great leader for us."

Returnees from the Prock era include senior guards Anasha Hurst and Laura Rowe, sophomore guards Natalie Stice, Julia Chavez and Asha Ross, and junior post Kamirah Decker. Ross has been in the program for two years, but hasn't played before this season.

ENMU lost its top four scorers from a team which went 19-8 two years ago. Stice tops the returnees at 7.3 ppg, followed by Decker (4.5).

Among the newcomers looking for playing time are Clovis freshman forward Hanna Nussbaumer, sophomore forward Stacy Ajobiewe, freshman guard Bella Stone and junior post Alexis Johnson.

Picked for 13th in the 17-team Lone Star Conference in preseason, the Hounds will begin to find out quickly just where they stand.

"I have to continue to talk to my teammates (on the court)," Amand said. "I want them to know I have their back every single day. We have each other's back, and I think that will pay off in the long run."

De los Reyes knows the conference slate will be a tough test for her squad.

"I just think it's one of the strongest, if not the strongest, Division II women's basketball conferences in the country," she said. "We're so looking forward to the challenge."

She's ready to take on the head coaching role.

"I just have a phenomenal group," De los Reyes said. "I couldn't be more appreciative of a group, and that's made the transition (from assistant) so much easier.

"I know what we're capable of. I've seen what we can do when we compete. We're just trying to get the best out of ourselves every day."