ENMU women clip St. Ed's

PORTALES - Eastern New Mexico University's women weren't exactly clicking on all cylinders on Saturday. Fortunately, their opponents were having even more issues.

It's not often you can shoot under 30 percent and win, but the Greyhounds managed to do it in a 62-54 Lone Star Conference victory over St. Edward's at Greyhound Arena.

ENMU (7-6, 3-4 LSC) shot just 19-of-70 (27 percent) from the field, including 1-of-12 from 3-point range. But the Hilltoppers couldn't take advantage, going 16-of-55 (29 percent).

The Hilltoppers (9-9, 2-5 LSC) went just 5-for-23 from the floor in the opening half in falling behind 27-16. They picked it up a bit from there, but in the end it was too little, too late.

It completed a weekend sweep for the Hounds (7-6, 3-4), moving them back more in the middle of the LSC pack as they prepare for road games on Thursday at Texas-Permian Basin and on Saturday at Angelo State.

"Both UTPB and Angelo State are good teams," first-year Hounds coach Meghan De los Reyes said. "But we're going to take this momentum on the road with us."

All nine players in uniform got at least three field goal attempts for ENMU, but the only one to finish above 40 percent was sophomore guard Natalie Stice (7-for-17), who posted her second double-double of the season with a season-high-tying 21 points and a personal-best 12 rebounds.

She said the two wins were confidence-boosters.

"We're definitely in the top five or six (in the 17-team LSC) when we're playing our game," Stice said. "I think this was one of my better games as far as driving and getting to the basket.

"We got off to kind of a tough start, but we're getting better with every game, every practice."

The Hounds broke away from a 2-2 tie with a 9-1 run and never trailed. They scored four points in the final minute of the period for a 15-6 advantage, and built that to 14 points before going in at halftime with a 27-16 cushion.

St. Ed's began to make a move early in the third period, and pulled to 31-29 on a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Matilda Soric near the halfway point of the stanza.

That was as close as it got. Stice delivered a basket and two free throws, then added a free throw and a 3-point play as the Hounds led 45-35 at quarter's end.

From there, they never let the Hilltoppers get any closer than the final margin.

"We knew we could push the ball against them and get to the basket," Stice said. "We just wanted to get good (scoring) opportunities."

Both teams struggled from the foul line in the first half, going a combined 12-of-23, but they shot over 90 percent (28-of-31) the rest of the way, including 16-of-19 for ENMU.

Junior post Kamirah Decker added 10 points off the bench. ENMU dominated the boards 55-43, a season high for the team in rebounds.

"Natalie did a great job for us," De Los Reyes said. "She's as athletic as any girl on the court."

Sophomore guard Lauren Catherman was St. Ed's lone double-figure scorer, finishing with 16 points.