TWU edges ENMU women 64-62

PORTALES – Eastern New Mexico University's women found themselves fighting from behind virtually all afternoon on Saturday.

In the end, 23rd-ranked Texas Woman's was able to make a couple more plays than the Greyhounds.

Six-foot-2 sophomore forward Ashley Ingram nailed two free throws with five seconds left and the Pioneers survived a last-second ENMU bid for a tying basket to escape with a 64-62 Lone Star Conference victory at Greyhound Arena.

Senior guard Sadie Moyer had four 3-pointers en route to a personal-best 24 points – double her average – for TWU (8-1, 3-0), which was picked for third place overall in the league's preseason poll.

The Pioneers led most of the way. ENMU (5-4, 2-2) never gained more than a one-point advantage.

"Both teams played hard," 16th-year TWU coach Beth Jillson said. "I like the plays we made down the stretch to get a win (in) a tough place to play.

"Sadie Moyer stepped up and hit some big 3s, and she always draws the toughest defensive assignment."

Senior forward Laz Saunders led three ENMU players in double figures with a season-best 16 points while also grabbing a team-high eight rebounds. Junior guard/forward Deja Adrian added 13 points while junior guard Ashley Shipley scored 10.

After sweeping a two-game road trip to begin LSC plays, the Hounds suffered a couple of tough losses to good teams over the weekend.

"Whenever you have a one-possession game, it's easy to look back at a lot of plays," ENMU women's coach Meghan De los Reyes said. "The second half we brought back more energy, but we've always come back when we have a deficit."

Texas Woman's grabbed early control, breaking away from a 5-5 tie to lead 18-10 at the quarter. The Pioneers extended their advantage to 11 points in the second stanza, but ENMU closed to 30-24 at halftime, and got within 35-34 on an Adrian layup midway through the third.

TWU opened a six-point margin early in the fourth frame, but ENMU chipped away and finally edged in front twice.

Adrian's driving layup tied it with eight seconds left. After advancing the ball to midcourt with a timeout, Ingram was fouled with five seconds to go and made both shots.

ENMU also used a timeout to advance it. The Pioneers knocked the ball over the baseline with three seconds left before Adrian drove to the lane against Moyers and saw her shot rim out as time expired.

"I think they're a really gritty team," Jillson said of the Hounds. "They weren't going away, especially playing on their home court."

Ingram finished with 15 points for TWU, while Huffman had her first college double-double with 10 points and 11 boards.

"We did a decent job on Ingram," De los Reyes said. "She was the (LSC) preseason player of the year."

ENMU will take a short holiday break, returning to action against Texas-Permian Basin on Dec. 30 and against Angelo State on New Year's Day at Greyhound Arena.