Injuries hampering ENMU women

PORTALES – Injuries are never timely, but they've come at a bad time for Eastern New Mexico University's women.

At the end of the day, that helped bite the Greyhounds in their bid to reach the Lone Star Conference postseason tournament.

Sophomore guard Bella Stone went down with a hip injury late in a loss to Lubbock Christian on Feb. 10. She returned on Monday night against Western New Mexico at Greyhound Arena, but the Hounds have been without starters Edecia Beck and Laz Saunders because of injuries for the past two contests.

They've dropped three in a row, including a 71-66 loss to WNMU, and have gone from having a tourney spot well in their sites to needing to win Thursday's finale at WNMU and a little help to make it.

The Hounds (12-14, 9-11 LSC) blitzed WNMU with 3-pointers on their first three possessions, two by junior guard Ashley Shipley, for a 9-0 lead, but the Mustangs caught up before the quarter was out and led much of the way.

"We started the game really well, but we didn't quite get it done at the defensive end," ENMU women's coach Meghan De los Reyes said. "We knew this was a team that liked to drive into the paint."

WNMU (9-16, 7-14), winning for only the second time in 13 road outings, dominated the second quarter 18-6 and rode that surge to victory.

"That's a good program," second-year Mustangs coach Josh Pace said. "We just wanted to come in and compete."

Western New Mexico had a 36-28 advantage in points in the paint and, with ENMU's bench limited, outscored the Hounds' non-starters 16-3.

Junior guard Sydney Wright led four WNMU players in double figures with 21 points. She also had four assists and three steals.

"(Sophomore) Diamond Moore and (junior) Eliza Joynes played good inside," Pace said. "They did a good job of rebounding and giving us a presence."

Junior forward Deja Adrian posted her seventh double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds, and added four assists. Shipley finished 7-of-9 from the floor and 4-of-5 from distance for 18 points.

"We did not guard the paint or rebound as well as we needed to in order to be successful tonight," De los Reyes said. "Ashley and Deja gave us significant production on the offensive end (and showed) they're two players who can score in bunches."

Four teams, including ENMU, started the week with 11 conference losses. The Hounds would still get into the tournament with a win on Thursday and losses this week by two of the other three teams.

Arkansas-Fort Smith 75, ENMU 62 (Saturday) – A 19-2 run gave the Hounds early command, but after going 10-for-16 from the floor in the opening stanza they were just 9-of-42 the rest of the way, including 0-for-18 from beyond the arc.

Fort Smith (10-17, 8-13), which posted its third win in a row, closed a 25-13 first-quarter deficit to two points at halftime, then went on a 13-3 surge to end the third stanza and open a 55-45 advantage. ENMU didn't convert from the field for 5 ½ minutes to start the final canto, but still was within nine until the Lions converted seven free throws in a row over the final 42 seconds.

Sophomore guard Riley Hayes led the way for UAFS with 20 points, including 6-of-12 from deep, while senior guard Aaliyah Price chipped in 19. Shipley led the Hounds with a season-best 22 points, Adrian had 13 and freshman guard Marley Freeman came off the bench for her first double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.