Friday, March 10, 2017
PUEBLO, COLO. — Friday afternoon, the Eastern New Mexico University women's basketball team (20-9) closed its historic 2016-17 season at the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament, at Colorado State Pueblo's Massari Arena. After a strong first half, which saw five lead changes, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (24-8) pulled away to hand the Greyhounds an 89-73 loss.
"I'm really proud of our kids," said Head Coach
Josh Prock. "It was a really tough way to ends it, but we had our most wins since 1992 and the conference championship. There were only 64 teams left and only one goes home a winner."
The loss ended the third 20-win season in program history, which also saw the team win a team-record 16 Lone Star Conference games. The contest also marked the first time the Hounds played beyond the conference tournament.
When asked about how difficult it is to shoot in Massari Arena, "It wasn't that hard, and I'm not a shooter," sophomore point guard Dasia Johnson said. Johnson shot six-for-16 and poured in a career-high 18 points.
The Mountain Lions took an 11-6 lead with 3:50 left in the opening quarter, but the Hounds capped an 8-4 run with four straight points from Jasmine Hotchkins to seize a 14-13 lead with 38 seconds left in the period. With six seconds left in the period, the Hounds took their final lead, 16-15, on a Hotchkins jumper.
In the second quarter, UCCS led by as many as seven points, but wasn't able to pull away. Daeshi McCants paced Eastern in the first half with seven points, while Brittney Hernandez led the Mountain Lions with 14 points. ENMU trailed 38-34 at halftime.
UCCS' Kelly O'Flannigan and McCants traded three-point baskets to open the second half, but the Mountain Lions exploded on a 20-2 run over the ensuing 4:52 of play to seize a 61-39 advantage. The Greyhounds managed to outscore University of Colorado-Colorado Springs 89-73 in the final quarter.
"Going into next year we pretty much have everyone coming back," McCants said. "We need to learn from our mistakes."
"This team has had pride all year long," Prock added. "They just keep fighting and I'm very proud of them."