Saturday, November 22, 2014
                                                                                                         
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Junior guard Jaylyn Cooper (Texico, N.M./Texico HS) hit a three-point bucket, 41 seconds into Saturday's game against Western New Mexico University (1-1) and the Eastern New Mexico University women's basketball team never trailed, en-route to a 77-61 win at The Pit. Senior forward Tori Tucker (Portales, N.M./Floyd HS/Howard College) poured in a season-high 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
 
The win snapped a 3-all tie in the series and gave the Zias their fourth win against the Mustangs in the last four meetings. Last year, WNMU earned a 68-65 win at Eastern, on a buzzer-beating three-point basket. The Zias last win over the Mustangs was an 87-52 road decision on November 22, 2005.
 
Jaylyn Cooper's trey staked ENMU to a 3-0 lead and allowed them to open on a 14-4 run over the first 6:37 of play. After the teams traded baskets, the Zias held a 20-9 lead on a Brittany Gutierrez (Jr., P, Gallup, N.M./Otero JC), but Western New Mexico exploded on a 13-4 run, capped by four straight points from Nalani Hernandez, to pull within 24-22, with 5:02 left in the half. The Mustangs managed to pull within two points on two more occasions before intermission, but were answered by a three-point bucket from Shayla Williams (Jr., PG, Oklahoma City, Okla./Butler CC) the first time and a Jaylin Cooper the final time, with 1:42 left in the half.
 
Eastern held a 29-27 lead when Jaylyn Cooper hit her shot with 1:42 left in the first half, and it ignited a stretch of nine straight Zia points, which included Tucker's short jumper to start off the second half. The run staked ENMU to a 38-27 lead, just 30 seconds into the second period. The Mustangs pulled within seven points on three occasions, the final coming on a Stephanie Moore layup, to make the score 63-56, with 2:35 left. Williams hit a pair of free throws with 1:09 left and Tucker drained all eight attempts from the charity stripe over the final 42 seconds to seal the game.
 
Eastern held a .466-.355 edge in shooting percentage and a .294-.125 lead from outside the three-point line. The Zias also held a 46-35 advantage on the boards. Sarah Stinnett (Jr., G, Fort Sumner, N.M./Howard College) scored nine points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out three assists, while Jaylyn Cooper finished with 14 points and seven boards. Williams added 10 points, six caroms and three assists, while Jasmine Johnson (Sr., P, DeSoto, Texas/DeSoto HS) chipped in six points and eight rebounds. Cassidy Doherty (Jr., PG, Folsom, N.M./Melrose HS) dished out four assists. Tucker's 12-for-13 performance at the free throw line marked career highs in both categories. RaTanya Newsome paced WNMU with 13 points and four assists, while Nalani Hernandez added 10 points, 10 rebounds and three steals.
 
The Eastern New Mexico University women's basketball team will return to action on Tuesday, when they host Fort Lewis College. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. MT.
 
Notes
 
The Zias led for all but the opening 41 seconds of the game
 
ENMU has led at halftime in all three games this season
 
The Zias set season highs for points (77), field goals (27), field goal percentage (.466), free throws (18), free throw attempts (21), free throw percentage (.857), assists (18), and blocked shots (2)
 
The Zias out rebounded the opposition for the second straight game
 
Tonight's win snapped a 14-game skid for the Zias
 
Tucker has been the top scorer in the last two meetings with WNMU, with 25 tonight and 19 last season
 
Eastern held the Mustangs' Stephanie Moore to eight points, after she scored a game-high 23 against them last season