Wednesday, January 07, 2015
                                                                                      
LAWTON, OKLA. — The Eastern New Mexico University women's basketball team (4-7; LSC 0-1) played on even terms with Cameron (4-6; LSC 1-0) throughout the first half of Wednesday's Lone Star Conference opener, but the Aggies opened the second half with a 12-4 run and pulled away to defeat the Zias, 76-56, at Aggie Gym. Senior forward Tori Tucker (Portales, N.M./Floyd HS/Howard College) poured in 12 points, to lead ENMU in scoring for the 18^th time in her career.
 
Brittany Gutierrez (Jr., P, Gallup, N.M./Otero JC) hit a layup 31 second in, to get Eastern on the board first, but the Aggie answered with a pair of Jazzmine Robinson free throws to tie the game. Gutierrez hit another layup, followed by a Tucker jumper to stake the Zias to a 6-2 lead, 2:35 into play. A 5-0 Cameron run capped by a Robinson trey gave the Aggies a 7-6 advantage, but Tucker followed with a three-point bucket of her own, to give the lead back to ENMU. A jumper from Shayla Williams (Jr., PG, Oklahoma City, Okla./Butler CC) gave Eastern its final lead of the game, 11-10. With 12:40 left in the first half. Eastern kept the score close for the remainder of the period, with Sarah Stinnett (Jr., G, Fort Sumner, N.M./Howard College) grabbing an offensive rebound and finding Gutierrez for a layup at the buzzer, to pull ENMU within 31-29 at intermission.
 
Jade Herl hit a free throw and a three-point basket to start the second half, as the Aggies opened the period with a 12-4 run, to seize a 43-33 advantage. A three-point play from Stinnett followed by a trey from Williams cut the deficit to four points, 43-39, but the Zias could come no closer as the Aggies immediately used a 16-3 run to pull away for the win.
 
Eastern connected on eight three-point baskets in the game and held the lead in that category for the ninth time in 11 contests. The Aggies converted on 20 of their 24 free throw attempts, while the Zias went four-for-five from the charity stripe. Stinnett and Williams each had 10 points, with Stinnett dishing out four assists. Robinson paced CU with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Markita Zeigler chipped in 10 points and 14 boards.
 
The Eastern New Mexico University women's basketball team will return to action on Sunday, when they host Midwestern State. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. MT.
 
Notes
 
The Zias have split their last four Lone Star Conference openers
 
The contest marked just the third time this season Eastern has suffered a loss by more than nine points
 
It also marked the fourth time ENMU has been outrebounded
 
Jasmine Johnson paced ENMU in rebounds for the 29^th time in her career