Women's Basketball | 11/30/2016 1:13:00 PM

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

PORTALES, NM — After earning a split over the first four games of the 2016-17 season, the Eastern New Mexico University women's basketball team will open Lone Star Conference play on Thursday night. At 4:30 p.m., the Hounds will visit University of Texas of the Permian Basin, with a game against NCAA Division II powerhouse West Texas A&M, to follow on Saturday.

Last season, the Hounds posted five wins in Lone Star Conference play, with a number of tight games. Among the tightly contested contests were home games against LSC Champion West Texas A&M and LSC Tournament champion Angelo State. Eastern also had a second-half lead in the first round of the conference tournament against the Rambelles, before falling by nine points.

How to Follow the Games
The legendary "Voice of the Greyhounds" Dr. Don Elder will be on hand Thursday evening, to broadcast the contest at UTPB on KSEL AM 1450. On Saturday, Live statistics will also be available at GoBuffsGo.com, when the Hounds visit West Texas A&M.

About Eastern
ENMU Athletics
Greyhound Basketball
Greyhound Roster
Greyhound Schedule
Greyhound Statistics

Lone Star Conference
LSC Women's Basketball
LSC Women's Basketball Schedule
LSC Women's Basketball Statistics
LSC Women's Basketball Standings

After an extremely challenging non-conference schedule, the Greyhounds are set to open Lone Star Conference play. ENMU is coming off a dominant showing against New Mexico Highlands, which saw the team take a 22-7 lead after the first quarter of play. During that quarter, Eastern's defense allowed just a pair of field goals.

Kassandra Harris leads the Hounds with 12.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Johna McClelland is right behind with 10.5 points per game and a team-best .621 shooting percentage. Amari Dennis, Daeshi McCants, Jasmine Hotchkins, Michaela Connor, and Sarina Johnson all contribute at least five points per contest to round out an extremely balanced scoring attack. The Hounds also are outrebounding the opposition by a 44.5-39.2 margin.

Josh Prock is in his fourth season as head coach of the Greyhounds and has a 27-57 record at ENMU. He is currently tied with Bernie Barras for third in all-time wins at ENMU.

In the Series with University of Texas of the Permian Basin
Eastern is 1-1 against the Falcons with both contests being played in Lubbock, Texas. In November 2014, the Hounds dropped a nine-point decision, but avenged the loss with a four-point win just a year later.

About the Falcons
University of Texas of the Permian Basin
Falcon Athletics
Falcon Basketball
Falcon Roster
Falcon Schedule
Falcon Statistics

UTPB is 3-3 headed into Thursday's contest after a 69-62 win over Sul Ross State. Last season the Falcons posted a 6-23 record with a 2-16 mark in Heartland Conference play.
Jerome Willis is in his first season as head coach at UTPB.

In the Series with West Texas A&M
Eastern is 14-70 against West Texas A&M, and has defeated the Lady Buffs just once in Canyon. Eastern's last win over WT came on December 16, 2003, in Portales, by a 73-70 score. Eastern's last win road win in the series came by a 70-62 score on January 19, 1981.

About the Lady Buffs
West Texas A&M
Lady Buff Athletics
Lady Buff Basketball
Lady Buff Roster
Lady Buff Schedule
Lady Buff Statistics

WT ranks 18^th in the latest D2SIDA national poll and third in the South Central Region. The Lady Buffs enter the week with a 5-1 record, with the lone blemish coming by 10 points to second-ranked California Baptist. West Texas A&M will open a three-game home stand and LSC play on Thursday, against Western New Mexico University.

Last season, West Texas A&M finished 28-5 and won the LSC title with a record of 13-3. The Lady Buffs defeated Midwestern State and Tarleton State at the LSC Championships, before falling in double overtime to Angelo State in the championship game. They also defeated University of Colorado-Colorado Springs and Black Hills State in the NCAA Tournament, before falling to eventual National Champion Lubbock Christian.

Kristen Mattio is in her second season as head coach at WT and has a record of 33-6.

Up Next
The Eastern New Mexico University women's basketball team will return home on Thursday December 8, to open a two-game LSC home stand. Texas A&M-Commerce will be the first opponent, followed by Tarleton State.