PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico women's basketball team will face some stiff competition this weekend as it takes the hardwood against #1 Lubbock Christian followed by Angelo State.
 
The game against Lubbock Christian is scheduled for Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and will serve as the First Responder/Military Appreciation Night game presented by NMDOT. Military personnel and first responders with valid I.D. along with their dependents will be granted free admission to both the men's and women's games.
 
The Hounds will wrap-up the homestand on Saturday against Angelo State at 2 p.m. Fans are encouraged to come out and show their support by dawning their ENMU green as Saturday will be Eastern's annual Green Out Game sponsored by Combs Properties. Also, the Hounds will be announcing the recent hiring of new Athletic Director Matt Billings during halftime.
 
LAST WEEK
 
Eastern tipped off last week with a 61-46 victory over Western New Mexico before falling 71-63 to UT Permian Basin in the second leg of their road trip.
 
The Hounds were able to muster enough second half offense to counteract their shooting woes in the first against Western in a game where points were hard to come by. Senior Jasmine Williams recorded her third double-double of the year with a ten point and 15 rebound performance while fellow post player Natalie DeLonge led the Hounds with 13 points while adding eight boards and a pair of blocks. The Mustangs came into the game shooting 31.1 percent from beyond the arch however, Eastern was fantastic at closing out on opposing shooters and held the opposition to a 16.7 percent shooting clip from three-point range. The Green and Silver outrebounded WNMU 43-30 and were especially impressive on the attacking end of the floor as the Hounds hauled in 22 offensive rebounds and recorded 18 second chance points. Sophomore Zamorye Cox showed the league while she is one of the best perimeter defenders in the Lone Star Conference and finished with a game-high six steals to go along with her nine points. Post player Kamirah Decker continues to be effective with limited touches and scored ten points, shooting four for five from the field.
 
The game against UT Permian Basin was another extremely competitive ball game which came down to the wire. Williams impressed yet again, finishing with a career-high 23 points and 12 rebounds. DeLonge added 11 points and eight boards while Cox filled up the box score with seven points, six rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. Both teams played outstanding defense with the difference being the Falcons ability to connect from beyond the arch. The Hounds went 4-for-23 from three-point range while UTPB went 11-for-27 from deep for a 40.7 percent shooting clip. The Hounds lead for the majority of the game and were up 60-58 with 4:15 left in the game but, the Falcons refused to give up and finished strong down the stretch.
 
SCOUTING THE CHAPPARRALS
 
Lubbock Christian defeated Angelo State 69-52 last weekend for its 14th win of the season and have been victorious in its last 25 games dating back to last year which ended in the Chaparrals being crowned the NCAA Division II National Champions.

 The Lady Chaps own a 16.9 scoring margin, averaging 72.4 points per contest while limiting their opponents to 55.6. LCU is shooting 45.8 percent from the field and are especially effective from the charity stripe, posting a 78.1 clip from the free-throw line. Lubbock Christian is an extremely unselfish squad and lead the league with 16.3 assists per contest. Defensively, the Chaparrals are big and explosive and have used that to their advantage, averaging an LSC-high 5.93 blocks per game.
 
LCU boasts three players who are averaging double-digit scoring figures highlighted by senior forward Maddi Chitsey. Chitsey leads the team with 14.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while posing as an absolute nightmare for opposing shooters, totaling 36 blocks on the year. Junior guards Allie Schulte and Ashton Duncan make up the formidable backcourt for the Chaps who average 12.5 and 11.1 points per game respectively. Schulte has recorded a team-high 28 steals while Duncan has established herself as one of the most effective three-point shooters in the league with a 42 percent clip from beyond the arch.
 
Senior guard Caitlyn Cunyus serves as the best Chaparral playmaker and has been dishing out 3.1 assists per game. Cunyus has also shown an aptitude to take care of the basketball and owns the third-highest assist/turnover ratio in the LSC at 1.6.
 
SCOUTING THE RAMBELLES
 
Angelo State only played one game last week, falling to Lubbock Christian 69-52. The Rambelles own a 2-3 record when traveling and playing outside their home arena.
 
Angelo State leads the conference with 75 points per game but allows a whopping 67.4 points to their opponents, the seventh-highest mark in the conference. The Rambelles are connecting on 39.2 percent of their field goal attempts but have struggled so far shooting the three and own the fourth-lowest shooting percentage from beyond the arch (28.3%).
 
Angelo State has shown they can score in bunches and boast a well-balanced offense. Senior forward De'Anira Moore is the go-to scoring option for the Rambelles and leads the team in both scoring (17.5) and rebounding (8.0) averages. Moore is also the teams most capable shot blocker with 24 total blocks.
 
Guards Catara Samuel and Sawyer Lloyd are both fantastic all-around players, each averaging double-digit scoring figures and totaling at least 65 rebounds, 30 assists and 20 steals, forming one of the best backcourts in the Lone Star. Senior Asia Davis leads the squad, averaging 29.7 minutes per game but has only appeared in nine games this season as she has been battling with injuries.
 
Head Coach Nate Harris is entering his second year at the helm of the Angelo State women's basketball program after leading the Rambelles to a 26-6 record and a berth in the NCAA DII South Central Regional Championship. Harris began his time at Angelo State after spending four years at Montana State.
 
A DEFENSIVE FORCE
 
The High Plains squad has relied on its aggressive defense to keep them in games all season long and ranks in the top five in a handful of key defensive categories. Eastern surrenders just 59.4 points per game while averaging 67.9 points on offense for the fifth-best scoring margin in the LSC (8.5). Opponents have struggled shooting the basketball against Eastern's defense as the Hounds rank fourth in both defensive field goal percentage (36.8%) and defensive three-point percentage (27.8%). The Hounds are also an extremely capable rebounding team and have used their size and athleticism to limit second chances. Eastern averages a LSC-high 44.1 rebounds per game and owns the third-best rebounding margin at 9.1.
 
Point guard Zamorye Cox has continued to be a defensive threat along the perimeter and ranks second in the LSC with an average of 2.8 steals per contest and has swiped a total of 39 on the year. Cox was responsible for eight steals in the two games last week alone. 
 
CLOSING TIME
 
The Greyhounds have gotten off to several slow starts in the early portion of the season, but have shown a knack to finish halves strong in the second and fourth quarters. The Hounds have played their best basketball in the second quarter, scoring 283 points while allowing 229 when closing out the first half. During crunch time Eastern is just as effective, scoring 238 points and surrendering 186 in the final ten minutes of play. In total, the Green and Silver have outscored their opponents by 106 points in the second and fourth quarters combined through the first 14 games of the season.
 
I'LL TAKE A DOUBLE-DOUBLE
 
Junior Alivia Lewis leads the team averaging a career-best 12.3 points and is tied for third in the conference with 8.5 rebounds. Lewis is a double-double machine and has already recorded four this season, tied for the best mark in the league. Lewis's best game so far came on the road against Fort Lewis on Nov. 9, 2019 when she scored a career-high 20 points to go along with 12 rebounds and three blocks.
 
Fellow post player Jasmine Williams recorded her third and fourth double-double of the season last week and is now tied with Lewis and four other LSC players for the most in the league. The South Carolina State transfer turned in dominant performances against WNMU and UTPB, averaging 16.5 points and 13.5 rebounds in her last two games. Williams corrals 8.3 rebounds per game on the year, good enough for the fifth-best mark in the conference.
 
REGIONAL POWERHOUSE
 
The Hounds now own a 10-4 overall record (4-4 LSC) and have been ranked in all eight additions of the D2SIDA South Central Regional Poll. The Hounds currently sit at no. 8 in the rankings and can climb both the conference and regional standings if they can secure some victories this weekend. The Greyhounds host the No. 1 ranked team in the nation in Lubbock Christian on Thursday followed by the No. 6 team in the South Central Region, Angelo State that Saturday.
 
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
 
The Hounds have played just four games inside Greyhound Arena this season and have posted a 3-1 record in those games. Eastern began its home schedule with a blowout win over Northern New Mexico followed by impressive wins over UAFS and Oklahoma Christian. The one loss they have suffered in that building came against a nationally ranked West Texas A&M squad in a game that wasn't decided until the final minute. In the last two seasons, the Hounds are 15-2 when playing in front of the Greyhound faithful.