PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico women's basketball begins its season at the LSC/RMAC Conference Challenge this weekend in Silver City, N.M. hosted by Western New Mexico University. The Hounds start the weekend against Fort Lewis College on Friday evening, Nov. 12, with first tip at 5 p.m. The next day, ENMU will tangle with New Mexico Highlands University, Saturday, Nov. 13, with a 4 p.m. start time.

LAST SEASON (2019-20)

• Eastern's 2019-20 campaign saw the Hounds qualify for the NCAA Division II Tournament after finishing the season 22-9, while holding a conference record of 14-8.
• The 22 victories were the most wins in program history since 1992-93, when the Hounds went 23-5 and lifted the LSC Championship trophy.
• ENMU, in 2019-20, averaged 67.7 points, while collecting 44.9 boards a night, distributing 13.6 assists per game (apg), forcing 9.2 steals a game (spg), and posting 3.4 blocks per game (bpg).
• Natalie Stice and Kamirah Decker return to the team as key contributors the last Greyhound season. Stice posted 18.8 minutes per game (min/g), with 7.5 points per game (ppg) and 2.4 rebound per game (rpg). Decker provided 13.5 min/g, posting 4.6 ppg, along with 2.9 rpg.

 PRESEASON STORYLINES

• Eastern come into the season after missing the 2020-21 campaign due to COVID-19 restrictions.
• The LSC recently released the 2021-22 Preseason Poll. The Greyhounds were picked to finish 13th out of 17 teams.
• Meghan De los Reyes will begin their first season as the Greyhounds Head Women's Basketball Coach. De los Reyes became the ninth head coach in program history in July and comes to Portales after spending the last three seasons at California State University-Chico.
• Six new members have joined the team since the 2019-20 season and look to make an impact from the start.
• The Hounds will have 11 home games over the regular season, beginning on Dec. 2, against West Texas A&M University.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION 

Fort Lewis College
 
The Skyhawks had a shortened season in their last campaign, posting a 6-9 record in 15 conference contests. In that season, Fort Lewis was averaging 65.3 ppg, with 36.3 rpg. FLC posted 11.5 apg, 7.1 spg, and 2.1 bpg.
 
Redshirt Senior Sydney Candelaria comes back as the main contributor after averaging 8.3 ppg, with 2.7 apg in 25.7 min/g last season. Alyssa Adams also returns to the team with after averaging 20.6 min/g and posting 5.8 ppg with 3.9 rpg.
 
The Skyhawks were voted to finish 11^th in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Preseason Poll. Along with the many new members to the team, first-year head coach Taylor Harris joined the program in April and will guide Fort Lewis this season.
 
New Mexico Highlands University
 
The Cowgirls return to the floor after missing out on the 2020-21 season. In their last completed season, NMHU went 1-26 overall, with a conference standing of 0-22. New Mexico Highlands averaged 53.8 ppg, 29.6 rpg, 10.0 apg, 8.0 spg, and 1.4 bpg during the 2019-20 season.
 
New Mexico Highlands bring back four starters, including top scorers Jordyn Lewis and Ashley Antone. Lewis led the team in scoring in 2019-20 with 16.6 ppg, while posting 3.3 rpg. Antone was the teams leading rebounder with 4.9 rpg, also contributing on the offense with 11.4 ppg. Maiah Rivas also returns to the team after averaging 10.9 ppg in 2019-20.
 
NMHU was selected 15^th in the RMAC Preseason Poll. Garett Sherman will coach their first season with the Cowgirls after missing out on last season.