PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico Woman's Basketball returned to their home court in style with a 73-67 victory over Texas A&M International on Thursday evening at Greyhound Arena. The Greyhounds return to .500 (8-8) on the season, and 5-6 in conference play. The Dustdevils slip to 11-8 overall, with a 4-7 LSC record.

Ashley Shipley wasted no time in getting the Greyhound on the board, knocking down a corner three with the Greyhounds first possession. From then, both teams played tough defense making scoring chances limited. A made three from Bella Stone and two free throws from Julieta Ceja, gave ENMU a 10-9 lead after the opening quarter.
 
Strong three-point shooting continued into the second quarter for ENMU, with Stone connecting from deep and Lazurea Saunders sinking two three-pointers to go up 19-12. However, the Dustdevils moved the score even at 19-19 with just under five minutes to play in the quarter. The Greyhounds turned to Shipley for the remainder of the period, with Shipley scoring the final points for the Greyhounds with four three pointers down the stretch. ENMU entered the locker room ahead 31-23 over the Dustdevils.
 
Both teams started out slow from the break, while Texas A&M International slowly chipped away at the ENMU lead, 38-28 ENMU with 4:45 to play in the period. TAMIU brought the Greyhound lead to just six points, 39-33, before Eastern closed the period on a 9-0 streak. Shipley sparked the run with a three, Edecia Beck converted a three-point play after getting fouled on a layup, and Stone hit a running three-pointer at the buzzer to go up 48-33.
 
Beck continued to find success driving to the basket to start the fourth quarter, with the Greyhounds taking its largest lead of the night, 55-35. However, the Dustdevils did not back down putting pressure on the Greyhounds with continued scoring and forcing the Greyhounds into some turnovers. TAMIU finished the 4^th quarter shooting 82.35% on 14-17 shooting, with both teams finding baskets in transition and on the fast break. The Dustdevils brought the deficit to just four points, 71-67, but Beck sealed the game at the foul line hitting seven free throws in the final quarter. ENMU walked away with a 73-67 win over the Dustdevils.

NOTABLE STATS

• The Greyhounds finished the night shooting 30.8% from the field (20-65), connecting on 34.3% of attempts from distance (12-35), and 72.4% at the foul line (21-29). The Dustdevils were efficient shooting 50.9% from the floor (27-53), 42.1% from behind the arc (8-19), and 62.5% at the foul line (5-8).
• Shipley led the Greyhounds scoring (6-13 from three), while Beck supplied 17 points (11-13 FT) and a team high nine boards. Saunders poured in 13 points, Stone added 12 points with, and Ceja provided 10 points.
• After Beck's nine boards, Stone picked up eight rebounds, while Ceja collected seven rebounds.
• Beck distributed six assists in the game and provided a block, while Stone posted four assists.

FROM THE SOURCE

"Great team win tonight," said Head Woman's Basketball Meghan De los Reyes. "We had a true team effort in scoring and on the boards having five of us with double-digit points and five or more rebounds. Julieta (Ceja) and KiKi Roberts did their job on the defensive end to contain Raiana Brown, and Deesh (Beck) and Bella (Stone) did an amazing job finding our shooters on the offensive side," said De los Reyes.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Shipley and Beck both set season highs for scoring, with Shipley going for 18 points and Beck pouring 17 points. Shipley also set career highs for made field goals (6) and made 3PT field goals (6).
• Meanwhile, Beck also set several season bests including made free throws (11), free attempts (13), assists (6), and blocks (1). Stone hit a season high three three-pointers in the game.
• The six made threes from Shipley is tied-5^th for an individual single game record in program history, and as team 12 made three-pointers is tied-7^th for a team single game record.
• ENMU played the Dustdevils for the first time in Greyhound Arena, along with picking up their first conference win against Texas A&M International.
• The Greyhounds take their momentum into Saturday, Jan. 21, when Texas A&M-Kingsville will come to town. First tip from Greyhound Arena is set for 1 p.m.