LAWTON, Okla. – Eastern New Mexico Woman's Basketball withstood a late run from Cameron University during the Hounds 55-42 win on Thursday evening at Aggie Gym. ENMU improve to 7-5 overall, while sending its conference record to 4-3 (2-1 in division games). Meanwhile, the Aggies fall to 6-8 on the season, 3-5 in conference play, and 1-3 in division games.

Defense was ever present in the opening five minutes of the contest. Edecia Beck put ENMU on the board with a reverse layup and Deja Adrian hit two free throws to go ahead 4-0 after the first five minutes of the quarter. The strong defense continued through the rest of the quarter, with Cameron hitting just two of their 20 shots in the first quarter. ENMU held a 12-6 lead after the first quarter.
 
The home team started to find their rhythm to start the second quarter with a 6-1 over the first 4:30 of the period, 13-12 ENMU. However, the Greyhounds responded with a 12-1 streak of their own to go ahead 25-13 over the Aggies. Lazurea Saunders started the scoring with a layup, Bella Stone hit a three, and Julieta Ceja converted a layup whiling getting fouled and hitting the free throw. The Hounds success continued as Adrian picked up another basket, while Beck hit a three, and ENMU hit their foul shots. The Greyhounds entered the locker room with a 35-17 lead.
 
Eastern picked up where they left off with Adrian scoring a driving layup and Ashley Shipley hitting a three to take the score to 40-19 ENMU (largest lead of the night). However, the Aggies started to connect on offense and slow down the ENMU scoring. CU finished the quarter on a 12-2 streak, taking the Eastern lead to just 42-31 heading into the final period.
 
The fourth quarter began with both teams trading points, with Stone hitting a three, and Saunders hitting a second chance jumper midway through the quarter. Cameron started to lock down defensively, holding the Greyhounds scoreless for six minutes as the score shifted to 48-40 ENMU with less than a minute to play. Despite the shortage in scoring, Shipley hit a corner three and Beck hit four free throws to end the game 55-42 ENMU.

NOTABLE STATS

• Both teams struggled from the field, with the Hounds shooting 26.8% (15-56) from the field and the Aggies posting a 23.4% (15-64) shooting percentage. ENMU held a 3PT% of 31.6% (6-19), while Cameron managed just one three pointer on the night (1-23, 4.3%). However, the Greyhounds excelled at the free throw line, sinking 19 of 23 attempts (82.6%). CU managed just 57.9% at the charity stripe (11-19).
• Beck led the Greyhounds with 15 points, including 8-10 from the foul line. Adrian followed behind with 11 points towards the Hounds cause.
• Saunders pulled down a team best 11 rebounds, with Beck and Ceja each finishing with nine boards in the contest. Adrian also finished with seven rebounds during the game.
• Stone provided a team best four assists, with Adrian picking three assists. Beck and Shipley each finished with a team high three steals.

FROM THE SOURCE

"We played a great first half to set the tone for this game on both ends by getting to the foul line and really crashing the boards," said Head Woman's Basketball Coach Meghan De los Reyes. "We did a good job withstanding their runs in the second half and staying poised down the stretch to maintain our lead and pull out a hard fought conference road win," said De los Reyes.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Eastern secured a season best 53 rebounds during the game.
• Saunders finished the evening with a season high 11 rebounds, while Ceja finished with a career best nine boards in the game.
• ENMU have won their first three conference games for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
• Eastern beat the Aggies for the first time since 1/31/19, during a 85-65 triumph.
• The Greyhounds head to Midwestern State for its next contest, Saturday, Jan 7. First tip from Wichita Falls is set for 12 p.m.