Flash Staff Report
TheFlashToday.com
(February 1, 2018) — Eastern New Mexico has been very good at home since Josh Prock took over the team and led the Zias to the Lone Star Conference championship last season, and Tarleton State, for much of the night and especially noticeable in the final 65 seconds, was just not as sharp offensively at Greyhound rena Thursday as they were in finishing off wins at home last week.
ENMU (12-8, 8-5) won 64-59, scoring six of the final seven points after a pair of foul shots by Tiiara Tatum gtied the game 58-58. Even at the free throw line Tarleton (14-7, 8-5) had some disappointing late misses, one each from McKinley Bostad and Mackenzie Hailey.
ENMU pulls even with Tarleton in the LSC standings and because the Zias swept the TexAnns – they also won in overtime in Stephenville in December, they would be seeded a spot above the TexAnns if the conference tournament began right away.
Bostad had been Mrs. Clutch during Tarleton’s recent run of success and steady climb up the Lone Star Conference standings. But after scoring five iin the opening five minutes of the fourth she missed a foul shot in the final two minutes and also had a runner rejected.
Hailey led the TexAnns with 17 points thought she had an uncharacteristically low 3 rebounds. Bostad scored 14 with 5 boards, Katie Webster 13 and 5. Poor shooting made the difference for Tarleton, which hit just 29.5 percent form the floor including only 23.1 percent from the arc.
The TexAnns stayed alive by hitting 30 of 38 foul shots, a strong 78.9 percent even if it does pale in comparison to their 43-46 (93.5 percent) in a key TexAnn victory over Midwestern State last Saturday in Stephenville.
ENMY hit 36.7 percent from the floor, 32 percent from deep and 66.7 percent from the stripe and relied on scoring so balanced no one reached double figures. Insteasd, Brandi Gomez, Jasmine Hotchkins and Sarina Johnson each netted nine and Dasia Johnson scored eight.
The TexAnns visit Western New Mexico in Silver City beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday, while ENMU is home at the same time against Texas A&M-Commerce, a game crucial to how the LSC championship race will shape up down the stretch.
ENMU took a 52-43 lead with the opening bucket of the fourth, but Tarleton scored 15 of the next 21 to even it up at 58-58. Bostad scored seven of the next nine Tarleton points to pull within 54-52. Tatum’s foul shots finally evened it up at 58-58 with 1:05 remaining.
Lewis hit two foul shots for a 60-58 ENMU edge with 52 seconds remaining. She was sent to the stripe on three straight possessions, making one of two one the ensuing trip then burying both for a 63-58 advantage.
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