Shooting played a big part in the UTPB women’s basketball team’s 57-54 loss to Eastern New Mexico in Lone Star Conference play Thursday at the Falcon Dome.
The Falcons couldn’t find good looks early in the game, but found a hot streak as the game wore on to make things close.
UTPB had multiple looks from beyond the arc to start the game and the Falcons took those shots to try and set the tone early.
None of those shots went in, as the Falcons closed out the first quarter shooting 0-7 from long range.
Even with the cold start, UTPB still only trailed by four points at the end of the first period after getting scores from its players in the post.
A 6-0 scoring run to open the second quarter saw UTPB take over the lead, with its most successful looks coming from the paint.
Ogechi Nwodo and Avalon Munoz made the most of their opportunities under the basket, combining for 10 of the 20 points the Falcons had scored by the halftime break.
UTPB was up by two with 18 seconds left in the second quarter until Eastern New Mexico’s Natalie Stice found a momentum surge.
First Stice hit the Greyhounds’ first 3-pointer of the game from the top of the key, then finished a fast break layup to send Eastern New Mexico to the intermission with a 3-point advantage.
The Falcons ended the first half with 15 turnovers, which resulted in eight points for Eastern New Mexico.
Although the Greyhounds continued powering through the point to build up their advantage, UTPB continued looking for shots on the perimeter to close the gap.
It wasn’t until late in the third quarter that the Falcons saw their outside shooting begin to heat up.
Holly Hemmeline hit two 3-pointers and was followed up by Morgan Helgesen, who beat the buzzer with a basket from the top of the key to narrow Eastern New Mexico’s lead to one point going into the fourth quarter.
UTPB embarked on a 7-0 scoring run in the game’s final period to take a 49-47 lead with 4:39 remaining in regulation, but couldn’t maintain its late advantage.
With a one-point lead, Eastern New Mexico’s Iyanna McCurdy finished a contested layup and converted a midrange jumper to put her team up by two with less than a minute left in regulation.
The Greyhounds went on to outscore the Falcons 5-4 in the game’s final minute to secure the win.
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Eastern New Mexico 57, UTPB 54
EASTERN NEW MEXICO (8-6, 4-4 Lone Star Conference)
Meme Amand 4-8 2-2 10, Anasha Hurst 2-3 0-0 5, Natalie Stice 2-11 1-2 6, Bella Stone 1-3 1-2 3, Iyanna McCurdy 4-11 7-7 15, Kamirah Decker 5-8 1-2 11, Hanna Nussbaumer 0-0 0-0 0, Julia Chavez 1-2 0-0 3, Stacy Ajobiewe 0-0 0-0 0, Laura Rowe 2-6 0-0 4. Totals 21-52 12-15 57.
UTPB (4-14, 0-6 Lone Star Conference)
Morgan Helgesen 2-11 0-2 5, Ogechi Nwodo 3-3 0-0 6, Kamari Portalis 4-5 0-0 10, Avalon Munoz 2-6 1-2 5, Holly Hemmeline 3-14 0-0 9, Alexis Popham 0-0 1-2 1, Alexus Wykoff 5-11 3-3 13, Ally Haman 0-1 0-0 0, Rory Carter 2-4 0-0 5, Diavian Spencer 0-0 0-0 0, Kine Diop 0-1 0-0 0, Kim Best 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-56 5-9 54.
Eastern New Mexico 10 13 14 20 — 57
UTPB……………………. 6.. 14 16 18 — 54
3-Point goals — Eastern New Mexico 3-16 (Hurst 1-2, Stice 1-8, Stone 0-2, Chavez 1-2, Rowe 0-2), UTPB 7-30 (Helgesen 1-5, Portalis 2-3, Munoz 0-3, Hemmeline 3-14, Haman 0-1, Carter 1-3, Diop 0-1). Total fouls — Eastern New Mexico 18, UTPB 14. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — None. Rebounds — Eastern New Mexico 30 (McCurdy 10), UTPB 37 (Nwodo, Wykoff 7). Assists — Eastern New Mexico 7 (Stice, McCurdy 2), UTPB 11 (Munoz 4).
