Mustangs Head to West Texas A&M, Eastern New Mexico for Divisional Match Ups

Women's Basketball 1/29/2020 4:15:00 PM

Mustangs Head to West Texas A&M, Eastern New Mexico for Divisional Match Ups

Canyon, Tex. / Portales, N.M. – The Western New Mexico Women's Basketball team will take to the road this weekend to begin the second round of division play, starting with the Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M Thursday. They will then travel back in state to grapple with the Greyhounds of Eastern New Mexico for the second time in as many weeks. Games are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CST Thursday, and 2 p.m. MST Saturday.

LAST TIME OUT:
Home for a couple games last weekend, the Mustangs opened play against top-ranked Texas A&M Commerce Thursday. Looking for the upset, WNMU came out blazing holding their own against TAMUC's defensive pressure, trailing by just four at the half. Things would fall quiet for WNMU to begin the second half as the Lions sparked a 31 point third quarter to take their usual twenty point advantage. Kaela Chavez (Las Cruces, New Mexico/Centennial High School) sparked a last minute effort, chipping in eight of the team's 14 points in the fourth, finishing with a team high 16 points, going 6-for-9 from the field and 4-for-6 behind the arc.
Chavez then eclipsed her previous season high from the game prior, scoring 17 points in a dominant 73-40 win over UT Tyler. As a team the Mustangs put on a three point clinic, sinking 17 in 31 attempts, just one shy of the conference high. WNMU held their opponents to single digits in three of the four quarters, with four players achieving double digits by the end of the game.

MUSTANGS TO WATCH:
After a four game skid, the Mustangs improved to a 4-5 record on the road with key wins over Texas Woman's and Tarleton. They then returned home and faced off with a tough Texas A&M Commerce team, before putting on a three point clinic against UT Tyler to improve to 3-4 in the last four games.
Paulina Rodriguez (Chihuahua, Mexico/Montverde Academy) has been a primary contributor to the Mustangs success and the third best three point field goal percentage in the league. The senior averages over two long range shots per contest, shooting at a .351 clip.
Rodriguez alongside fellow senior Alicia Mardis (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) are at the forefront of the Mustangs offense averaging 9.5 and 9.8 points respectively. Mardis contributes defensively as well with 7.8 rebounds, eighth in the league standings.
Sophomore Kaela Chavez (Las Cruces, New Mexico/Centennial High School) has come out of the woodworks, going for 16 and 17 points last week. The guard from Las Cruces, shot an efficient 60 percent from the field and behind the arc last weekend to help the Mustangs offense.

#19 WEST TEXAS A&M LADY BUFFS (18-3, 11-1 LSC)
Moving up two spots in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Top-25 Poll, the Lady Buffs have yet to drop a divisional matchup, and just one league contest so far this season. Since the teams first met back on Jan. 11, WT has pushed their streak to ten straight, including a win over Lubbock Christian.
Kayla Clark (Mesa, Arizona/Dobson High School) led the Mustangs offense last time around, racking up 16 points and seven rebounds. Western has yet to take a game from the Lady Buffs since joining the Lone Star Conference but their smallest margin of loss came at the First United Bank Center in Canyon back in 2018.

EASTERN NEW MEXICO GREYHOUNDS (13-5, 7-5 LSC)
The long time rivalry continues this week as East hosts West Saturday in Portales. The Greyhounds remain in the regional conversation, coming in at No. 8 in the recent poll as they enter the second half of the season. After suffering a 70-60 defeat on their home court to Angelo State, ENMU improved their road record with wins over Texas A&M International and Texas A&M Kingsville last weekend.
Portales local Zamorye Cox is a key part of the seventh leading offense in the league, averaging 12.6 points per game. Last time the two met, the sophomore only had nine points but tallied half of the team's steals. She currently sits atop the conference in that category averaging nearly three a game with 51 on the season, second most in the LSC.

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Players Mentioned

#34 Kaela Chavez: G; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#32 Kayla Clark: F; 5' 10"; Senior

#4 Paulina Rodriguez: G; 5' 11"; Senior

#12 Alicia Mardis: F; 5' 11"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#34 Kaela Chavez
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: G

#32 Kayla Clark
: 5' 10"; Senior
: F

#4 Paulina Rodriguez
: 5' 11"; Senior
: G

#12 Alicia Mardis
: 5' 11"; Senior
: F