LAWTON, Oklahoma (December 12) – It was a tale of two halves in the Aggie Gym tonight as the Eastern New Mexico Zias (2-6) narrowly upset the Cameron Aggies (3-5) in a Lone Star Conference Crossover women’s basketball game. ENMU won tonight’s contest 79-74, but it could have gone either way as only 3 points separated the teams with 20 seconds left in the game.
 
“You have to be happy with the effort when you have the ball, down only 3 points with 20 seconds left, and you were just down 11 points with 1:50 left,” Head Coach Tom Webb said. “You have to be proud of the young ladies when they battle that hard and keep believing. That hard work is a huge positive from tonight.”
 
The Aggies won last year’s matchup with the Zias in Portales, New Mexico, by the score 72-57.
 
“The same thing continues to hurt us, and that is the urgency early in the game,” Coach Webb said. “Every possession matters, so if you get down 15 in a half you are always going to be in a hole. It’s tough; we need to start games with more urgency.”
 
CU grabbed the game’s first lead but was only able to hold on for 90 seconds. ENMU took over and led for the remainder of the game. The Zias built their lead to as many as 19 points in the second frame, but the Aggie women continued to fight hard and came within a single bucket.
 
Although the Aggies were unable to come away with their fourth victory of the season tonight, Coach Webb said there were still many positives to take from the loss.
 
“Our players understand that they are talented, and I really believe that they are talented,” Coach Webb said. “They always believe, it’s just the urgency needs to be there. The team believes in their abilities and in our system. We have room for growth, but that is both very exciting and very frustrating.”
 
Cameron dominated the rebounds tonight, winning the battle of the boards 49-36. Eastern New Mexico countered with a better shooting night, 41.2%-31.5%. The Aggies also finished with 24 personal fouls, 8 steals, and 3 blocks, while the Zias recorded 16 personal foul, 9 steals, and 5 blocks.
 
Junior guard Josie Stewart had another phenomenal game after recording a monster double-double. Her 20 points on 6-12 shooting, including 2-3 from long range and a perfect 6-6 from the foul line, and 13 rebounds were both team-highs. Her 3 steals and 37 minutes also topped the rest of the Aggie individual totals.
 
Juniors Lyndie NeVille (guard) and Jessica Priest (forward), and freshman guard Alexis Williams were the other three Aggie women to record double-digit scoring numbers this evening with 14, 12, and 14 points, respectively.
 
NeVille’s 5 assists were tops on the team while her 6 rebounds were second on the team.
 
Cameron stays home this Monday (December 14) for another LSC Crossover matchup. At 6:00pm on Monday CU plays host to the nationally-ranked #14 West Texas A&M Lady Buffs.

“Anytime you play a nationally-ranked opponent at home it’s exciting,” Coach Webb said. “If we get down big early we will be in trouble, so we have to be aggressive early and we have to be the attackers. When we attack we have great results.”

The Aggies lost last years contest in Canyon, Texas, by the score 86-58.