Late Turnovers Cost Women's Hoops

PORTALES, N.M. — Turnovers in the fourth quarter prevented the St. Mary's University Women's Basketball team from completing the comeback, dropping a 62-48 game at Eastern New Mexico on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Rattlers move to 12-14 on the season and 8-12 in Lone Star Conference play, while the Greyhounds improve to 19-8 overall and 14-7 in league play.
 
St. Mary's scored only six points in the fourth quarter; four came from the free throw line. The team turned the ball over eight times in the final 10 minutes, letting the Greyhounds build a larger lead. The Rattlers were 18-of-20 at the free throw line in the game, shooting a season-high 90 percent.
 
Freshman Raynne Malik (London, Ontario) continued to have a great road trip, scoring 16 points with eight rebounds, tying for game-high honors with teammate Imani Ivery (Houston). Ivery also added 14 points.
 
The bench players for ENMU scored 50 of the team's 62 points, led by Nataya Lockett with 14 points and three assists. Ishuana Hunter led the team with six rebounds as StMU outrebounded the Greyhounds 34-to-30, despite grabbing only six boards on offense.
 
St. Mary's shot 36.8 percent from the field and 18.2 from the three-point line, making only 2-of-11 shots. The Greyhounds shot 38.9 percent from the floor, taking 16 more shots than the Rattlers, and were 35.3 percent from the arc (6-for-17). ENMU also was 58.3 percent at the charity stripe, making 14-of-24.
 
The loss for the Rattlers, paired with the West Texas A&M victory over St. Edward's, eliminates St. Mary's from Lone Star Conference Tournament contention.
 
St. Mary's has two games remaining on the docket, playing both editions of the Battle of the Saints back-to-back. The Rattlers play in Austin on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. and host St. Edward's on Saturday at 1 p.m. for Senior Day.