Zias Force 26 Turnovers in 71-65 Overtime Victory over Angelo State
Bryant Scores 27 Points and Kirkland Adds 17

Box Score

PORTALES, N.M. — Tiana Bryant (Sr., P, Roswell, NM/University of New Mexico) and Missy Kirkland (Jr., G, Arlington, TX/Hill College) led Eastern New Mexico University’s offense and a tough team defense for a come-from-behind overtime win against Angelo State University on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at Greyhound Arena. The Lone Star Conference South Division victory improved the Zias to 2-9 in the conference and to 10-15 overall. The Rambelles, who came into the game having already clinched an LSC Tournament berth, dropped to 9-2 in the conference and to 18-6 overall.

At intermission, Eastern was fortunate to be down by only nine points, 39-30, after ASU outrebounded the Zias 32-16 over the first twenty minutes. Bryant scored 12 points for ENMU in the first half, while Britinee Davis recorded 11 points for the Rambelles.

The first 14 minutes of the second half seemed to be almost a carbon copy of the first half. With 5:55 left to play, Eastern faced a 10-point deficit, 56-46, but went on a 11-1 run to tie the game at 57-57 with 2:18 to play. The run began with two converted free throws by Megan Ratliff (Jr., G, Farmington, NM/Cochise College), followed by seven consecutive points by Kirkland. Bryant scored the next five points as the Zia defense held the Rambelles to one free throw during the run.

With 34 seconds left, Meghann LeJeune made a layup to recapture the lead for Angelo State. Heather Brown (Jr., G, Hereford, TX/Hereford HS) tied the game at 59-59 with a layup at the 12-second mark. Angelo State had two opportunities to score in the closing seconds, but could not convert, forcing an overtime.

Kirkland’s jumper 32 seconds into the extra period gave Eastern its first lead since being up 1-0 after the opening tip. ENMU did not relinquish the lead the rest of the game, as it converted on five of nine field goals during the overtime, while allowing only one ASU bucket.

With 2:24 left in the overtime period, the Zias established their biggest lead at 67-61. ASU answered with four consecutive points to get within two, 67-65, with less than a minute left. Fifteen seconds later, with 38 seconds to go, Kirkland scored on a layup. With 19 seconds left, Brown, ranked second in the LSC in free throw shooting, converted two from the line to secure the improbable win for Eastern.

Bryant finished with a game-high 27 points, her second best effort at Eastern. She established her career high, 28 points, against St. Edward’s University on Dec. 10, 2005, and also against Northeastern State University on Jan. 5, 2006. Bryant added a team-high nine rebounds and had three steals.

Kirkland fell a basket short of her career-high, finishing with 17 points, seven rebounds and two steals. She scored 19 points against Texas A&M University-Kingsville on Feb. 2. Brown scored 12 points, dished out three assists and had two steals. Freshman guard Lindsey Wood (Muleshoe, TX/Muleshoe HS) recorded a game-high five assists.

Eastern took care of the ball, committing only 12 turnovers in the game. Defensively, the Zias forced 26 turnovers on 18 steals to make up for ASU’s final rebounding edge of 59-39.

Three ASU players finished in double figures in scoring, led by a double-double by LeJeune, who scored 16 points and grabbed a game high 13 rebounds. Britinee Davis and Kandra Lakey each scored 14 points.

Angelo State shot 34.8% from the field (24 of 69) and ENMU hit 36.1% of its field goal attempts (26 of 72). Both teams connected on only 20% from beyond the arc. Eastern shot 80% (16 of 20) from the free throw line, while ASU converted on 13 of 19 attempts (68.4%) at the line.

Eastern will close out its home schedule on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 5 p.m. MST against Abilene Christian University. The Zias will conclude the season on the road beginning with a Feb. 23 game at Tarleton State University. The final game of the season will be on Saturday, Feb. 25 in Wichita Falls, Texas, against Midwestern State University.