PORTALES, N.M. (Jan. 29, 2025) – After leading by as much as 17 points, the Texas Woman's basketball team fought a late game comeback by Eastern New Mexico to keep their winning streak alive.

No. 3 TWU (17-1, 11-0) remained undefeated in Lone Star Conference action and undefeated on the road with a 66-63 win over ENMU (12-7, 8-3) on Thursday night.

In the first half, the Pioneers held the Greyhounds to 11 points in both the first and second quarters to outscore ENMU 35-22 in the first half. Then, in the second half, the two teams matched points at 18 in the third. While the Greyhounds outscored the Pioneers by 10 in the final quarter of action, TWU remained composed down the stretch and leaned on their experience to close out the night with the win.

TWU shot 44.4% from the field on the night and scored 36 points in the paint, finishing the night with just three three pointers. Their defense continued to provide the spark, as they held ENMU to 39.2% from the field and just 22.2% from beyond the arc. They also forced the Greyhounds to turn the ball over 15 times.

To close the game, Madi Lumsden and Averee Kleinhans connected on four free throws to maintain the lead and secure the win for TWU.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Both Lumsden and Kleinhans led the way with 19 points each. Lumsden scored 14 of her 19 points in the first half, while Kleinhans scored 16 of her 19 points in the second half. On her way to 19 points, Kleinhans went a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line – her eighth game this season to go 100% from the charity stripe, with nine being the most made. Kleinhans added five rebounds to her stat line. Lumsden went 6-of-9 from the field and also finished the night with four rebounds and two steals.
• Gabby Elliott added nine points on the night and seven rebounds.
• Kayla Glover dished out the most assists with four.

PIONEER POWER MOMENTS

• It was a slow start for both teams, as ENMU opened the scoring at the 7:52 mark. Then, Glover quickly responded with a layup on the next sequence to even the score at 2-2. Following the early tie, the Greyhounds went on a 5-0 run; nevertheless, TWU quickly flipped the script and answered with a 10-0 run of their own to take a five-point lead, 12-7 with 2:35 remaining in the quarter. Ahead by just one point after four quick ENMU points, Lumsden closed the quarter with five points of her own to send TWU into the second quarter with the six-point lead, 17-11.
• TWU continued to push their lead in the second quarter, as a layup and a three pointer by the Pioneers quickly opened their first double-digit lead of the night, 22-11, with 8:38 on the clock. The Pioneers would once again close the quarter strong, as Jaylee Moss connected on a three to ignite a 5-0 run to close the first half and send TWU into the halftime break with the 13-point advantage, 35-22.
• Out of the halftime break, Kleinhans opened the second half with two straight layups to give TWU their largest lead of the night at 17, 39-22, with 8:15 remaining in the third quarter. During the quarter, the Pioneers lead would not dip below nine points, as they maintained a steady pace of scoring, while also defending ENMU well. Jada Celsur closed the quarter with a buzzer beater jumper after dribbling the length of the quarter with four seconds remaining. TWU would head into the final quarter of action ahead by 13, 53-40.
• With 5:44 remaining in the game, TWU led by seven, 57-50. Then, ENMU mounted a 7-1 run over two minutes of play to cut their deficit to two points, 58-56. The Pioneers remained poised and quickly answered with a Lumsden jumper to go back up by four, 60-56, with 3:30 left in the game. In the final three minutes, the Greyhounds would come within two points three times, but the Pioneers calmly and confidently got timely buckets or free throws and locked down on defense. With 11 seconds left on the clock, ENMU went 1-of-2 from the free throw line to cut the lead to three points. Then, they got the offensive rebound off the missed free throw, but the Pioneers played strong defense to not allow them a clean shot attempt. With two seconds left, Elliott secured the rebound and the win for TWU.

NEXT UP

TWU will head to Canyon, Texas for a meeting with No. 6 West Texas A&M on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 1 p.m. Tonight, WT defeated UT Tyler 70-51. They join TWU as the only remaining undefeated teams in LSC action.