Eastern New Mexico vs. UT Tyler ENMU: 5-2, 2-0 LSC  | UTT: 7-2, 2-0 LSC Thursday, Dec. 15 | 6:30 p.m. CST Greyhound Arena Portales, New Mexico			Schedule	Roster	Stats
Western New Mexico vs. UT Tyler WNMU: 2-4, 0-2 LSC  | UTT: 7-2, 2-0 LSC Saturday, Dec. 17 | 2 p.m. CST Drag's Court Silver City, New Mexico			Schedule	Roster	Stats

A HOT START
 
The Patriots got out to the ideal start in Lone Star Conference competition, going 2-0 over their first week of play against Cameron and Midwestern State. It was a tale of two games for UT Tyler as the Aggies hung around all game long but the Patriots were able to outlast them and take a three point win.
 
Against the Mustangs, the Patriots fell in an early hole, but battled back with a roar in the second and third quarters before running away with a 91-79 victory. That game also doubled as the most points for the Patriots since January 6, 2018, in which they scored 95 points.
 
STATISTICALLY EFFICIENT
 
UT Tyler under head coach Rebecca Alvidrez and her staff have become one of the most efficient teams in the Lone Star Conference and also at the national level. Last year it was a suffocating defense that led them to a strong season, and this year is already showing to be no different.
 
The Patriots are first in the LSC and 27^th in all of Division II women's basketball in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 35.1% from the floor. Their scoring defense has also looked strong, holding opponents to just 60.2 points per game to rank third in the conference. Their biggest stat may be steals per game, where they sit at 12.3 per contest to rank 23^rd nationally.
 
On the offensive side, the Patriots are knocking down their shots at a quick pace, but also doing it as part of the flow of their offense. The program is third in the LSC at 43.2% on the offensive side, and also rank third in assists per game at 14.6. They force a lot of turnovers and don't turn the ball over on offense, ranking second in turnover margin at 4.44.
 
REGIONALLY RANKED
 
UT Tyler stuck at number eight in this week's edition of the D2SIDA South Central Regional Rankings. This week saw some slight changes up at the top half of the rankings, but the bigger move was the points movement across the poll.
 
Following their first loss of the season, West Texas A&M had their lead at the number one spot drop to just five points over Texas Woman's. Colorado School of Mines made the jump from five to three this week and they are followed by Lubbock Christian and Angelo State in the top five.
 
THE SCOUTING REPORT
 
The Patriots will see the Greyhounds first, who are 5-2 on the season and are coming off of a win over Northern New Mexico on Monday evening. They are 2-0 in the early LSC season with wins over St. Edward's and St. Mary's. Their two losses have come at the hands of New Mexico Highlands and Eckerd.
 
Eastern New Mexico has rolled into one of the more fearsome defenses in the conference, ranking in the top three in several categories including: scoring defense (1^st), scoring margin (2^nd), steals per game (3^rd), and rebound margin (3^rd).
 
The Greyhounds are led by Deja Adrian on offense, who is averaging 19 points per game on 49.5% shooting from the field and an incredible 55% from beyond the arc. Adrian is top five in the LSC in double doubles, field goal percentage, rebounds per game, points per game, and free throw percentage.
 
Megan de los Reyes is the head coach of Eastern New Mexico and is in her second season. De los Reyes led the Greyhounds to the opening round of the 2022 LSC Tournament. Prior to her time with the Greyhounds, de los Reyes served as an Assistant Coach with CSU-Chico in California.
 
The Patriots will take on Western New Mexico on Saturday afternoon, and the Mustangs are off to a 2-4 start. Their wins have come against Southwestern Assemblies of God University American Indian College, and Northern New Mexico.
 
The Mustangs are still a tough team to matchup with in the Lone Star Conference, as they rank second in rebound margin, and top six in both offensive and defensive rebounds per game. They are also seventh in the LSC in assists per game and field goal percentage.
 
Western New Mexico is led by a pair of strong scorers in Sydney Wright and Diamond Moore. Wright and Moore are averaging 14.7 and 13.3 points per game. Wright has done a majority of her work from beyond the arc, while Moore is shooting an elite 56.1% from the field and averaging 7.2 rebounds per game.
 
Josh Pace is in his third season at the helm of the Mustangs after previously serving as an Assistant Coach at Pepperdine. Prior to his work at Pepperdine, Pace played professional basketball both in the United States and abroad for 10 seasons.
 
NEXT ON THE SLATE
 
Following the road trip to New Mexico, the Patriots return home for the much-anticipated Christmas break and time off. They will return to action on December 30^th where they take on Oklahoma Christian in a road contest. That is followed by a New Year's Day matchup with UAFS in Fort Smith, Arkansas.