PORTALES, N.M. (March 3, 2020) – Oklahoma Christian coach Stephanie Findley knew Eastern New Mexico had a big, strong basketball team, but even with that knowledge, the level of the Greyhounds' physicality surprised her and the Lady Eagles on Tuesday night.

Fifth-seeded Eastern New Mexico – fighting for a spot in the NCAA Division II tournament – didn't shoot particularly well, but the Greyhounds used their size to post a 68-35 advantage in rebounding, which helped carry them to a 70-52 win over No. 12 seed OC in the first round of the Lone Star Conference tournament at Greyhound Arena.

With a lineup that includes five players who stand between 6-foot and 6-foot-4, Eastern New Mexico (21-8) posed all sorts of matchup problems for OC (8-19). The Lady Eagles struggled to score in the paint and hit just seven of 32 3-point attempts (21.9 percent) while shooting 27.1 percent overall.

The Greyhounds shot just 33.3 percent, but had 22 offensive rebounds, giving themselves lots of extra chances. Their 6-foot-4 center, Natalie DeLonge, had 18 points and 12 rebounds, while four other Greyhounds grabbed at least seven boards. Guard Zamorye Cox added 15 points and seven assists and 6-foot-2 center Alivia Lewis had 10 points and eight rebounds.

OC's only double-figure scorers were point guard Maddison Collyer (12 points) and forward Katie Mayo (11 points, seven rebounds).

"We started off great, but again went cold in the second and third quarter," Findley said. "We just could not get shots to fall and their advantage in size was way more than we could overcome on the boards with the physical nature of the game. Our first experience in a Lone Star Conference playoff game was much more physical than I anticipated. We will be ready next year."

OC led by as many as five points in the early minutes and was up 13-12 after one quarter, but the Lady Eagles made only two of 13 shots during a five-point second quarter and the Greyhounds closed the half on a 12-2 run to go up 28-18.

Eastern New Mexico poured it on in the third quarter, building its lead to as many as 23 points as OC's shooting struggles continued. The Greyhounds' lead peaked at 27 points with 4:40 left before OC closed the game on a 14-5 run.

The game was the last in an OC uniform for seniors Carolyne Lawley, Connor Atkinson and Megan Shelton.

Eastern New Mexico advanced to play fourth-seeded Angelo State on Thursday in the LSC tournament quarterfinals at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas.