ODESSA, Texas (January 9, 2025) – The University of Texas Permian Basin women's basketball team returned to the Falcon Dome and kicked off its stretch of four straight home games with a dominate first quarter and a 77-62 win over Eastern New Mexico University in what was also the first home game of 2025 for the Falcons.

After earning just a two-point win at home over the Greyhounds last season, there was had no such drama this time around as UTPB (9-5 overall, 7-1 Lone Star Conference) won the matchup of 6-1 conference teams by outscoring ENMU (11-3, 6-2) 29-5 in the first quarter and holding the Greyhounds to just two made field goals in the period.

In addition, the Falcons kept the Greyhounds off the scoreboard for a stretch of nine minutes, which included the last eight minutes of the first quarter.

In all, it was a 27-0 run for UTPB to end the first quarter.

The Falcons shot 60 percent (12-20) from the field in the first quarter and added four 3-pointers.

UTPB also led 20-0 on points off turnovers, 16-2 on points in the paint, 8-2 on second chance points, 9-0 on fastbreak points, and 9-0 on bench points after the opening period.

Khiara Flugence led with 11 points during the first quarter while Morgan Helgesen came in off the bench to sink three 3-pointers.

By the end of the game, Flugence tied her career-high with 18 points on 70 percent shooting (7-10) from the field.

Taysha Rushton was next with 16 points on nearly identical 7-for-11 shooting while Helgesen finished with 12 points after shooting 4-for-8 from 3-point range.

Makala Bingley added seven points and matched her season-highs in rebounds (7) and assists (4) and Kamari Portalis contributed with five points and had season-highs in rebounds (6), assists (4) and steals (4).

Last but certainly not least, Avalon Munoz made her impact felt with seven assists for the second game in a row.

Head Coach Rae Boothe said, "What a great game. Our 27-0 run was big. Our players did a great job of limiting ENMU's transition opportunities, keeping the ball out of the lane, and just having overall toughness for the majority of the game."

ENMU entered the contest leading the Lone Star Conference at 73.3 points per game and holding a conference-best scoring margin of plus-18.9 points per game. The Greyhounds were also third in the conference in points allowed per game (54.4) while UTPB ranked second in the conference in scoring (70.1). In the end, it was the Falcons who asserted their style of play and added to their conference-leading numbers for 3-pointers made per game and turnover margin.

Next up, UTPB will bring a 4-0 conference record at home into its next matchup against West Texas A&M University. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 11.