PORTALES, N.M. (February 26, 2026) – The University of Texas Permian Basin women's basketball team led for over 26 minutes and hung around until the end, but Eastern New Mexico University was too strong in the fourth quarter, scoring 25 points and shooting 8-for-10 from the field in the final period to earn a 72-67 win over the Falcons.

UTPB led 49-47 going into the fourth quarter and got a 3-pointer by Kenadi Rising on the opening possession of the final period. Then a steal and a quick 3-pointer by Madison Walters made it a six-point game (55-49) one minute into the fourth quarter.

A corner three by Juliet Esomchukwu was UTPB's third made three within the first two and a half minutes of the fourth quarter, making it a six-point lead (58-52) again.

ENMU, however, battled back to take a 59-58 lead entering the final five minutes, and after Mikalah Buckley answered with a jumper in the paint to put UTPB back in front (60-59), an and-one by the Greyhounds' 6-foot-3 forward Chloe Dallas made it a 62-60 lead in the final four minutes. Then the third 3-pointer of the game by Toyah Montgomery made it 65-60.

A nice drive and dish by Jonesha Neal to Crystal Jones for a layup made it a one-possession game (65-62) in the final two minutes, and UTPB had to fight to stay within reach as a 3-pointer by Walters with just over a minute left again made it a three-point game (68-65).

After an offensive foul on ENMU, UTPB had a chance down three with 38 seconds remaining. However, the Greyhounds' defense was smothering, and UTPB could not get a good look from three, leading to an air ball.

In addition to shooting 8-for-10 from the field within the first nine minutes of the fourth quarter, the Greyhounds made seven of their eight free throw attempts in the final period to help them pull out the victory.

For the game, ENMU was 11-for-18 from the charity stripe, just 61.1 percent. It was a tough pill to swallow for UTPB, which did not shoot a single free throw during game action, and had only one free throw attempt on an administrative technical foul before the game tipped off. It was the first time UTPB did not attempt a free throw during game action since a 45-41 defeat at Texas Woman's University on December 1, 2018.

Walters led UTPB with 14 points, shooting 4-for-9 from three while coming up with three steals, and Buckley added 11 points on 3-for-5 shooting from three. The duo accounted for seven of UTPB's season-high 12 made threes in the game.

Rising scored 12 points and pulled down seven rebounds and Neal added a game-high eight rebounds and tied Buckley with a team-high four assists.

Freshman Alondra Reyes had some strong moments asserting herself and matched her season-high with eight points.

UTPB struggled to find its offensive rhythm early on, making just two of its first 12 shots and starting the game 0-for-6 from three. However, trailing 12-5, UTPB held ENMU scoreless for the final 3:49 of the first quarter and closed the opening period on an 8-0 run on 3-pointers by Ja'Nya Thomas and Buckley before a midrange jumper by Reyes gave the Falcons a one-point lead (13-12) after the opening 10 minutes.

A tightly contested second quarter again saw the Falcons outscore the Greyhounds by one (17-16), giving UTPB a 30-28 halftime advantage.

UTPB shot 50 percent both from the field (7-14) and from three (3-6) in the second quarter, with Buckley sinking two more 3-pointers to help carry the scoring load off the bench. Buckley was 3-for-3 from three at the half.

Despite four ties and four lead changes in the first half, UTPB led for over 12 minutes.

Then in the second half, the scoring pace picked up even more as UTPB scored on each of its first three and four of its first five possessions, taking a seven-point lead (39-32) on a nice head fake and layup by Rising.

Both teams made six of their first 11 shots (54.5 percent) in the second half, and after UTPB fell behind for the first time in the half (44-43) on a steal and a layup by the Greyhounds, UTPB had an immediate answer with a corner three by Rihanna DeLeon in the final three minutes of the third quarter.

Both teams made eight field goals and scored 19 points while shooting 3-for-6 from three in the third quarter as the score remained a two-point Falcons' lead (49-47) going into the fourth quarter.

UTPB led over for 21 minutes in first three quarters, but it was the fourth quarter that decided the outcome.

In all, the contest featured nine lead changes, including three in the final period.

UTPB falls to 15-12 overall and 10-9 in the Lone Star Conference. With just one game remaining in the regular season, the Falcons remain tied for seventh place in the conference with St. Mary's University (15-10, 10-9), which fell 42-41 in a low-scoring game at home vs. St. Edward's University. UTPB is also still one game up on ninth-place Texas A&M International University (12-13, 9-10), which fell 68-56 at No. 1 Texas Woman's University.

With just one game left in the regular season, UTPB will face a tough challenge on the road at No. 7 nationally-ranked West Texas A&M University on Saturday, February 28, with tipoff scheduled for 1 p.m.