Oklahoma Panhandle State University

Box Score Portales, N.M.—After enjoying Thanksgiving with family and friends, the Aggie women's basketball team took to the road Friday to play Lone Star Conference team Eastern New Mexico University on Saturday, Nov. 30 in what would be an exciting match-up with the Zias.

The Aggies' first points would come from a layup in the paint by senior Sharice Papaleo, who went on to score a season-high 17 points on the Zias, shooting 7-11 in the game. The Aggies would keep things close in the first half as Brittany Alavinejad brought the team within one point of the lead (18-17) with jump shot good from the paint and just under eight minutes left on the clock. However, the Zias started to pull away after a good three-pointer followed by three layups; Eastern would leave the court with a 10-point lead at halftime (42-32).

Adjustments were made during halftime and the Aggies came back with a renewed sense of purpose. The Aggies out-scored ENMU 34-31 in the second half and held the Zias to 30% from the field and just 7.7% at three-point range. OPSU kept the game within reach throughout the second half coming as close as three points from taking over the lead, but the Zias would prevail in the end, winning by the smallest margin of victory allowed by the Aggies thus far at 73-66.

Sharice Papaleo not only led the team in points (17), but also in rebounds with nine, coming one point away from scoring a double-double. Sarah Johnson also brought in double-digits with total 10 points; both Johnson and Papaleo each contributed three assists. The Aggies' record moves to 0-7 overall.

Assistant Coach Matt Creamer looks ahead with positivity saying, "We can't look back at the old games; we have to continue to move forward with a "next play" mentality."

This Aggie team moves forward with a busy week of home games starting Monday, Dec. 2 as they take on Southwestern Oklahoma State University at 5:30 p.m. Aggie fans can catch more basketball action on Thursday, Dec. 5 when the ladies continue conference play against St. Mary's University; game time is 5:30 p.m. The last home game of the semester will take place on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. with another conference match-up against Texas A&M-International.

Don't forget to bring canned or non-perishable food items to donate to the Aggies "Can" Make a Difference Food Drive benefitting the Loaves and Fishes Food Cupboard of Guymon. Participants will receive one raffle ticket for each food item they bring and will be entered into a drawing to win a signed Aggie basketball and personalized Aggie basketball jersey; drawing will take place a halftime of the Dec. 7 game.