LAS CRUCES – The New Mexico State women's basketball team returns home for its final two games of the regular-season, beginning with Missouri-Kansas City at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Pan American Center.
 
Saturday's game can be heard on 91.5 FM KRUX or on TuneIn with your mobile or tablet device. Adam Young will have the call for Aggie fans while Nolan Fox serves as the analyst for the 2 p.m. tip-off.
 
UMKC LINKS: Live Stats | Live Audio | @NMStateWBB | @UMKCWBB
 
BACK-2-BACK
With its win on Thursday over CSU Bakersfield, NM State clinched the Western Athletic Conference Championship outright for the second-straight year.
 
Head coach Mark Trakh also cemented his name into the NM State women's basketball history books once again, becoming just the second coach in program history to win back-to-back league titles. The only other coach to lead NM State to consecutive conference championships was Joe McKeown (1986-87 and 1987-88).
 
BYE, BYE, BYE
New Mexico State earned the No. 1 seed for the WAC Tournament and a bye in the quarterfinal round with its win on Thursday over CSU Bakersfield,. The Aggies will get an extra day of rest and will only have to play in two games instead of three should they advance to the championship game on Saturday, March 12, at 2 p.m. (MT).
 
#WACVEGAS
The conference tournament is just around the corner with two weeks remaining in the regular season. Like years past, the WAC Women's Basketball Tournament will be held at the Orleans Arena from March 9-12.
 
Aggie fans interested in purchasing tickets may contact the Pan Am Center ticket office by calling (575) 646-1420 or in person at the Pan Am Center Box Office. Aggie Athletic Club members purchasing their tickets for the tournament will also have priority seating based on their AAC giving.
 
As the No. 1-seed in the tournament, New Mexico State is scheduled to play the winner of the first quarterfinal game between the No. 4 and No. 5 seed on Friday, Nov. 11, at noon.
 
GETTING STREAKY
Winners of 14-straight, the New Mexico State women's basketball team inches closer to the program record of 15 as the regular-season winds down. A win on Saturday will extend NM State's streak to 15 wins, tying it for the longest winning-streak in program history. Dating back to last season, NM State has also won 13-straight conference games at home heading into Saturday's contest.
 
Moriah Mack leads NM State with 12 points per game during the 14-game winning-streak, while Sasha Weber checks in with 11.7 points per game. Brooke Salas and Shanice Davis are the other two players averaging double-digit points during this stretch with 10.6 and 10.2 points, respectively.
 
Mack is also leading the squad in rebounds with 5.1 per game (71) during the stretch and shooting .453 from the floor. Salas is finding the hoop much better as the season progresses, shooting .480 from the floor and rocks a team-best .450 clip from 3-point range (Min. 100). Tamera William paces the Aggies in the steals department with 29 and is second on the team with 4.8 boards per game during the 14-game winning-streak.
 
NM State's longest winning-streak of 15 games was set during the latter half of the 1988 season and broken in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Washington on March 19, 1988 – an 85-74 loss.
 
ROLLIN' ROLLIN' ROLLIN'
The Aggies have been on a roll this year, winning 23-of-26 games so far and will take 14-game win-streak into Saturday's match-up with UMKC. New Mexico State has also won 17 of its last 18 games. During that stretch, the Aggies have held opponents to just 57.3 points per game to their 67.3 points per game.
 
The Aggie defense has also been ferocious in that stretch, forcing 19.4 turnovers per game and registering 10.4 steals per game. They've also outscored their opponents 359-223 in the points off turnovers category during that stretch.
 
WHAT'S HOPPIN' WITH THE 'ROOS
Since playing New Mexico State, UMKC has gone 3-6 in conference play and enters Saturday's contest with a 9-16 overall record and 4-8 mark in WAC play. UMKC lost its last two games at home to Grand Canyon (68-59) and Utah Valley (58-44) after winning its previous two – one of which came against UT Rio Grande Valley on the road (59-57).
 
The last time the Aggies and 'Roos squared off, NM State came out on top – 68-62 – in Kansas City. Sasha Weber led all scorers that game with 18 points and six assists while Shanice Davis added 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including a 5-for-6 effort from 3-point range to go with her three steals, two assists and two blocks. Moriah Mack chipped in with 16 points of her own and also had five boards, five assists and four steals. UMKC had three players in double-figures led by Kianna Law's double-double of 17 points and 14 boards. Kristian Moore and Samantha Waldron added 14 and 12 points, respectively.
 
Despite its 9-16 overall record, Missouri-Kansas City is shooting .407 from the floor as a team – good for third in the conference bind Utah Valley (.426) and NM State (.412). However, the Kangaroos have turned the ball over 18.1 times a game compared to their opponent's 12.5 turnovers per game.
 
Aries Washington paces UMKC with 11.2 points per game and is second in rebounds with 6.0 boards per game. Washington is shooting .430 from the field and .870 from the charity stripe. However, the 5-9 guard is second on the team in scoring in conference play with 11.3 points per game.
 
Waldron, who is third on the team in scoring with 9.0 points per game, paces the 'Roos in conference play with 12.0 points per game. The 5-11 sophomore is shooting .446 from the floor and .424 (25-59) from downtown. Waldron is averaging 14 points in her last five games and has reached double-figures in four of those five games, including a 19 point game against CSU Bakersfield.
 
Law checks in with 9.9 points per game for UMKC and is also third in scoring for conference play with 9.3 points per game. The 6-1 forward owns a team-best 6.7 rebounds per game and second on the team in steals with 25 behind Waldron (28). Law struggled in her last three games, scoring a combined 18 points between three games.
 
KEEP ON KEEPIN' ON
The continued to impress on the road with a pair of wins last week at Bakersfield and Seattle U. The Aggies trailed by as much as 10 and did not take the lead until the 6:49 mark in the fourth quarter against CSUB. However, 12 points from Moriah Mack in the final quarter of play saw the Aggies come out on top 67-59.
 
Two days later, NM State squared off with Seattle U and shot a blistering 60.5-percent from the floor en route to its 66-56 victory at the newly renovated Connolly Center. The Aggies also moved the ball around well that night, dishing out 19 assists to tie the team's season-high for the second time this year. The last time NM State shot over 60-percent from the floor was against Idaho on March 1, 1997, when the Aggies were a red-hot .667 from the field.
 
IN THE NATION
Through Tuesday night's games, NM State is tied for 12th in NCAA Division I women's basketball with a 23-3 record. The Aggies are also in the top-80 of several categories.
 
On the offensive end, NM State's 203 three-pointers has them in 26th-place while their 7.8 shots from downtown per game rank them 25th.
 
On the defensive end, NM State's 19.65 turnovers forced average is also good for 29th in the country. The Aggies' 266 steals on the year have them in 31st while their 10.2 steals per game puts them in 25th. New Mexico State's 4.69 turnover margin is good for 19th in the nation.
 
Sasha Weber's 65 made 3-pointers have her ranked 56th in the country and her 2.60 average beyond the arc has her sitting in 41st while her .414 clip from 3-point range is ranked 29th.
 
BEST OF THE BEST
Sasha Weber currently ranks amongst the best of the best in the NCAA. Her 1,448 career points total has her 65th in the NCAA Division I active career leaders list in scoring while her 256 made 3-pointers has her checking in at No. 10 amongst active players.
 
LEADING LADIES
With the non-conference slate concluded, NM State and its players lead the league in several categories or are in the top-10.
 
As a team NM State leads the league in scoring offense (69.4), scoring defense (59.3), scoring margin (+10.0), assists per game (13.6), turnover margin (+4.7), turnovers forced (19.65), 3-point field-goals made (203) and steals (266).
 
Sasha Weber's 12.4 points per game ties her for fourth in league. Brianna Freeman, who is shooting .502 from the field, leads the league while Weber's 43.8-percent from the field is good for ninth.
 
In the assist column, Shanice Davis is tied for fifth in the WAC with 3.5 dimes per game.
 
Weber also leads the conference in 3-point field-goal percentage, checking in at .414 and tops the league for 3-point field-goals made with 65 (2.6 per game). Davis' .318 clip from 3-point rage ranks her in 10th amongst league leaders.
 
Freeman is third in the conference with 1.4 blocks per game (34) and also seventh on the Aggies' all-time blocks leaderboard. Tamera William's 53 steals (2.0 spg) has her sitting in third while Davis is in a tie for eighth with 1.6 swipes per game.