LAS CRUCES – The NM State women's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking loss to its in-state rival as they fell to New Mexico, 66-73. Despite shooting 55 percent from three and leading by 11 points after three quarters, the Lobos came sprinting back to steal the win inside the Pan American Center on Sunday afternoon. 
 
Bigue Sarr recorded her second-straight double-double and led all scorers as she finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Taylor Donaldson was the only other Aggie to reach double-digit scoring figures, finishing with 10 points in 22 minutes off the bench. Soufia Inoussa and Mel Isbell were also effective on the offensive side of the ball as they each connected on a pair of three-pointers to finish with eight points and six points, respectively.
 
The promising second half from the Aggies on Friday night seemed to carry over to Sunday as the Aggies came out strong in the opening quarter. After not being in the lineup on Friday, Tayelin Grays made an immediate impact, scoring the first two points of the game. Following back-to-back made baskets from Soufia Inoussa and Bigue Sarr, a Mel Isbell triple put the Aggies up 9-5 with 6:22 remaining in the first. 
 
A scoring drought that lasted nearly four minutes was ended when the Lobos put together a 6-0 run to take an 11-9 lead at the 1:58 mark. The next two Aggie possessions resulted in a Grays layup and a Sarr and-one, putting the Aggies ahead 14-11 with 1:20 to go. A second deep ball from Isbell in the closing seconds of the first period gave the Aggies a six-point advantage entering the second quarter.
 
NM State went straight to the well to open the second quarter as Bigue Sarr started the scoring for the Aggies with a layup to put her team up eight points. The middle of the period resembled a three-point contest as both teams combined for four-straight deep balls, three of which came from Aggie shooters. Soufia Inoussa knocked down a triple with 6:32 remaining, putting the Aggies ahead 24-16. UNM's Latora Duff then responded with a three of her own. Then Taylor Donaldson and Fama Thiam connected on back-to-back shots from range to set the Aggie lead at 30-19 with 4:45 remaining in the half. 
 
Deja Terrell got in on the scoring action with a driving bucket off the glass with 3:07 to play in the second, giving the Aggies their largest lead of the half, 35-22. The Aggies and Lobos essentially traded buckets for the final three minutes of play with UNM scoring the final three points of the first half to put the Aggies ahead by seven at the break.
 
Once again, Bigue Sarr opened the scoring for the Aggies as Soufia Inoussa's wrap-around pass led to an easy layup for the Senagal native to start the third. After a short scoring spurt from the Lobos that cut the lead to just five points, Sarr and Inoussa combined for five-straight Aggie points to put the Aggies ahead by 10 points with 5:39 remaining in the third quarter. Sarr also scored the next six points for the Aggies leading to a Taylor Donaldson layup that gave Brooke Atkinson's squad a 14-point lead with 2:33 left on the clock in the third. After a three-pointer from the Lobo's Latora Duff, a made basket from Sarr gave the Aggies a 11-point cushion entering the final quarter.
 
The Aggies looked to be on their way to their first victory in the Battle of I-25 since 2016 as Taylor Donaldson opened the fourth quarter by connecting on the Aggies' seventh three-pointer of the afternoon. However, UNM's Antonia Anderson answered with a three-pointer of her own to spearhead an 8-2 Lobo run that put UNM within five points with just under six minutes remaining. A Sarr layup briefly stopped the Lobo comeback before Latora Duff, Paula Reus and Antonia Anderson combined for seven quick points to tie the score at 63 with 3:55 left in the game. 
 
Sarr then hit one-of-two free throws to put the Aggies out front, however, a Shai Mcgruder layup at the 3:02 mark would give the Lobos their first lead of the game since the first quarter. Mcgruder then followed with a three-pointer that was answered by a Sarr lay-in, leaving the Aggies down two points with 1:34 remaining. These would be the final points scored by someone in an Aggie uniform as the Lobos went on to close out the game and earn a 73-66 victory.