Game 18
NM State (7-11, 3-5 WAC) at Seattle U (6-14, 1-8)
Saturday, Feb. 5 | 3 p.m. (MT) | Redhawk Center (999) | Seattle, Wash.
Watch | Live Stats | Tickets | NM State Game Notes | Seattle U Game Notes
 

Opening Tip
• NM State remains away from home for the second of its two-game road stretch as they travel to the Pacific Northwest to do battle with Seattle U
• The two programs will meet for the first time this season as their initial matchup that was scheduled for Dec. 30, in Las Cruces, was postponed to Feb. 8. This also means the Redhawks and Aggies will face-off with each other twice in the span of four days.
• In Seattle, the Aggies will look to earn their first true road win of the season as their lone victory away from the Pan Am came early in the season at the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico when they defeated Tennessee Tech, 66-54, on Nov. 27, 2021.
• This will be the 66th WAC contest in which Brook Atkinson will be at the helm as the Aggies have compiled an impressive league record of 43-23 during her tenure.
• The Aggies and Redhawks have previously met 23 different times with the Aggies in command of the series with an all-time record of 15-8 against Seattle U, including a nine-game winning streak spanning from 2014-17.
• Seattle U most recently squared off with the Aggies when they met in last year's WAC Tournament. In that matchup, NM State earned the win, 56-46, as Shania Harper led the way with 15 points. This was also the fifth time that the Aggies have found themselves on the other side of the court as the Redhawks in the conference tournament.
• The Aggies have been most successfull at home, posting a 9-3 record in the Pan Am, however, they still do hold a winning record inside the Redhawk Center as they are 4-3 in road games versus Seattle U.
• Coming off of a loss to CBU, the Aggies are now in 10th place in the conference standings while Seattle U's lone WAC victory puts them in 13th place in the 13-team league.
• The meeting with the Redhawks will also serve as a homecoming for graduate transfer Kayla Watkins who attended Glacier Peak High School in Seattle before making her way to Weber State and NM State.
• Head Coach Brooke Atkinson leads one of the WAC's top rebounding teams as the Aggies rank first in the conference in rebounding margin, out-rebounding opponents by 4.9 boards per game. This mark is also good for 71st-best in the nation.
• The Aggies also rank in the top five among WAC team in field goal percentage (3rd, .420), free throw percentage (4th, .704), scoring defense (5th, 63.6), scoring margin (5th, 3.8), scoring offense (3rd, 67.4), three-point field goal defense (4th, .311), turnover margin (4th, +1.22) and turnovers forced per game (5th, 17.56).
• NM State is led in scoring by graduate transfer Bigue Sarr who ranks tied for 12th in the WAC in points per game (13.2) and fourth in rebounds per game (7.7). Sarr also posts a field goal percentage of 55.1 percent to rank third in the league and 25th in the nation in that category.
 
Scouting the Redhawks | Roster | Schedule | Statistics
• The Redhawks are coming off a tight home loss to Grand Canyon on Thursday in which they fell to the Lopes, 59-64.
• In the loss to GCU on Thursday, SU was led in scoring by guard Bree Calhoun who logged 17 points in addition to six assists and four rebounds.
• However, Calhoun's impact on the game does not normally come in the form of scoring herself as she ranks first in the WAC in total assists (88) and assists per game (4.6).
• Calhoun is also one of the conference's top defenders as she ranks inside the top four in total steals (4th, 48) and steals per game (3rd, 2.53).
• Seattle U's team approach to scoring makes them one of only two schools in the WAC without a scorer inside the top-18 in points per game.
• The Saturday evening matchup will be a display of two strong opposing forces as the Aggies' offense ranks near the top in field goal percentage while Seattle U's defense is among the WAC's best in field-goal percentage defense, allowing teams to shoot just under 38 percent per outing.
• The Redhawk defense is also outstanding at coming up with steals as they rank third in the conference in steals per game at 9.3.
• As a team, the Lancers come in at third in the WAC in blocks per game (3.6) while also ranking third in steals per game (9.3), fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.82) and third in rebounds per game (38.2).
• The Lancers are led by 24-year head coach Suzy Barcomb who is currently in her sixth season with Seattle U.
 
 
 
Last Time Out | NM State 64, California Baptist 92 | Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022
• The Lancers ended their two-game losing skid as they opened the game on a 19-4 run and never looked back to knock off the Aggies.
• NM State's top point producer was Bigue Sarr who finished the contest with 13 points to go along with five rebounds in 18 minutes of playing time.
• Taylor Donaldson reached double-digits for the eighth time this season as she registered 12 points.
• After having three Aggie scorers in double-digits for the first time this season in their previous contest, the Aggies reached that feat once again versus the Lancers as Shania Harper finished with 10 points off the bench.
• On the evening the Aggies shot just 33 percent to mark their second-lowest percentage of the year while CBU finished the game shooting at a 56 percent rate.
• NM State did carry the advantage in the categories of second-chance points and bench points as they finished with 15 points off second opportunities and the bench posted 43 of the Aggies' 64 points.
• The Lancers' tandem of Trinity San Antonio and Caitlyn Harper combined for 32 points to lead the way as San Antonio finished with 20 and Harper posted 18.
 
Up Next
• The Aggies will get very familiar with Seattle U as the Redhawks repay the visit when they come to the Pan American Center on Feb. 8. Tip-off for the mid-week contest is scheduled for 2 p.m. (MT).
 
Sights on Six
NM State will seek its sixth WAC regular season title since the 2014-15 season. Including this season, the Aggies are 83-22 in conference play across the past seven seasons.
 
Preseason Picks
NM State was picked to finish in seventh place in the WAC Coaches' Poll while the media selected the Aggies to land in sixth this season.
 
The WAC media also selected junior guard Soufia Inoussa to the Second Team All-WAC list.
 
Bringing Home the Hardware
Following her final season with the Aggies, Aaliyah Prince earned Second Team All-WAC and WAC All-Defensive Team honors. Prince finished the season ranked 11th in the league in steals per game while ranking 13th in points per game.