Opening Tip
• NM State women's basketball (12-12, 7-5 WAC) continues it road trip in Utah on Saturday at 2 p.m. as they get ready to face Utah Tech.
• The team is coming off a disappointing loss on Thursday when they lost to Southern Utah, 63-56.
• Utah Tech has lost three of their last five games but were able to pull out a victory last week against UT Arlington, 87-70.
• The Trailblazers took the last meeting back in January when they came to Las Cruces and defeated the Aggies, 67-65.
• Saturday will mark the fourth meeting between the two schools with the Trailblazers holding a 2-1 advantage over the Aggies.
 
Last Time Out
• The Aggies dropped their second straight game Thursday to Southern Utah, falling 63-56, after leading the Thunderbirds for the first 30 minutes of action.
• With the loss, NM State moved to 7-5 in conference and 12-12 overall.
• The Aggies led the T-Birds for 31:24 in the game.
• 14 of the Aggies points came off turnovers.
• NM State also had 14 second chance points compared to Southern Utah's eight.
• The bench produced 17 points for the Aggies.
• The Aggies largest lead (15) came in the second quarter (2:57)
• NM State finished the game shotting 38.1% from the field and 35.7% from three.
• Molly Kaiser led the team in scoring with 15 points.
• Taylor Donaldson came one steal shy of her career high (5).
• Ashlee Strawbridge and Sylena Peterson led the team in rebounds with five boards each.
• After forcing nine turnovers in the first half, NM State only forced four in the second for a total of 13.
 
 
Defense. Defense. Defense
• NM State is allowing just 59.4 points a game this season to opponents, which is second best in the WAC this season.
• The Aggies possess one of the best turnover margins in the country, tallying the 30th best turnover margin nationally (+4.46) and best margin in the WAC. As a team, NM State forces 19.12 turnovers a contest, which is 43rd best in the nation and third best in the WAC.
• Additionally, NM State ranks 39th in the nation in steals per game (10.0) and third in the WAC.
 
The Sum of Our Parts
• Coach Jody Adams' squad this season is built on balance, with a deep rotation and scoring from all over the court.  Eight different players are averaging 10+ minutes for the team this season, while five average at least 5.0 minutes a contest.
• Soufia Inoussa leads the team in minutes averaging 30.5 per game this season. The other seven players averaging double digit minutes include Taylor Donaldson (29.0), Molly Kaiser (28.0), Fama Thaim (25.3), Tayelin Grays (22.6), Sylena Peterson (22.9), Ashlee Strawbridge (21.0), Shania Harper (16.7)
• Molly Kaiser paces the team on the scoring front, managing 11.7 points a game, with that average bumping up to 12.4 in conference play. In total, six players are averaging six or more points a contest since the start of conference play: Kaiser (12.4), Tayelin Grays (9.8), Sylena Peterson (9.3), Soufia Inoussa (7.6), Shania Harper (7.7), and Taylor Donaldson (6.3).
 
Changing the Landscape
• In her first season as Head Coach, Jody Adams has jumpstarted the Aggies to their best record in conference play (7-5)  since the 2018-2019 season when the team finished the year 15-1 in WAC play.
• After the season got out to a slow 3-7 start, the Aggies have shifted their narrative winning nine of the next 14 games played, including five wins on the road.
• Last season, the Aggies went 0-12 on the road overall and have improved to six road wins this season, including a 4-2 record against WAC competition. This marks the most road victories since the 18-19 season (11-5 road record).
• With 12 wins on the year, Adams has surpassed the Aggies win total from last season (10), with six contests still left to be played.
 
Scouting the Trailblazers
• Utah Tech (14-8, 6-5 WAC) sits right behind NM State in the WAC conference standings, holding the seventh spot.
• As of now, the Trailblazer sit fourth in the WAC resume seeding system with 0.38 points.
• Macie Warren (18.9) and Breaunna Gillen (17.4) lead the scoring front for the Trailblazers. They are just two of five players putting up double digit scoring outputs on a regular basis - Amber Kartchner (11.5), Emily Isaacson (11.3) and Maggie McCord are the three other players scoring in double figures.
• As a team, Utah Tech is scoring just over 75 points an outing, which is second best in the WAC this year. However they also allow nearly 70 points a game, which is fourth worst in the conference.
• The Trailblazers shoot the ball very efficiently, connecting on 45.2% of their shots as a team, the second best percentage in the conference.
 
Up Next
• The Aggies will return to the Pan Am next week where they begin a three game home stand. The Aggies will welcome Seattle U, California Baptist and UT Arlington over a two week span before hitting the road for the final two games of the regular season.