LAS CRUCES, N.M. – In search of a three-game win streak, NM State (3-6) returns back at the Pan American Center, playing host to UC Irvine (9-2) on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. MT, streaming live on ESPN+, with live stats available here.
 
NM State sports an 18-12 all-time record against the Anteaters, largely stemming from the Aggies' time in the Big West conference. Since 2005, the Crimson & White are 5-2 against UC Irvine. In last year's season opener, Jody Adams' bunch came away with a 57-49 victory in Irvine, Calif.
 
OPENING TIP
 
Who: NM State (3-6) vs. UC Irvine (9-2)
Where: Pan American Center (12,200) | Las Cruces, N.M.
When: Tuesday, Dec. 16, 6 p.m. MT
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: nmstatesports.com/stats
 
LAST TIME OUT

• NM State soundly defeated WNMU 76-44, in their first game back in the City of Crosses since Nov. 11.
• The Aggies used a season-best 25 assists, along with 52 points in the paint (tied season-high) to secure the victory, while holding the Mustangs to 27.5% from the field.
• Lucía Yenes led the team in scoring, finishing with 14 points, also tallying four rebounds and four assists.
• Morane Dossou notched her best scoring output with the Crimson & White, totaling 10 points while pulling in eight rebounds.
• Emma Christiano recorded another solid performance off the bench, posting six points, five rebounds and six assists – totaling six helpers for the second consecutive contest.

 
IMANI'S IMPACT

• Junior guard Imani Warren has tallied a standout season for the Crimson & White, recently setting a new career-high with 20 points against San Diego (Nov. 24).
• Also against the Toreros, Warren tallied a new career high with seven made free throws – the most by an Aggie in a game this season.
• This became the third time during the 2025-26 campaign that Warren has tied or set a career high in points, while making her the 21^st player in Conference USA to notch 20 or more points this season.
• Against Utah Tech, Warren put in the go-ahead basket to secure the victory, finishing with 13 points and four rebounds for her fifth performance of 10-plus points this season.
• Notching three blocks against Fresno State (Nov. 28), this is the most by an Aggie in a single game this season, while six assists tied a season best for NM State – equaling the total she set against New Mexico Highlands (Nov. 11).
• Her three blocks against Fresno State (Nov. 28) were the most by an Aggie this season
• In the matchup against the Bulldogs, she also tied a team high with six assists, matching a mark she previously set against New Mexico Highlands.
• Against New Mexico Highlands (Nov. 11), the Milwaukee, Wis., native posted her first career double-double (15 points, 11 rebounds). Her performance still stands as the lone double-double for the Aggies this season.
• Warren currently leads the Aggies in steals (1.8 per game; 13^th in CUSA) and free throws made (22), while ranking second on the team in made field goals (35), blocks (6), assists (2.5 per game; 13^th in CUSA) and scoring (10.6 points per game). She is also third on the team in both total rebounds (37) and rebounds per game (4.3)

 
LUCIA LA REINA

• Senior forward Lucía Yenes showed out in the Aggies' season-opening contest against No. 18 USC (Nov. 4), tallying her first collegiate start en route to pouring in a career-high 27 points.
• Her point production was the most by an Aggie against power conference competition since NM State Hall of Famer and three-time All-American Anita Maxwell tallied 27 against No. 20 Ole Miss in 1996.
• Through the beginning of the 2025-26 season, she holds the second-highest single-game scoring output in CUSA, while ranking eighth in the league in scoring (14.1 points per game). The Spaniard also ranks fifth in the league in field-goal percentage (44.7), fifth in field goals made (51) and seventh in total points (127).
• With a team-high nine blocks on the season, Yenes is tied for eighth in the conference in blocks per game (1.0), making her one of just 12 players in Conference USA to average at least one block per night.
• In the Aggies' home opener against New Mexico Highlands, the senior from Madrid notched a game-high 23 points, adding five rebounds and a trio of steals.
• Tallying back-to-back 20-plus point scoring performances to open the season, Yenes became the first Aggie to do so since Aaliyah Prince in the 2019-20 campaign.

 
LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR…

• This season, the Aggies currently rank third among Conference USA members in total assists (123) and assists per game (13.7).
• On Sunday against Western New Mexico, NM State notched 25 helpers, a season-high and the most in a game for the Crimson & White since Dec. 20, 2022, against Northern New Mexico (25).
• Las Cruces native Emma Christiano leads the team with 28 total assists, averaging 3.1 per contest. Her average ranks seventh in the league, while her assist-to-turnover ratio (1.9) ranks third.
• Against WNMU, Christiano tied her career best with six assists, reaching that mark for the second consecutive game after also doing so against Utah Tech on Dec. 6.

 
MO REBOUNDS

• Junior forward Morane Dossou tallied her best performance in the Crimson & White against the College of Charleston (Nov. 27), finishing with 14 rebounds (five offensive) in 24 minutes off the bench.
• Her total still stands as the single-game high for rebounds by an Aggie this season.
• Earning her first start with the Crimson & White against Southern Utah (Dec. 4), Dossou would again finish with double-digit rebounds, pulling down 11 in just over 16 minutes of action.
• In the comeback victory over Utah Tech, Dossou again tallied the start, finishing with two points and 11 rebounds.
• The junior from France holds three of the five 10-plus rebound performances for NM State this season, with Lucia Lara (Nov. 11) and Imani Warren (Nov. 11) recording the others.

 
HEATING UP

• Finishing with six 3-pointers made against Southern Utah on Dec. 4, the team notched a new season-high in makes from deep.
• In the Aggies' first five contests of the season, the squad combined to make 11 triples while shooting 21% from beyond the arc. Over their previous four contests, the Crimson & White have made 16 3-pointers, doing so at a 31% clip.
• During the span, freshman Keira Hudson leads the team with four makes on nine attempts (44.4%).

 
SPECIAL K

• First-year Aggie Keira Hudson notched her best performance of the season against Utah Tech, posting a career-best 16 points to lead the team's comeback road victory.
• In the preceding game against Southern Utah, Hudson tallied a then-career-high of nine points.
• Knocking down four 3-pointers in the Aggies' last three games, Hudson now ranks second on the team in made 3-pointers this season.
• With 10 made free throws, the Central Coast, Australia, native ranks third on the team, while leading in percentage (83.3%, min. 10 attempts).

SCOUTING THE ANTEATERS

• UC Irvine is led by Head Coach Tamara Inoue, in her 10^th season in charge of the 'Eaters. She boasts a career record of 170-118, with a 9-2 mark this season.
• Inoue has a history with Las Cruces, spending time on the NM State staff from 2011-2016 under former Aggie bench boss Mark Trakh.
• Last season, UC Irvine went 21-10, falling to UC Davis in the Big West Championships semifinals.
• Senior guard Hunter Hernandez leads the Anteaters in scoring, posting 16.7 points per contest, including a career-best 31 points against CSUN.
• Fellow guard Jada Wynn holds the team lead in rebounds, averaging 9.5 per game – with a double-digit total in five games this season, including each of UC Irvine's previous three matchups.
• As a team, the Anteaters rank among the nation's best in points from the charity stripe, with the fourth-best percentage (81.5%) in Division I, while putting in 17.5 free throws per game (14^th in Division I).

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