LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Playing in front of the home crowd for the first time in nearly three weeks, NM State (8-14, 4-6 CUSA) put together a strong performance against one of Conference USA's best, defeating the Sam Houston Bearkats (13-7, 6-3 CUSA) 65-57 on Thursday night. 

Following a quick miss from the visiting Bearkats, the Aggies tallied the first points of the contest on a Loes Rozing layup. After falling behind 9-5 (Sam Houston's largest lead of the night), NM State went on a 9-2 run with Rozing, Lucía Yenes and Morane Dossou tallying all 14 points for the Aggies in the opening quarter, taking a 14-11 lead into the second.
 
Imani Warren tallied her first made basket of the night in the second quarter, while also tallying the final bucket before halftime, giving NM State its largest lead in the opening 20 minutes (32-20). Bench play from the Crimson & White came alive in the second quarter, with Senoj Jones tallying five consecutive points, and Anna Csenyi burying a 3-pointer, the first of the game for the home team. 
 
At the break, NM State held Sam Houston to just 24% shooting from the field and 1-for-8 from 3-point range (13%). The Aggies also posted dominant advantages in blocks (5-0) and fastbreak points (14-2). 
 
The third quarter saw NM State continue to fire on all cylinders offensively, scoring the first six points of the half to record the largest lead of the contest (38-20). Following an 8-3 scoring run by the visitors, Anna Csenyi's second made triple put the Aggies ahead 46-30 with 4:02 left in the third. With the squads continuing to trade points to the end of the quarter, NM State held a 52-36 advantage heading into the final frame. 
 
A stagnant Bearkat offense came to life in the fourth quarter, rattling off 10-straight points to whittle the home side's lead (52-46) with six-and-a-half minutes to go. Shortly after, DeAvion Wilson, making her first start of the season, put her defender on a string, shaking free and finishing at the rim to put the Aggies back up by 10 (56-46). A back-and-forth affair saw Sam Houston shrink the deficit to five points with 1:23 left in the contest, though a timely find by Loes Rozing saw Senoj Jones make a tough jumper in the lane to put the Aggies up seven (61-54) with 54 ticks left. 
 
As the buzzer sounded, the Aggies came away with a 65-57 win, improving to 22-2 in home contests under Head Coach Jody Adams when allowing 59 or less points.
 

NUMBERS OF NOTE

• Lucia Yenes led the Aggies offensively with 17 points on Thursday night, while adding seven rebounds, two steals and one block in 22 minutes of action. 
• Imani Warren put together a versatile performance while dealing with intermittent cramping throughout the contest, finishing with eight points, six assists, four steals, three blocks and three rebounds. This became the third time this season Warren has tallied three blocks in a game (vs. Fresno State, at Western Kentucky). 
• Nine Aggies appeared in the scoring column against Sam Hoston, with six scoring at least six points. Each starter scored at least five points. 
• DeAvion Wilson made her first start for the Crimson & White, finishing with five points, three rebounds and one assist in 16 minutes of action. 
• NM State posted six blocks in the win, tying the season high for a fifth time, and the fourth time in CUSA play.
• Tallying 17 assists on 25 made baskets, this became the most against Division-I competition this season, and third most overall (25, Western New Mexico & 20, NM Highlands.

QUOTABLES

Junior Imani Warren, on the team's performance: "It all starts in practice. Staying disciplined, staying locked in and translating our work in drills and scrimmages to the main court."

Senior Lucía Yenes, on playing an aggressive-minded team like Sam Houston:  "I feel like we really executed the game plan Coach Jody and Coach Frey drew up, I think that was the key for us. This team is an aggressive team and they love to attack, so I think we did a great job embracing that challenge."

Head Coach Jody Adams, following the win over Sam Houston:  "I'm super proud of this team. I think we played the toughest team in the league as far as the brand of basketball and competitive spirit, so credit goes to our players for matching that and sticking to our game plan."

NM State returns to the Pan American Center floor on Saturday to take on the top team in the league, Louisiana Tech. Tip-off is slated for noon in Las Cruces, with the game streaming live on ESPN+ and live stats available at nmstatesports.com/stats.

For complete coverage of NM State Women's Basketball, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow us on Twitter (@NMStateWBB), Instagram (@NMStateWBB), and like us on Facebook (NM State Women's Basketball).

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