Years become months, months become weeks, weeks become hours and hours become minutes as the time winds down for New Mexico State women's basketball seniors Shanice Davis, Abby Scott and Sasha Weber, who will take Lou Henson Court one last time this Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
As historic as the past two seasons have been for the women's basketball program, proving their doubters wrong has been a constant battle. Some still have their doubts, even with the Aggies running the table this year at 24-3 and 13-0 in Western Athletic Conference play. However, head coach Mark Trakh challenging the seniors and the rest of the team as to what kind of legacy they want to leave behind once things are said and done has been the biggest motivator.
 
"I feel like our legacy here has meant everything to us," Scott said as Davis and Weber nod their heads vehemently in agreement.
 
"It especially means a lot to Abby and I because we came from below .500 seasons to almost undefeated seasons," Weber said. "To come from that and see the program where it is now, is so special."
 
Davis joined the Aggies her junior year after spending two years at McLennan College where she led the Highlanders to the Region V Tournament Championship game.
 
"It shows a lot about the character of the program to be able to go from 20-loss seasons to back-to-back 20-win seasons," Davis said.
 
To put things into perspective, the Aggies have only had back-to-back 20-win seasons four times in since the program began in 1973. That is not the only accolade the team achieved this season.
 
Trakh has guided a team full of "scrappers," as they would refer to themselves, to two-straight conference championships. A feat that has only been accomplished one other time in the history of the program, and actually the first time the Aggies have won the title outright in consecutive years.
 
A win on senior day will also give NM State its longest winning-streak ever at 16, with at least one more game remaining in the conference tournament.
 
When asked what sold them on coming to NM State, all three took a second before agreeing on "hope".
 
"They told us if we come here, we could really be part of something special," said Scott.
 
Both Scott and Weber had similar experiences in their prep careers, playing on a team that occupied the cellars of their leagues before blossoming their junior and senior seasons. As the two reminisced about how bad their prep careers started, Davis sat with a smirk on her face – drawing dirty looks from Scott and Weber.
 
The Harker Heights High School graduate went 77-31 during her three years on varsity, including a 35-2 season her senior campaign. 
 
Madras High School, where Scott played her prep career, was 1-22 and 0-14 in league play before her freshman year there. By her senior year, the White Buffaloes were 25-3 and went undefeated in league (10-0) – almost a mirror image of her senior year here at New Mexico State.
 
"It feels amazing to be a part of something, to start something, to start a legacy, to start a program that can now have some foundation of success," Scott said, referring to her time at MHS and NM State.
 
"Totally," Weber said as she sighed, thinking about her own prep experience.
 
"I had a similar experience to Abby. We started off similar to how we started here. It takes a lot to stick it out. We all could've transferred or quit, but it was a lot more rewarding in the end because you feel like it's your own."
 
"It's our baby!" Scott shouted as Weber agreed with, "exactly!"
 
The Lacey, Wash., product didn't have such a hot start to her high school career – going 10-12 her freshman season and 3-6 in league play. But, like Scott, Weber's team emerged from the depths of the league cellar to winning the league title her junior year with a 23-2 record and 10-0 mark in conference play.
 
"They're not selling hope to recruits any longer," Davis says. "We're winners here now. So if you want to come here, you better be ready to work. The expectation level is high now, coach Trakh doesn't play games like that. You're here to win when you come here and get an education for sure!"
 
When asked if they've thought about senior day, the seniors all nodded. However, they've all come to it from different perspectives.
 
"Everything that will happen will be positive," Davis said. "It's going to be amazing to celebrate it in front of our families. I feel like this will be a celebration, it's not going to be a sad moment at all."
 
The two-year transfer has definitely made an impact on the team as the Aggies' floor general. She's known when to step up and take over on offense, as evident by her offensive outburst from time to time, and when to be the distributor for her team. She's also been a great mentor for the younger guards like Zaire Williams.
 
"I agree with Shanice," Scott said. "But, I feel like it's going to be bittersweet. I feel like I've grown up a lot. I'm going to be a little sad; I'm not going to lie. Just to be a part of the program and see where it's come…it's really turned into our baby."
 
Weber, the second-leading 3-point shooter in program history, had a glimpse of that feeling she said when she went to go shoot on her own this past Monday.
 
"I was just standing there, taking it all in and it just hit me," she said, as she looks towards Davis and Scott. "I kind of had a flashback of when I was here on my recruiting trip. I remember just standing there on the court staring at everything and taking it all in. Now I'm taking it all in in a different way. It's kind of bizarre that it's already here."
 
She pauses to gather her thoughts, imagining as if she was that 18-year old girl on her recruiting trip once more on the parquet floors of the Pan American Center.
 
"It's like that tightness in your throat," Scott said giving her teammate time to regain her composure.
 
"It's just come and gone so quickly!" Weber said, as she does her best to hold back tears. "You can't replace this team, this experience or coaching staff. It's just been the best combination in the world."
 
"It breaks your heart," says Scott, as her and Davis begin to tear up after Weber's comment.
 
"You can't be happier with how it's ended, and how things have gone. It's never a moment of regret."
 
Asked to narrow a moment in their collegiate careers that'll stick out the most 20 years down the line, collectively, the three agreed it was one moment or another during their championship run at the WAC Tournament last year.
 
For Scott, it was cutting down the nets as Weber cuts in to say, "We finally did it!" Davis' moment was during the waning moments of the championship game before the clock struck zero. She fondly remembers them jumping up and down on the sideline before racing up and down the court at Orleans Arena.
 
However, as the three began to recall the joyous occasion, they seemed to have stopped at one specific moment in their minds.
 
Beyond the celebration, Davis said being able to turn to her head coach and say, "Finally, Coach Trakh! We did it!" will be the most memorable moment for her as tears begin to glide down her face.
 
Scott, who was the closest with Trakh between the three, really struggled to convey her message as she began to choke up said, "That was a good moment, hugging Coach Trakh. He deserved that. He sacrificed so much for all of us and to finally be able to give that to him. Give him that trophy for riding it out through those tough few years was definitely gratifying."
 
All three again, collectively, looked at one another. This time wiping tears from their face, nodded in agreement that that was their best moment.  Giving their head coach, mentor and to some degree a father figure the coveted conference tournament trophy and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
 
"You can't replace this at all, and to know you will never get it back…," said Weber. "But, it'll never go anywhere. We'll always leave knowing we had a hand in the making of something special here at New Mexico State."
 
However this historic ride ends for these three seniors, no one will be able to take away what they've accomplished on Saturday when they take Lou Henson Court for the final time.