LAS CRUCES, N.M. – With Friday, Nov. 13, serving as the official first day of competition for the 2015-16 college basketball season, the NM State women's basketball team will open its season on the road at North Dakota State
 
The defending Western Athletic Conference and tournament champions are set to square off against the Bison at 6 p.m. (MST) on Friday at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.
 
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#AGGIEUP
NM State returns all five starters from last year's NCAA Tournament team, including the WAC player of the year – Brianna Freeman. The five returning starters accounted for 1,739 of the 2,159 points scored for the Aggies last season, an astounding 81 percent of the team's scoring.
 
Sasha Weber, the Aggies' leading scorer last year with 14.9 points per game, enters the season with 191 career three-pointers under her belt – which is good for second all-time behind Mari Sachez (283, 1999-03). Her team-leading 72 shots from downtown was good for the sixth-most in a single season.
 
Shanice Davis, a junior college transfer from McLennan College, made an immediate impact on the team last season. The Killeen, Texas, product averaged 13.7 points for NM State as the floor general, starting in all 30 games and earned First-Team All-WAC in the process.
 
Moriah Mack, the WAC Defensive Player of the Year, was a force to be reckoned with for the Aggies last season as she averaged 13.7 points and 5.3 rebounds – both of which were good for second-best on the team.
 
TRAKH ADDS THREE FOR 2015-16
Head coach Mark Trakh added Brooke Salas, Jeneva Toilolo and Takiyah Lopez to the mix for the 2015-16 season after posting a 22-8 mark last year.
 
Salas, a 5-10 guard out of Placentia, Calif., led El Dorado High School to three-straight California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section quarterfinals. The freshman led her team with 17.5 points per game as a senior and 19.6 points per game as a junior. She also earned first-team all-county recognition three-straight years.
 
Toilolo, a 6-3 forward from Honolulu, Hawaii, led Farrington High School to back-to-back league championships in her final two seasons with the Governors. She was also named the Eastern Co-Player of the Year as a junior by the Oahu Interscholastic Association after guiding her team to an 18-2 mark. Toilolo was also an integral member of the all-star team from Hawaii that won the 47-team Arizona Elite Spring Classic title.
 
Last, but not least, is Lopez who joins NM State from El Paso, Texas. The Chapin High School graduate finished her final year of prep school leading the Huskies to 24-7 mark and district championship. Prior to that, the 5-8 point guard played at El Dorado High School in El Paso and led EDHS to a 68-18 record during her three years there – including the school's first-ever playoff appearance during her sophomore year.
 
SCOUTING THE BISON
Heading into Friday's contest, NM State leads the all-time series 2-1. The Aggies won the most recent match up, 79-59, in Las Cruces last December. NM State had four players in double-figures in the win. Moriah Mack led all scorers with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-2 from downtown to with her eight board and four steals. Sasha Weber added 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor while Shanice Davis and Brianna Freeman chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
This will also mark the second time the two schools will open up the season against one another. The last time NM State and NDSU squared off in the season opener was in 2010-11 season with North Dakota State winning at home over the Aggies, 88-79.
 
NDSU enters the year having lost Brooke LeMar due to graduation. The 5-6 guard last season led the team with 19.5 points per game while averaging 3.7 rebounds. The Bison also lost 6-0 forward, Liz Keena, who played in all 29 games last year and averaged 6.6 points to go with 6.2 boards per game.
 
North Dakota State will be led by a pair of seniors this season in Holly Johnson and Marena Whittle. Johnson, a 6-0 forward and All-Summit League honorable mention last year, averaged 12.2 points and 7.0 rebounds for the Bison. Whittle led the Bison in steals (52), blocks (30) and assists per game (2.2) last season. NDSU also returns Taylor Thunstedt, the Summit League All-Newcomer award winner last year, led the team in three-point field goals (55). Her 8.6 points per game last year tied her with Whittle for the second-best scoring average amongst returners.
 
As a team, North Dakota State is led by second-year head coach Maren Walseth. She led NDSU to an 11-18 overall record in her first year and a 7-9 mark in conference play, good for sixth in the Summit League.
 
AGGIES TESTED EARLY
NM State is slated to play a trio of teams that earned a berth into one of the postseason tournaments in its first five games.
 
First up for the Aggies will be their I-25 rival, New Mexico (Nov. 17), who made it into the second round of the Women's Basketball Invitational. The Lobos concluded their season 21-13. Two days later, NM State will host a tilt against Sacramento State (Nov. 19). The Hornets advanced to the round of 16 in the Women's National Invitational Tournament before falling to Saint Mary's, 77-69.
 
The following week, Northwestern State arrives in Las Cruces for the Aggie Hotel Encanto Thanksgiving Classic. The Lady Demons were an NCAA first-round team after winning four-straight in the Southland Conference Tournament to earn the automatic bid before falling to nationally-ranked Baylor.
 
The final postseason team the Aggies could face will be Fordham, depending on the results from day one of the Fordham Holiday Classic (Dec. 29-30). The Rams advanced to the second round of the WNIT and finished the year 21-12.
 
NCAA MIXING IT UP FOR 2015 AND BEYOND
In an effort to improve the pace of play and the fluidity of the game, the National Collegiate Athletic Association has made some changes for the 2015-17 seasons. Below are some notable changes on the women's side.

• The game will now be played in FOUR quarters instead of TWO halves like prior years
• Teams can now advance the ball with 59.9 seconds or less on the clock in the fourth period or any extra period. The team with possession of the ball at that mark or below, can advanced the ball to the 28-foot line in the front court on the same side of the playing court as the scorer's table if a timeout is granted
  • An opponent's timeout or media timeout does not grant the team in control of the ball at the 59.9 mark or less to advance the ball, unless the media timeout is a result of the team with control of the ball requesting a timeout
  • If a team advances the ball by pass or dribble, any direction, before the timeout is granted, the team will no longer have the option to advance the ball
  • If the ball has been dribbled or passed in the backcourt before the timeout, successive timeouts do not provide the team with the option to advance the ball
  • If the ball has been dribbled or passed in the backcourt and play is stopped for timing or scoring mistakes, an inadvertent whistle, a held ball, technical foul to the team in control or for an injury, blood situation or lost or displaced glasses/lenses and the team in control calls a timeout, the option to advance is NOT available.
  • The head coach must notify the officials of his or her intent to advance the ball before the timeout has been reported to the scorer. If the head coach does not inform the official before the timeout has been reported to the scorer, play will resume at the point of interruption.
• Team Timeouts
  • Each team now has three 30-second timeouts and one full timeout (60 seconds)
  • Teams may use as many of their timeouts in the first half as they choose; however, only three timeouts carry-over to the second half
  • If a team does not use a timeout in the first half, they will lose one 30-second timeout
  • The full timeout may be used in ether the first or second half
  • Each team receives one 30-second timeout for each extra period, in addition to any unused second-half timeouts
  • Media timeouts will now occur once in each period at the first dead ball at or below the FIVE-minute mark

PRESEASON FAVORITES
The Aggies were picked to finish on top of the WAC standings once again in both the coaches and media polls. The reigning WAC Player of the Year, Brianna Freeman, also swept the preseason player of the year honors in both polls while Sasha Weber and Shanice Davis joined Freeman on the preseason first-team honors list. Last year's defensive player of the year, Moriah Mack, earned first-team honors in the coaches poll, and was tabbed on the second-team in the media poll.
 
NM State earned all but one first-place vote in both polls – Aggies weren't allowed to vote for themselves. Seattle U earned the only other first-place vote in the coaches poll while last year's regular-season runner-up, CSU Bakersfield, earned the other vote in the media poll.
 
DELGADO JOINS 2015-16 STAFF
Head coach Mark Trakh added Amanda Delgado to his staff for the 2015-16 season as the Director of Player Development. Delgado joins NM State after playing for the Oregon Ducks the last four seasons. The Las Vegas, Nev., product played her first three years under former NBA and WNBA Champion, Paul Westhead. She wrapped up her senior campaign under first-year head coach Kelly Graves, who was the architect of the Gonzaga program.
 
AGGIES TABBED FOURTH MOST-IMPROVED
According to the NCAA, NM State was the fourth most-improved team in Division I for the 2014-15 season. The Aggies' 11.5 games improvement from 2013-14 was only topped by Ohio (17), Texas-Arlington (12.5) and Southern Illinois (12).
 
The games improved was determined by the adding the difference in victories between the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons to the difference in losses between the two season and then dividing it by two – including postseason play.
 
2014-15 SEASON ROUND-UP
The NM State women's basketball team made a splash in the college basketball world last season, going 22-8 on the year and 13-1 in conference play. Here's a recap of highlights from last year's historic run.

• Last time the Aggies won 20-plus games was in the 2007-08 season (23-9)
• First WAC regular-season title in program history
• First WAC Tournament title in program history
• First NCAA appearance since the 1987-88 season (23-7, first-round loss at #11 Washington, 99-74)
  • Lost to No. 1-seed Maryland, who was also ranked No. 4/3 in the polls, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on the road – 75-57.
• Mark Trakh named WAC Coach of the Year, WBCA Region VII Coach of the Year and Pat Summitt  National Coach of the Year Finalist
  • Last conference coach of the year winner was Joe McKeown in 1988
  • First-ever WBCA Region VII Coach of the Year in program history
• Trakh became one of 10 coaches in NCAA history to lead three separate teams to the tournament (Pepperdine, USC, NM State)
• Brianna Freeman named WAC Player of the Year and WAC Tournament MVP
• Shanice Davis, Sasha Weber and Freeman were named First-Team All-WAC
  • Last time three or more Aggies earned first-team all-conference honors was back in 1988 (4)
• After starting the season 0-5, NM State finished the season winning 22 of its last 25 games