Women's Basketball | Sunday 11/15/2015

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – After opening the 2015-16 season with a win on the road, the NM State women's basketball team will clash with New Mexico in the Battle for I-25 at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Pan American Center.
 
Tuesday's match-up will be the first of two games between the teams as it will be a home-and-home series this season. The Aggies can also be seen on ESPN3, FOX Sports Arizona and FOX College Sports Pacific.
 
The game will also be a WHITE-OUT for the Aggies with the first 1,000 fans in attendance getting a FREE t-shirt.
 
LINKS: Live Stats | ESPN3 | Tickets | @NMStateWBB | @LoboWBB
 
SCOUTING THE LOBOS
Like the Aggies, New Mexico also returns a veteran crew with 11 letterwinners from last season on the roster. The Lobos return 3-of-5 starters from last year's team after losing Antiesha Brown, their leading scorer last season with 15 points per game. The fifth starter, Alexa Chavez, was replaced with Whitney Johnson, a 6-2 redshirt junior who returned to the team after recovering from an Achilles tendon injury her sophomore year followed by a Mormon mission her junior year.
 
New Mexico barely escaped Houston Baptist last Friday in its season opener with a 65-57 win at WisePies Arena. Freshman center Jaisa Nunn led the Lobos with 11 points off the bench on 4-of-8 shooting and tied for a game-high eight rebounds. Kianna Keller, Jannon Otto and Johnson added nine points each while Cherise Beynon and Khadijah Shumpert chipped in with eight and seven points, respectively.
 
Shumpert, UNM's lead returning scorer, is the only Lobo returning who averaged double-digit points (10.8) last season. The next highest average for returners is Beynon with 8.9 points and Owens at 8.0 points. It then drops significantly with Chavez, who averaged 5.7 last season.
 
However, the Lobos do return five of their six players who grabbed 100-plus rebounds last season, including last year's leading rebounder, Beynon, who had 196 rebounds. Shumpert was second on the team last year with 191, checking in at 6-0.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Aggies started the 2015-16 season a bit sluggish, but picked things up late in the second quarter against North Dakota State and never looked back. Down 31-22, Sasha Weber's 3-pointer began what ended up being a 33-2 run for NM State that spanned two quarters and 6:58 minutes before walking away with the 79-69 victory.
 
Tamera William paced NM State with a career-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting to go with a pair of blocks and steals. Freshman Brooke Salas had a great collegiate debut, tallying 10 points, including 6-of-6 from the free-throw line, eight rebounds and seven steals. Brianna Freeman, the reigning Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, wrapped up her night with 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting, eight rebounds, four blocks and an assist. Abby Scott also chipped in with 12 points for the Aggies to go with five rebounds and a pair of steals.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
The last time NM State had five players score double-digit points was last season against Seattle U in the semifinal game of the WAC Tournament.
 
The Aggies tallied 11 blocks as a team against the Bison. The last time NM State had 10-plus blocks in a game was versus Weber State in a double-overtime loss at home in the Hotel Encanto Thanksgiving Tournament last season.
 
Of the 15 steals NM State had on Friday, the Aggies were able to convert 10 of them for 22 points while the other six of the 28 total points off turnovers came from NDSU throwing the ball away.
 
WEBER MOVING ON UP
Sasha Weber, a 6-0 senior guard, continues to leave her mark in the record books as she moved into 18th all-time in scoring for the Aggies. With her 14 points on Friday against North Dakota State, the Lacey, Wash., product now has 1,151 points in her career, passing Paulina Blunt (1,148 points, 1989-94). With 27 games remaining in the regular season, Weber has an opportunity crack the top 10 and could possibly be in the top six if her scoring average stays within the range of years past.
 
With her two blocks on Friday, Weber is now in the top-10 in career blocks with 65. She is currently tied with Jenean Ford (86 games, 2002-06) for 10th. 

TRAKH BOLSTERS ROSTER FOR 2016-17
With three seniors on this year's team, head women's basketball coach Mark Trakh bolstered his roster for 2016-17 with the additions of Ozahria Fisher, Najiyyah Pack and Aaliyah Prince during the early signing period on Nov. 11.
 
Fisher joins the Aggies from Phoenix, Ariz., where she's been the floor general for Thunderbird High School. She also plays against future teammate, Pack, every year in sectional games. As a junior, she guided the Chiefs to a 30-3 overall mark and 12-1 record in league play, including a trip to the Arizona Interscholastic Association Division II semifinals.
 
Fisher has been on the varsity squad at THS since day one, guiding the Chiefs to an 82-17 record in her three years there. She averaged 14.7 points, 6.2 assists and 3.7 steals during her junior campaign and earned her second-straight player of the year honor. As a sophomore, she earned her first AIA Division II Section V Player of the Year award and earned First-Team All-Section selections after leading THS to the sweet 16 of the state tournament.
 
Pack also joins the Aggies from Phoenix, Ariz., where she plays at South Mountain High School against future teammate, Fisher. Pack and Fisher also play on the same club team, GBL Lady Rebels. The 5-10 guard is a 4-star recruit according to ProspectsNation.com and is averaging 15.1 points since starting at SMHS as a freshman.
 
Pack has had substantial progression in scoring every year. She averaged just 5.4 points as a freshman before pacing the Jaguars with 23.6 points as a junior last season. Not only has the SMHS guard been able to attack the rim, she's also capable of banging in the post – averaging 8.9 rebounds. She was recognized for her breakout year and earned First-Team All-Arizona honors from the Arizona Republic's AZCentral.com staff.
 
Pack helped guide the Jaguars to the state playoffs three years in a row, including a pair of trips to the elite eight her first two seasons. She also led SMHS to a Section V title in her sophomore campaign.
 
Prince comes to NM State from San Antonio, Texas, where she led Highlands High School to three-straight playoff appearances. Prince is also a 3-star recruit according to ESPN. She enters her senior season averaging 13.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.3 steals and 1.7 steals for the Owls. Her scoring prowess continues to evolve each year, as she increased her scoring average by 2.3 and 2.5, respectively, since her freshman year.
 
Prince is no stranger to accolades. The three-year letter winner for HHS was named MVP for both Region 5A and District 28 as a junior after averaging 15.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 3.9 steals. The San Antonio Express-News also named her to the Express-News All-Area Class 5A team. As a freshman and sophomore, Prince earned Texas Association of Basketball Coaches All-Region honors as well as first-team all-district honors.