LAS CRUCES, N.M. – In-state rival, New Mexico, got as close as nine points midway through the third quarter, but that would be as close as they would get on Tuesday night at the Pan American Center as the NM State women's basketball team ran away with a 78-59 victory in the first edition of the Rio Grande Rivalry.
 
Tamera William once again paced the Aggies with a game-high 18 points, one short of tying her career-high (19) that she set last week.  The junior also finished with six boards and a pair of steals.
 
"It's a big game," said head women's basketball Mark Trakh, when asked about what this win means for the program. "It's our rival that we've been thumped by the last 15 years, so we're excited. I was very proud of the kids; it was a big win for our program."
 
NM Started (2-0) the game on a 10-1 run against their in-state rivals. However, Cherise Beynon brought the Lobos (1-1) back within 13-11 all on her own before Alexa Chavez sank a jumper from the free-throw line with 1:44 left in the first quarter.
 
Sasha Weber gave the Aggies a 22-16 lead through one quarter of play when she nailed a 3-pointer as the clock hit zero.
 
Like their first game, the Aggies had a back-and-forth second quarter before NM State would pull away near the end of the frame. Back-to-back layups from the Lobos in the final two minutes cut the lead, 37-26, as both teams headed into the locker room.
 
Despite the height advantage by UNM, NM State was able to keep the rebounds even at 20. An 18-8 advantage in the paint in the first half also gave the Aggies the upper hand.
 
Following the media timeout midway through the third, with a 46-37 lead, NM State began to pull away. Like they did the entire game, Shanice Davis and Brooke Salas sliced through the UNM defense to give the Aggies a 15-point lead heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
 
Out of the media timeout with 4:15 remaining in the game, NM State opened with back-to-back treys from Davis and Weber before William chimed in with eight-straight points – two of which came from beyond the arc.
 
However, the Lobos' Emily Lines answered each of William's shot. But, it was too little too late for New Mexico as the Aggies defeated the Lobos in back-to-back games for the first time since the 1995-96 season.
 
NM State finished the night shooting 47.5 percent from the floor, including a 37-36 edge on the boards and held UNM to just 39 percent shooting from the floor. The Aggies were out rebounded by the Lobos last year 41-25 despite getting the win – a topic Trakh wanted to fix heading into the 2015-16 season.
 
"I think it's the weight room, effort and they're all a year older," said Trakh when asked about what allowed NM State to win the rebounding battle.
 
The Aggies won't have much time off as they host Sacramento State at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19, at the Pan American Center.

NM State athletics announced at the postgame press conference that junior guard Moriah Mack has been ruled academically ineligible by the NCAA due to an administrative error for the next six games of this season.
 
The NCAA has ruled that Mack has not met course requirements to remain academically eligible. Due to no fault of her own or the women's basketball program, an administrative error prevented her from taking the proper course load. Despite an appeal by the athletics department on behalf of Mack, the NCAA has denied NM State's appeal.
 
POSTGAME NOTES: NM State is 33-10 all-time in its home openers now … The Aggies are also 3-3 all-time when facing the Lobos in their home openers … With her 16 points tonight, Weber is now 16th all-time in scoring for the Aggies, surpassing Ann McReynolds (1,162, 1975-78) and Donna Goggin (1,163, 1975-79) … Weber's block tonight also gave her sole possession of 10th-place in the Aggies' all-time blocks list … Salas' 13 points tonight is a new season-high for the young freshman.