LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The homestand continues for NM State at 7 p.m. this Thursday when it plays host to Sacramento State at the Pan American Center.
 
Prior to Thursday night's game, the Aggies will raise their championship banner after winning both the Western Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships last season.
 
Adam Young will have the call for NM State on KRUX 91.5 FM with Nolan Fox serving as the analyst.
 
LINKS: Live Stats | Live Audio | Tickets | @NMStateWBB | @SacStateWbb
 
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Sacramento State opened their season last week with a win over Utah State in a high-scoring affair, 96-86. The Hornets' high score is attributed to them running a version of "The System," a potent fastbreak type of offense similar to that ran by Paul Westhead, whose Loyola Marymount men's team led the NCAA in scoring for three-straight season from 1988-90.
 
The Aggies will have their hands full on Thursday as Sacramento State led the NCAA with 12.5 3-pointers made per game, 16.9 steals per game and 20 offensive boards per game last season.
 
The Hornets also relied on their perimeter shooting against USU, knocking down 10 shots from downtown and was led by Maranne Johnson, who was 4-of-6 from 3-point range.
 
Gretchen Harrigan, a 5-8 forward, came off the bench for the Hornets and knocked down 5-of-11 shots for 15 points. Adella Randel-El added 14 points in the season opener, while Brianna Burgos chipped in with 11 points – eight of which came from the free-throw line.
 
The series between the two schools is tied at 2-2. The Aggies are 1-0 when facing Sacramento State at the Pan Am. The Hornets won last year's match up at The Nest, 93-85. Shanice Davis led the Aggies with a game-high 23 points while Abby Scott pitched in with 16 points in that game. Zaire Williams also added 14 points on top of Kassandra Harris' 10.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Through Tuesday night's games, NM State is now one of 141 teams remaining that are undefeated. Brooke Salas' 4.0 steals per game is good for first in the conference and 40th in the nation. Shanice Davis' 6.0 assists per game has her ranked second in the conference behind Utah Valley's Georgia Agnew (7.3) and is 52nd amongst players across the country.
 
The NM State starters dominated its counterparts from New Mexico on Tuesday, outscoring the Lobos' starters – 67-33. The Aggies also won the battle of the boards by a narrow margin of 37-36 after losing the rebounding battle last year 41-25.
 
NM State's guards were also very successful at penetrating the UNM defense, outscoring the Lobos 26-14 in the paint through three quarters of play before finishing with a 28-20 edge.
 
The Aggies were also able to force New Mexico into 19 turnovers and converted them for 20 points. The four players that tallied double-digit points for NM State shot a combined 48.8 percent from the floor, 9.8 percent better than the entire UNM squad.
 
THE WILLIAM WAY
Junior Tamera William has been on a tear for NM State early on in the 2015-16 season. The 5-9 guard is averaging 18.5 points thanks to a 58.3 field-goal percentage. The Las Vegas, Nev., product is also 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and 6-of-9 from the charity stripe to go with her four steals, two blocks and eight rebounds.
 
In the season-opener against North Dakota State, she paced the Aggies with a career-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting. William then followed it up with a game-high 18 points to help guide NM State past in-state rival, New Mexico, for the second-straight time in two years – the first time NM State has won back-to-back games against UNM since the 1995-96 season.
 
SALAS SHINES
Freshman Brooke Salas has taken full advantage of the opportunity as a starter for NM State. The Placentia, Calif., product opened her Aggie career with 10 points against North Dakota State in a hostile road game and nearly had a triple-double. She also finished with eight boards and seven steals.
 
The 5-10 guard followed up with a 13 point showing against New Mexico in NM State's home-opening rivalry match. Her final line included four rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. Salas is third on the team in scoring, averaging 11.5 points and six rebounds.
 
PAN AM LOVE
After Tuesday's win, the Aggies have now won 13-straight games at the Pan American Center and looks to continue that streak when they tip-off against Sacramento State at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
 
The last time NM State lost at home was almost one year ago to the date. That loss came against Cal State Fullerton in a 66-51 affair on Nov. 29.
 
That loss, however, catapulted the Aggies to a 22-3 run to end the 2014-15 season.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Aggies made it two-straight against their in-state rival, New Mexico, with a dominant 78-59 win at home on Tuesday. The last time NM State won back-to-back games against the Lobos was back in 1995-96.
 
Head coach Mark Trakh made rebounding a point of emphasis after being out rebounded by the Lobos 41-25 last year despite the Aggies winning. At the end of the night on Tuesday, NM State won the battle of the boards, 37-36.
 
UNM's Cherise Beynon was held in check after she went off in the first quarter for 10 points. New Mexico's lead returning scorer, Khadijah Shumpert, was also held in check by the Aggie defense as she finished her night with just five points on 1-of-5 shooting and nine rebounds in 26 minutes of action after fouling out with 7:20 left to play in the game.
 
WEBER MOVING ON UP
Sasha Weber, a 6-0 senior guard, continues to leave her mark in the record books as she moved into 16th all-time in scoring for the Aggies. With her 16 points on Tuesday against New Mexico, the Lacey, Wash., product now has 1,167 points in her career, passing Ann McReynolds (1,162, 1975-1978) and Donna Goggin (1,163, 1975-79).
 
With 26 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 block Tuesday night, Weber is now in sole possession of No. 10 in career blocks with 66.
 
WHAT'S ON TAP
The five-game homestand continues for the NM State women's basketball team next week when it plays host to Southern Utah (Nov. 24) at 5 p.m. prior to the men's team tipping off against Robert Morris at 7:30 p.m.
 
Following Thanksgiving, on Friday and Saturday, NM State plays host to the Aggie Hotel Encanto Thanksgiving Classic. The four-team tournament consists of Long Beach State, Northern Arizona, Northwestern State and host, NM State.
 
The Aggies will first take on Northwestern State at 1 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 27) before LBSU and NAU faces off in a neutral match at the Pan Am Center. On Saturday (Nov. 28), Northwestern State and LBSU squares off in the afternoon before NM State takes the floor against Northern Arizona at 7 p.m.
 
MACK TO MISS SIX MORE GAMES
NM State announced 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 on Tuesday in the postgame press conference against New Mexico.
 
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.