LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The NM State women's basketball team will wrap up its five-game homestand this Friday and Saturday when it plays host to the Hotel Encanto Thanksgiving Classic.
 
The Aggies will first play Northwestern State (3-2) on Friday at 1 p.m. before taking on Northern Arizona at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Adam Young will have the call for NM State on Aggie Access for Friday's game against Northwestern State. On Saturday, Jack Nixon will have the call for the Aggies on KRUX 91.5 FM while Albert Luna serves as the analyst.
 
LINKS vs Northwestern State: Live Stats | Live Audio (Aggie Access) | Tickets | @NMStateWBB | @NSUDemonWBB
 
LINKS vs Northern Arizona: Live Stats | Live Audio | Tickets | @NMStateWBB | @NAU_WBB
 
A LOOK AT THE LADY DEMONS
Northwestern State heads into the two-day tournament with a 3-2 record with wins over Letourneau (73-44), LSU-Alexandria (94-65) and Central Baptist (86-56). The Lady Demons' two losses came against SMU (74-36) and Texas (86-33), both of which were on the road.
 
As a team, the Lady Demons are shooting 38.9 percent from the floor but struggle at the line, shooting just 64.9 percentage. NM State will look to take advantage on the boards against Northwestern State with NSU averaging just 39.4 rebounds compared to New Mexico State's 44.8.
 
Junior guard Beatrice Attura paces Northwestern State with 18.8 points per game. Attura has scored in double-figures in all five games this season, including a career-high 27 points against LSU-Alexandria.
 
Freshman forward Emerald Mayfield is the only other player averaging in double figures with 10 points per game to go with a 6.4 rebounding average.
 
Janelle Perez serves as the floor general for the Lady Demons, having dished out 20 assists so far on the year while averaging 7.8 points.
 
Shahd Abboud, a 5-11 junior, is third on the team with 8.8 points per game and second in rebounds with an average of 6.0 boards. Abboud recently went off in Northwestern State's most recent game against Central Baptist with 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting. She was also 5-for-8 from beyond the arc and was one rebound short of a double-double.
 
SCOUTING THE LUMBERJACKS
Northern Arizona enters this weekend 1-2 on the year, falling to Hawaii (61-52) at home and UTEP (77-66) on the road. The Lumberjacks are shooting 39.3 percent from the floor, but just 64.1 percent from the charity stripe. NAU is 8-of-41 from downtown with six of the eight coming from Rene Coggins.
 
In their game against NM State's I-10 rival, UTEP, the Lumberjacks were neck-and-neck with the Minors, but free-throws doomed NAU. Northern Arizona was just 11-of-23 from the line while UTEP was 21-of-30, a 10-point difference that basically decided the 77-66 loss.
 
Alyssa Rader, a 6-2 freshman, is averaging a double-double for NAU with 12.7 points and 10 rebounds per game. Her three double-doubles this season is the most so far in the Big Sky Conference.
 
Coggins, a 5-8 junior guard, is second on the team averaging 11.3 points to go with eight dimes and seven steals.
 
Brittani Lussain manages the offense for the Lumberjacks, assisting on 16 baskets while averaging 7.3 rebounds as well.
 
NAU's Shay Young will make her first return to Las Cruces since transferring from NM State after her freshman year. The redshirt junior is averaging 6.7 points and 2.7 rebounds for the Lumberjacks.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Through Tuesday night's games, NM State is one of 61 undefeated teams remaining in NCAA Division I women's basketball. The Aggies dropped to 26th in the nation with 6.3 blocks per game. Brianna Freeman also dropped to 55th in the nation with her 2.25 blocks per game, but remains first in the WAC. NM State's 75.9 free-throw percentage ranks 34th in the nation and is good for tops in the conference.
 
The Aggies seem to figure out their opponents after a quarter of play, outscoring their opponents in the second quarter 92-59.
 
Despite struggling from the field early on, the Aggies managed to outshoot Southern Utah and knocked down 27 field goals compared to the Thunderbirds' 24.
 
NM State's 22-14 advantage in the paint was made possible by Tyler Ellis, who scored a career-high 14 points against SUU.
 
The Aggies were also more stable with the rock, committing just 14 turnovers compared to SUU's 22. NM State is now 3-0 when opponents commit more turnovers.
 
Tamera William finished the night with a career-high 13 rebounds, eight of which came in the first half.
 
WRITING THEIR OWN STORY
The 2015-16 NM State women's basketball team continues to write its own story for the year, becoming the first team since the 2007-08 team to start the year off 4-0. Prior the 2007-08 season, the last time NM State started the year off like that was back in 1993-94 when the team reeled off eight-straight wins before losing their first game of the season. Both teams went on to win 22-plus games.
 
ELLIS EXPLODES
Junior forward Tyler Ellis had a breakout game on Tuesday against Southern Utah, scoring a career-high 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the floor to go with five rebounds. The impressive fact about her career night was that she did it all in just nine minutes of action.
 
The 6-2 product from Antelope, Calif., came up big for NM State down the stretch. She scored 10 of the final 15 points for the Aggies in the third quarter, which held Southern Utah from chipping away at the NM State lead.
 
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 14 points which leads the team and is fifth in the conference as of through games on Nov. 24. The Las Vegas, Nev., product is also 3-of-9 from beyond the arc and 19-of-26 from the charity stripe to go with her six steals, four blocks and 31 rebounds. William also tallied her first-career double-double on Nov. 19 when she netted 14 points and 10 boards against Sacramento State.
 
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.
 
She followed up her double-double performance with a new career-high in rebounds with 13 against Southern Utah.
 
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 fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 10.5 points and 5.8 rebounds.
 
PAN AM LOVE
After Thursday's win, the Aggies have now won 15-straight games at the Pan American Center and looks to continue that streak when they host a pair of games this weekend in the Hotel Encanto Thanksgiving Classic, Friday and Saturday.
 
The last time NM State lost at home was almost a 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.
 
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE LETTER Z
Sophomore Zaire Williams came off the bench and nearly had a double-double against Sacramento State. The Dana Point, Calif., product dished out eight dimes to go with her eight points, six steals and six rebounds to help the Aggies down the stretch against the Hornets. The eight assists by Williams was also a new career-high. Head coach Mark Trakh believed she was the impact player of the game against the Hornets, being the most stable guard for the Aggies against Sacramento State's pressure.
 
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 eight points this past Tuesday against Southern Utah, the Lacey, Wash., product now has 1,188 points in her career. She's nine points shy of passing Mari Sanchez (1,196, 1990-2003), a Las Cruces native that played at Onate High School, for 15th place.
 
Weber recently passed Ann McReynolds (1,162, 1975-1978) and Donna Goggin (1,163, 1975-79) last Tuesday when collected 16 points versus New Mexico.
 
With 24 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 last Tuesday, Weber is now tied for ninth in career blocks with 67. Weber also made her 200th three-point field-goal on Tuesday against Southern Utah when she nailed a 3-pointer with 32 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
 
WHAT'S ON TAP
The five-game homestand ends for the NM State women's basketball team this weeked when it plays host to the Hotel Encanto Thanksgiving Classic, Nov. 27-28. The four-team tournament consists of Long Beach State, Northern Arizona, Northwestern State and host, NM State.
 
After the tournament, NM State will hit the road for a match up against the Wildcats of Arizona on Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. in the McKale Center. The Aggies are 10-12 overall vs UA, holding an 8-4 advantage at home, but trail the series 6-3 when played on the road and 0-2 at neutral sites.