LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The NM State women's basketball team is set to open the first leg of its four-game road trip this Thursday at San José State for an 8 p.m. contest. The Aggies will then travel back to the Land of Enchantment for a second round bout against New Mexico, this time in Albuquerque, on Sunday, Dec. 20, at 2 p.m.
 
A free live stream will be offered for both games. Adam Young will have the call for Aggie fans on KRUX 91.5 FM. Fans can listen to the live radio broadcast online with their mobile phone or tablet on the TuneIn app.
 
SJSU LINKS: Live Stats | Live Stream | Live Audio | @NMStateWBB | @sjswbb
 
UNM LINKS: Live Stats | Live Stream | Live Audio | @NMStateWBB | @LoboWBB
 
THIS IS SPARTA
Heading into Thursday's contest against San José State, NM State leads the head-to-head series 26-5 and holds an 11-4 edge when playing on the road. The Spartans are 1-7 on the year with their lone win coming against Southern Oregon.
 
Despite scoring 79.9 points per game, the Spartans have yet to find a way to lock their opponents down. Teams are averaging 88.5 points against SJSU and shooting a .457 from the floor as well as .380 from deep. However, of San José State's seven losses, two have been by less than four points while three have been decided by 12 points or less.
 
Dezz Ramos paces the Spartans with 19.4 points per game thanks to her 41-percent shooting and 44-percent shooting from downtown. Her 28 assists and 22 three-pointers also lead the team. The junior transfer from Weber State was on fire against South Dakota, scoring 31 points on 12-of-18 shooting and 4-of-5 from deep with seven assists.
 
San José State will be without the services of its second-leading scorer in Aniya Baker. She was averaging 12 points for the Spartans and started the first five games of the season before her departure. She is still second on the team in steals (15), third in assists (16) and third on the team with nine three-pointers.
 
Junior Jasmine Smith is third on the team (second if Baker isn't accounted for) in scoring with 11.5 points per game and is shooting .510 from the floor. The 6-foot forward also leads the team on the glass, pulling down 7.0 boards per game.
 
Other notable players to look out for are Nyre Harris (9.1ppg, 5.9rpg), Riana Byrd (7.3ppg, 5.3rpg, 7blks) and Rachol West (6.5ppg, 16 3FGM).
 
RIO GRANDE REMATCH
Round two of the Rio Grande Rivalry is slated to begin at 2 p.m. on Sun., Dec. 20, at Wisepies Arena. The Aggies look to make it three-in-a-row against the Lobos and twice in the same season.
 
The last time NM State swept New Mexico in a season was back in 1995-96. The last time NM State reeled off three-straight wins against the Lobos spanned from the 1984-85 season to the 1995-96 season, a 16-game winning-streak for NM State.
 
Since the first match-up on Nov. 17, New Mexico has gone 5-2 in non-conference play. The Lobos went on a three-game winning-streak after their loss to NM State, defeating Sacramento State, Nicholls State and Southern Utah. They then lost back-to-back games to Duquesne at home and UTEP on the road. Following the losses, UNM bounced back with a pair of wins against SMU on the road and Pepperdine at home.
 
The Lobos are scheduled to play Minnesota at home on Dec. 16 before squaring off with the Aggies on Sunday in the second Battle of I-25.
 
Khadijah Shumpert is pacing UNM with 14.1 points per game and shooting .550 from the floor to go with her team-best 6.9 rebounds average.  The 6-foot forward has recorded 20-point games in three of her last four and averaged 18.2 points during that stretch.
 
Cherise Beynon is the only other Lobo to average double-figures, checking in at 10.4 points per game. The sophomore guard leads the team with 13 three-pointers, 35 assists and 20 steals.
 
Jaisa Nunn, who was one of four UNM players to score in double-figures last time the two teams matched-up, is third on the team with an 8.2 points average despite coming off the bench. The 6-3 center is also second on the team in rebounds, averaging 5.1 boards.
 
Bryce Owens is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 7.9 points to go with her 26 assists. The senior guard had 10 points against NM State last game to go with her six assists.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Despite a scare in the first quarter, NM State pulled away from Eastern New Mexico down the stretch thanks to Tyesha Taylor's career-high 15 points on Monday to give the Aggies a 76-61 win. The redshirt freshman was 5-of-13 from the field, but made 5-of-6 free-throws during NM State's run to hold the Greyhounds at bay.
 
NM State held staggering advantages in a handful of scoring categories on the night, including a 32-8 edge in the paint. The Aggies were able to convert 25 ENMU turnovers for 28 points and had a 26-11 advantage in second-chance points thanks to their 24 offensive boards. The NM State bench also flexed its offensive muscles, outscoring the Eastern New Mexico bench 46-26.
 
TRAKH-ING THE WINS
Last night's victory over Eastern New Mexico gave head coach Mark Trakh his 350th career-win at as a head coach. The fifth-year head man has brought the national spotlight back to New Mexico State, leading the Aggies to their first WAC regular-season crown and first WAC Tournament title in 2014-15. He also led the Aggies to their first NCAA appearance since the 1987-88 season. Trakh has the 2015-16 squad at 7-2 on the year as the Aggies prepare for a tough four-game stretch on the road.
 
TAYLOR'S TIME
Tyesha Taylor showed the Aggie faithful a glimpse of what the redshirt freshman is capable of on Monday. The 6-4 forward recorded a career-high 15 points in 13 minutes of action for the Aggies. Her 13 points on Monday against Eastern New Mexico eclipsed what she had scored in her first seven games combined (10). Another great sign for NM State was that Taylor made 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.
 
RETURN OF THE MACK
In her first game of the 2015-16 season, Moriah Mack scored eight points to go with seven boards, two steals and an assist. The junior guard gave the Aggies another dimension on the defensive end, putting even more pressure on the opponents' guards. Mack came off the bench for NM State, going 4-of-11 from the floor in 22 minutes of action.
 
WILL HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF?
The last time NM State followed a home loss with a victory was against Eastern New Mexico in 2014-15. That team wound up winning 22 of its final 25 games and went on to win 17-straight games, 12 of which came from the 2014-15 season, at home before falling to UTEP on Dec. 5.
 
The Aggies followed up that home loss to UTEP with a win against Eastern New Mexico on Monday night, setting them up for another clash with history.
 
NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER
NM State had one of its best starts in program history thanks to a 6-0 record in the month of November. It is the most wins for the Aggies in the opening month of the season. The best record in the month of November for NM State was back in 2010 when the Aggies went 5-0. This is only the seventh time in 43 seasons that the Aggies have been undefeated in November.
 
GAME SET FREEMAN
Reigning Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, Brianna Freeman, reminded opponents why she was the unanimous vote for the WAC Preseason MVP. The junior recorded back-to-back double-doubles in the Hotel Encanto Thanksgiving Classic hosted by the Aggies.
 
For her efforts, she was named WAC Player of the Week on Nov. 30. It is the first honor for Freeman this season and third of her career.
 
In the opening game against Northwestern State, Freeman put up a career-high 27 points on 12-of-18 (.667) shooting to go with 11 boards. She also racked up a pair of blocks and assists to help the Aggies defeat the Lady Demons, 65-54.
 
The very next day, the 6-1 forward notched her second-straight double-double and third one of the year against Northern Arizona. The 12 points and 10 rebounds also gave the Killeen, Texas, product her 12th-career double-double.
 
HOW SWEEP IT IS
NM State swept the WAC Player of the Week (Nov. 30) honor for both men's and women's basketball for the first time ever in school history. The last time NM State swept a weekly conference honor in basketball dated back to March 3 of the 2002-03 season when the Aggies were in the Sun Belt Conference.
 
MAKIN' IT RAIN
In its final game of the Hotel Encanto Thanksgiving Classic, the NM State women's basketball team was on fire from the floor. The Aggies shot a blistering 50-percent (34-of-68) and were also 50-percent from beyond the arc (16-of-32) against Northern Arizona.
 
The last time the Aggies shot 50-percent from the floor in a game was in Ceder City, Utah, against Southern Utah last year. NM State won that game, 81-64, thanks to 28-of-56 shooting from the floor and a 15-for-30 night behind the arc. Like Saturday's game versus NAU, the Aggies had a player scorch their opponents for seven 3-pointers. Like Sasha Weber's 7-of-10 performance against Northern Arizona, then-freshman Zaire Williams was 7-for-9 that night against the Thunderbirds.
 
IN THE NATION
Through Monday night's games, NM State is tied for 55th in NCAA Division I women's basketball with a 7-2 record. The Aggies are also in the top-75 of several categories.
 
On the offensive end, NM State is ranked No. 64 when it comes to scoring offense with 74.2 points per game. The Aggies' 73 three-pointers rank them in 34th-place while their 8.1 shots from downtown per game rank them 28th.
 
On the defensive end, NM State's 20.67 turnovers forced average is also good for 38th in the country while its 10.1 steals per game puts them at 59th. New Mexico State is 61st in blocked shots (44) and 57th in the nation with 4.9 blocks per game.
 
BEST OF THE BEST
Sasha Weber currently ranks amongst the best of the best in the NCAA. Her 1,242 career points total has her at No. 55 in the NCAA Division I active career leaders list in scoring while her 213 made 3-pointers has her checking in at No. 13 amongst active players.
 
WRITING THEIR OWN STORY
The 2015-16 NM State women's basketball team etched its name into the Aggie record books when it started the season 6-0, and was two wins shy of the 1993-94 squad that started the year off 8-0. That team went on to finish the season 24-4 and 14-4 in Big West play.
 
The Aggies saw their 17-game win-streak at the Pan Am Center snapped last week against I-10 rival UTEP, 71-65. The 17-game win-streak at home is the third-longest streak ever in program history since the 1992-94 squads won 18-straight.
 
The last time the Aggies lost at home, they went on a 22-3 run to end the 2014-15 season. Counting last season, NM State has now won 29 of its last 34 games.
 
There were 370 days between NM State's last lost at home to Cal State Fullerton (Nov. 29, 2014) and last Saturday's loss to UTEP on Dec. 5, 2015.
 
ELLIS EXPLODES
Junior forward Tyler Ellis had a breakout game against Southern Utah, scoring a career-high 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the floor to go with five rebounds. What's more impressive is the fact 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 10.7 points, which is good for third on the team and tied for 15th in the conference through games on Dec. 14. The Las Vegas, Nev., product is also shooting 42-percent from the field and 31-of-40 from the charity stripe to go with her 14 steals, five blocks and 45 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. On Dec. 2 against Arizona out of the Pac-12 Conference, William recorded a new career-high with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting. She was also 2-of-3 from deep and a perfect 6-for-6 at the line.
 
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.
 
After going 0-19 behind the arc in her first five collegiate games, Salas finally knocked down her first 3-pointer against Northern Arizona and finished the night 3-of-5 from downtown. She also picked up a new season-high that night, scoring 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
 
Salas is currently fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 10.2 points and 5.8 rebounds.
 
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 14th all-time in scoring for the Aggies. With her seven points on Monday against Eastern New Mexico, the Lacey, Wash., product now has 1,249 points in her career. She's now five points shy of passing Tabytha Wampler (1,254, 2008-12), a Cottonwood, Calif., native that played at West Valley High School for 13th place.
 
Weber recently passed Anna Boldt (1,241, 1979-1984) on Dec. 5 when she recorded 10 points against I-10 rival UTEP.
 
With 19 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 against Eastern New Mexico, Weber (72) is now three blocks shy of passing Vicki Evans (74, 1985-89) for eighth all-time in blocks at NM State.
 
Weber also made her 200th three-point field-goal against Southern Utah when she nailed a 3-pointer with 32 seconds remaining in the first quarter. She now has 213 career three-point field goals.
 
WHAT'S ON TAP
NM State will begin the second leg of its four-game road trip on Dec. 29 when it travels to New York for the Fordham Holiday Classic (Dec. 29-30). NM State will first square off against Vanderbilt from the Southeastern Conference at noon (MT) before facing either Fordham or Texas A&M Corpus Christi the following day at 11 a.m. or 1 p.m. (MT).
 
The Aggies then return home for their final non-conference match against Western New Mexico on Jan. 4 at 7 p.m.