LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The NM State women's basketball team returns home to finish out its non-conference slate with Western New Mexico on Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. (MT). Monday's tilt will be the 11th meeting between the two teams. The Aggies lead the all-time series 10-0 and 9-0 when playing at the Pan American Center.
 
Adam Young will have the call for Aggie fans while William Peck serves as the analyst on KRUX 91.5 FM. Fans can listen in on their mobile device/tablet via the TuneIn App.
 
WESTERN NM LINKS: Live Audio | Live Stats | @NMStateWBB | @WNMU_WBB
 
A LOOK AT THE LADY MUSTANGS
After losing four of its top five scorers, Western New Mexico has relied heavily on transfers this season as it gallops into Monday's contest with a 5-7 overall mark and 3-4 record in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play.
 
WNMU is also playing under the direction of interim head coach Matt Enriquez, who stepped in from the men's program after Rusty Kennedy resigned to take an athletic director position at Midway University.
 
The Lady Mustangs started conference play 3-1, but have since dropped their last three. Desiree Smith is averaging 11 points during the three-game skid for WNMU while Jade Botelho is averaging 10.6 points.
 
Smith, a junior transfer from Western State (RMAC), leads WNMU with 9.6 points per game, 36 assists and 28 steals. She recorded a season-high 19 points against Colorado Mines at home on New Year's, but it wasn't quite enough as the Lady Mustangs dropped a 58-57 decision in Enriquez's debut at the helm.
 
Jada Grady, who started 8-of-11 games this season is second on the team in scoring with 8.6 points per game. The 5-7 guard has recorded a pair of 21-point games, first against UT Permian Basin and then against Western State. The 5-7 guard has been the Lady Mustangs' best perimeter shooter, dialing in at 38.6-percent.
 
Botelho, like Grady is one of five returners from last year's squad, is third on the team in scoring. The 5-10 forward checks in with an 8.3 points average and shooting .396 from the floor while leading the team on the glass with 5.8 rebounds per game.
 
Jordan Gutierrez, a junior guard from Albuquerque, N.M., averages 8.1 points and is WNMU's second-best shooter from outside with 19 long balls – three shy of Grady.
 
LAST TIME OUT IN THE BRONX
Having landed in New York less than 24 hours before tip-off due to its disastrous travel from a snow storm that hit the Southwest, NM State dropped its opening game of the Fordham Holiday Classic to Vanderbilt, 71-45.
 
Sasha Weber was the lone Aggie to record double-digit points, checking in with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting. Three of her four field-goals came from three. Moriah Mack chipped in with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting while Brianna Freeman added eight points with two blocks and three steals.
 
NM State looked much better the next day with their legs finally under them. The Aggies flew past Texas A&M Corpus Christi in the consolation game, 70-51, behind Brooke Salas' season-high 18 points. The freshman was 7-of-11 from the field, including 2-of-2 from three-point range. She also had five boards, a block and two steals on the day.
 
Freeman chipped in with 12 points and three boards to go with a pair of assists, blocks and steals. Shanice Davis and Abby Scott were both a point shy of reaching double-figures.
 
Weber was named one of six all-tournament honorees from the tournament as voted on by the coaches.
 
TWICE IS NICE, BUT THREE IS BETTER
With its 52-47 win over New Mexico on Dec. 20, NM State swept their neighbors to the north for the first time since the 1995-96 season. The win also made it three-straight for the Aggies over the Lobos. The last time that happened, the Aggies won 10-straight from 1992-96.
 
The last time NM State defeated New Mexico at The Pit came on Dec. 22, 1995, a 78-73 double-overtime thriller in favor of the Aggies.
 
TRAKH-ING THE WINS
NM State's victory over Eastern New Mexico gave head coach Mark Trakh his 350th career-win at the helm. The fifth-year head coach 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.
 
The win last week over Texas A&M Corpus Christi marked the fourth-straight year Trakh has guided the Aggies into the double-digit win category.
 
TAYLOR'S TIME
Tyesha Taylor showed the Aggie faithful a glimpse of what the redshirt freshman is capable of. The 6-4 forward recorded a career-high 15 points in 13 minutes of action for the Aggies versus Eastern New Mexico. Her 13 points against the Greyhounds 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
Since her return to the line-up, Moriah Mack is averaging 8.2 points per game and 4.6 rebounds for NM State through three games. She also has 13 steals and eight assists during that stretch and shooting .442 from the field.
 
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.
 
AWARDS CENTRAL
Sasha Weber received NM State's second WAC Player of the Week honor this season when she reeled off 20 points and 16 points against San José State and New Mexico, respectively, on the road. This is the second honor of her career and first of the season. During the three-game stretch, Weber averaged 14.3 points and 4.0 rebounds. The Lacey, Wash., product was also .519 from the floor and .474 from three to go with seven assists, three blocks and three steals.
 
Brianna Freeman earned the Aggies' first player of the week honor on Nov. 30 when she recorded back-to-back double-doubles in the Hotel Encanto Thanksgiving Classic hosted by the Aggies. During the tournament, the junior forward averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 boards.
 
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.
 
IN THE NATION
Through Saturday night's games, NM State is tied for 55th in NCAA Division I women's basketball with a 10-3 record. The Aggies are also in the top-75 of several categories.
 
On the offensive end, NM State's 96 three-pointers ranks them in 44th-place while their 7.4 shots from downtown per game rank them 50th.
 
On the defensive end, NM State's 21.15 turnovers forced average is also good for 20th in the country. Its 147 steals on the year has them in 17th while its 11.3 steals per game puts NM State in 19th.  New Mexico State's 4.54 turnover margin is good for 29th in the nation. The Aggies' 58 blocked shots also has them in 75th-place.
 
BEST OF THE BEST
Sasha Weber currently ranks amongst the best of the best in the NCAA. Her 1,298 career points total has her at No. 55 in the NCAA Division I active career leaders list in scoring while her 224 made 3-pointers has her checking in at No. 12 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 32 of its last 38 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.
 
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 9.2 points. The Las Vegas, Nev., product is also shooting 38.9-percent from the field and 38-of-52 from the charity stripe to go with her 28 steals, eight blocks and 65 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 8.8 points and 5.1 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 13th all-time in scoring for the Aggies. The Lacey, Wash., product now has 1,298 points in her career. She's now 26 points shy of passing Jeanette Feaster (1,323, 1982-86), a Millersburg, Pa., native that played Susquenhanna High School for 12th place.
 
Weber recently passed Tabytha Wampler (1,254, 2008-12) for 13th place last week at San José State.
 
With 15 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.
 
Weber (73) is just two 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
With the non-conference schedule wrapped up after Monday's contest with Western New Mexico, NM State now switches its focus towards Western Athletic Conference play.
 
The Aggies will open up WAC play against Utah Valley (Jan. 7) and Grand Canyon (Jan. 9). Thursday's contest against the Wolverines is set for 7 p.m. (MT) while Saturday's game against the 'Lopes is set for 2 p.m. (MT). Adam Young will have the call while Patrick Knapp serves as the analyst for both games which can also be viewed on ESPN3.