LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The NM State women's basketball team didn't miss a beat in its 2016-17 season-opener Friday evening as it defeated San José State 66-55 in front of the Las Cruces faithful.
 
"Offensively, we got stagnant and we turned the ball over a lot," Aggie head coach Mark Trakh said. "But our kids know how to win after three years, and our missed lay-ups and missed shots were just a part of the battle. Both teams were great tonight defensively."
 
San Jose State (0-1) opened up right away with a quick bucket, but NM State (1-0)  responded with six-straight points before the teams started exchanged buckets. With 3:30 left in the first quarter, the Aggies used a 10-3 run behind Brooke Salas to take the 22-16 lead after the first quarter.
 
The second frame was much more back-and-forth with NM State narrowly outscoring the Spartans 14-3. Moriah Mack was her usual self on the defensive end, tallying four steals at the half while Zaire Williams added three.
 
Salas continued to be a scoring force for Trakh in the second half as well as on the glass, picking up her first double-double of the year. The sophomore guard jump-started the Aggie offense once again in the second half, knocking down seven of the 13 points for NM State before the media timeout with 4:31 on the clock. After a quick four points from San Jose State, a put-back from Tyesha Taylor and jumper from Williams gave the Aggies a 53-40 lead heading into the fourth.
 
The Spartans brought it within 62-53 after a pair of free throws with 1:26 left to play, but it was too little too late as NM State pulled away for its 49th win since the start of the 2014-15 season.
 
Salas finished with a game-high 18 points and 13 boards while Brianna Freeman chipped in with 14 points and seven rebounds. Tamera William was her usual self for the Aggies, grabbing 11 rebounds off the glass to go with five points and two steals. Tyesha Taylor had a great game, going 5-of-7 in the paint for 10 points to go along with two blocks.
 
As a team, NM State forced 21 turnovers and outscored the Spartans 22-8 in the paint.
 
The Aggies get a few days off before the head up to Albuquerque for the first installment of this year's Battle of I-25 against New Mexico on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m.