OREM, Utah – With 2:26 minutes left to play, junior Moriah Mack single-handedly propelled the NM State women's basketball team past Utah Valley, 59-53, on Saturday for the program's 20th win of the season and 11th-straight win.
 
Mack, who finished with 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting and seven rebounds, started NM State's 13-2 in the final 2:26 with seven-straight points.
 
"Today was a gut check for our girls and they responded well," said head coach Mark Trakh. "There comes a game where you have no business winning, but they found a way to win. I'm very proud of the girls."
 
The San Antonio, Texas, product was also a major key on the defensive end for NM State (20-3, 9-0), forcing many of the turnovers down the stretch to help the Aggies convert 10 Utah Valley turnovers into 17 points.
 
UVU only had two points off turnovers in the fourth and was leading in that category, 15-11, heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
 
"Moriah just found a way to win for us today," said Trakh. "She did everything for us down the stretch, on defense and on offense."
 
Sasha Weber also finished with 15 points, going 5-of-7 from the floor and 3-of-4 from deep to go with four steals and four boards. Brianna Freeman chipped in with a dozen points of her own with three boards, two blocks and two steals.
 
"Tyler Ellis was solid for us on the defensive end and gave us great minutes," Trakh said, when asked of the junior. The 6-2 forward came in and held Sam Loggins, UVU's leading scorer with 20 points, to just four points in the final quarter of play.
 
Saturday's win marked the second-straight season NM State has reached the 20-win plateau under Trakh. The last time the Aggies had back-to-back 20-win seasons was during a three-season stretch from 1993-96.
 
The first half wasn't what the Aggies were hoping for as they saw Utah Valley take the lead four separate times in the first half.
 
However, three turnovers by the Wolverines in the final three minutes of the first half allowed the Aggies to go on an 8-2 run and head into the locker room with a narrow, 28-27, lead.
 
A 22-12 edge in the paint kept UVU in the game and at times the lead in the first half, but NM State was able to offset that with 3-of-7 shooting from behind the arc.
 
The third quarter was not the best of quarters for NM State as they saw Utah Valley regain the lead three separate times and even go up by as much as nine points heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Saturday's win coupled with UT Rio Grande Valley's win over Grand Canyon kept the Aggie lead to three games over the Vaqueros in the Western Athletic Conference standings.
 
NM State now returns home to the friendly confines of the Pan American Center on Saturday, Feb. 13, to square off against Chicago State at 2 p.m. (MT). Saturday's game will serve as the annual "Pink" game for the Aggies as part of the Play 4 Kay initiative.
 
Prior to Saturday's contest, the NM State women's basketball team will also be hosting its second FREE kids clinic in the Pan Am annex from 12:30-1:30 p.m. (MT). For more information on how you can register your child, please click here.
 
POSTGAME NOTES:  Saturday's win is NM State's fourth-straight over Utah Valley…The Aggies won despite shooting just 38.2-percent from the floor to Utah Valley's 46.7-percent, the second-highest shooting percentage allowed by the Aggies all season…Aggies finished with the 11-7 edge in steals, and now 18-0 now when leading opponents in the steals category…NM State now 2-2 when trailing after the third quarter…Third-straight game NM State has held its opponents under 60 points…Today's 59 points is the third-lowest point total for the Aggies this season…Freeman's two blocks now puts her at 80 career-blocks and sole possession of eighth-place over Weber (76)...Abby Scott knocked down her first three in over a month at the 7:52 mark in the second quarter; her last 3-pointer was on Dec. 30 against Texas A&M Corpus Christi.