Skip To Main Content

New Mexico State University Athletics

The Official Website of New Mexico State University Athletics
Now Loading: Women's Basketball
Aggies, Oh Aggies!
WBB Tournament Champions Graphic
53
UT Rio Grande Valley UTRGV 19-13
80
Winner NM State NMSU 26-4
UT Rio Grande Valley UTRGV
19-13
53
Final
80
NM State NMSU
26-4
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
UT Rio Grande Valley UTRGV 14 8 21 10 53
NM State NMSU 25 17 15 23 80

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | John Vu

NM State Dominates UTRGV in #WACvegas, Goes Dancing Again

The NM State women’s basketball team will go dancing once again after dominating UTRGV, 80-53, in the WAC Tournament Championship game on Saturday.

For reactions from fans on Twitter and on court interviews, click here.
For photos from the 2016 WAC Tournament, click here.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The New Mexico State women's basketball team punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year on Saturday at Orleans Arena with a dominating 80-53 win over UT Rio Grande Valley in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game.
 
Senior Sasha Weber was named the tournament's most valuable player with freshman Brooke Salas joining her on the all-tournament team.
 
The win marked another milestone for Aggies head coach Mark Trakh, becoming just the second team in program history to earn an NCAA Tournament bid in back-to-back years. Saturday's win also moved NM State to 26-4 on the year, tying the 1987-88 (26-3) team for the most wins in program history.  
 
Saturday's championship game started similar to that of NM State's semifinal game as the Aggies opened up with a 16-5 run, forcing UTRGV (19-13) to call a timeout in hopes of stopping NM State. However, a timeout would not stop New Mexico State as Weber and Salas combined for four-straight 3-pointers to take the 24-14 lead after 10 minutes of play.
 
The Aggie defense began to clamp down on the Vaqueros in the second frame, holding the Vaqueros to just 3-of-13 shooting and 24.2-percent (8-for-33) shooting in the first half. Shanice Davis, who tied her season-high with seven assists, scored eight of her 11 points in the second frame as NM State took a 42-22 lead into the break.
 
UTRGV brought it within 57-43 heading into the final quarter of play thanks to an 11-3 run at the end. The Vaqueros also shot 60-percent from the floor in the third quarter to NM State's .389 clip.
 
With the automatic bid in their grasp and just 10 minutes left to play, the Aggies put the pedal to the medal and outscored the Vaqueros 23-10 in the fourth quarter to earn the WAC's automatic bid to the Big Dance.
 
Salas, a freshman from Placentia, Calif., finished with a game-high 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting and five rebounds. Weber, the tournament MVP, wrapped up with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting – four of which came from downtown.
 
Brianna Freeman and Tyler Ellis did a wonderful job for NM State in the post against UTRGV's Hildur Kjartansdottir, holding the 6-2 power forward to just 10 points.
 
Moriah Mack finished with six points and nine boards, but was most critical on the defensive end. The first-team all-conference player and two-time all-defensive team honoree defended the only way she knew how, and held the reigning WAC Player of the Year, Shawnte' Goff, to just six points on 2-of-10 shooting.
 
The Aggies owned the boards 42-37, which led to a 34-18 edge in points in the paint. NM State's 48.4-percent (30-of-62) shooting from the floor was its second-best shooting-percentage of the season.
 
New Mexico State will host a selection show party at the Danny Villanueva Victory Club on the third floor of the Fulton Center on Monday, March 14. Aggie fans are encouraged to join NM State at its selection show function as doors open at 4:30 p.m. (MT). The selection show will begin shortly thereafter at 5 p.m.
 
POSTGAME NOTES: Head coach Mark Trakh has now led three separate teams to the NCAA Tournament…Three times at Pepperdine, twice at USC and now twice at NM State…Trakh is now 24-16 all-time in conference tournaments and 6-3 since taking over at NM State…The last team to win back-to-back tournament championships was Idaho (2013-14)…The Aggies are now 21-0 when they've recorded more steals than their opponents and 19-0 when they have a better shooting-percentage…NM State is 22-1 when leading after the third quarter and have won 16-straight when leading in that category.
 
 
 
++NM State ++
Print Friendly Version