LAS VEGAS – With a clean slate when they arrive at the Western Athletic Conference Tournament, the top-seeded NM State women's basketball team begins its conference tournament title defense on Friday, March 11, against No. 4-seed Utah Valley.
 
NM State's semifinal game is slated to tip-off at 1 p.m. (MT) at Orleans Arena with Mychal Clanton and Steven Hunter calling the game while Megan McDonald serves as the sideline reporter on the WAC Digital Network broadcast.
 
Should the Aggies advance to the championship game, Dave Flemming will have the call while Gail Goestenkors serves as the analyst on the ESPNU broadcast.
 
For Aggies fans back in the Land of Enchantment, Adam Young will have the call on AM 570 The Ticket on Friday and Saturday if necessary.
 
WAC SEMIFINAL LINKS: Live Stream | Live Stats | Audio (AM 570 The Ticket)
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP LINKS: ESPN3 |ESPNU | Live Stats | Audio (AM 570 The Ticket)
 
THIRD TIMES A CHARM?
The top-seeded NM state women's basketball team is set to square off against the No. 4-seed, Utah Valley, at 1 p.m. (MT) on Friday, March 11, at Orleans Arena. UVU advanced to the semifinals to face NM State after taking down UMKC 61-53 in the first quarterfinal game of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
 
UVU moved to 16-14 on the year after the win and has now won five of its last six games. The Wolverines were led by senior center Sam Loggins, an All-WAC First-Team selection this year, with 14 points and seven boards. Mariah Seals, a two-time all-conference selection and all-defensive team honoree, also chipped in with 12 points while Deijah Blanks added 11 for UVU.
 
The Wolverines were white-hot from the floor, shooting 50-percent on the day to UMKC's 38.8-percent. Despite the final numbers being very similar on both teams, Utah Valley at one point had a 20-point lead with 3:45 left to go in the fourth quarter. The UVU defense only allowed 18 first-half points before giving up 35 in the second half.
 
Seals is the team leader in scoring with 11.6 per game while Loggins averages 11 points. Rebecca MaWhinney leads the Wolverines on the glass with 5.9 boards per game with Loggins right on her tails with 5.8 rebounds per game.
 
Georgia Agnew is the floor general for UVU, dishing out a whopping 120 assists and was third in the league heading into the tournament.
TRAKH AT THE TOURNAMENT
Head coach Mark Trakh is 22-16 all-time in conference tournaments during his career and 4-3 during his time at NM State. The Aggies went 2-0 last season, 1-1 the two years prior to that and 0-1 in his first year at New Mexico State.
 
AWARDS PILE UP FOR WOMEN'S HOOPS
New Mexico State head women's basketball coach Mark Trakh was named the WAC Coach of the Year for the second-straight season this past Monday after leading the Aggies to a 24-4 overall record and 13-1 mark in conference play. Trakh also became just the fifth coach in WAC women's basketball history to win the award in consecutive years.
 
Joining their head coach in the all-conference awards list were Sasha Weber, Moriah Mack and Brooke Salas.
 
Weber earned her second-straight First-Team All-WAC honor after leading the Aggies with 12.1 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game. The 6-1 senior wrapped up the regular-season of her senior campaign as the sixth all-time 3-point shooter in conference history with 259.
 
On top of being earning First-Team All-WAC selections, Mack was named to the WAC All-Defensive team for the second-straight year. The junior guard led the Aggies on offensive during conference play with 13.1 points per game, good for third in the WAC, and also led the team with 5.6 boards during WAC play.
 
Joining in on the awards action is Salas. The freshman was named to the WAC All-Newcomer's team after averaging 9.1 points and 4.8 rebounds on the year, while shooting 42-percent from the field. The 5-10 guard started in all but one game this season (senior day), and recorded 10 points on eight with seven assists to start her collegiate career.
 
BACK-2-BACK
With its win on Feb. 23 over CSU Bakersfield, NM State clinched the Western Athletic Conference Championship outright for the second-straight year.
 
Head coach Mark Trakh also cemented his name into the NM State women's basketball history books once again, becoming just the second coach in program history to win back-to-back league titles. The only other coach to lead NM State to consecutive conference championships was Joe McKeown (1986-87 and 1987-88).
 
STREAKING
Despite not breaking the school's longest winning-streak, the 2015-16 NM State women's program has left yet another mark in the record books as they tied the 1987-88 squad for the longest winning-streak in program history at 15.
 
The 15-game winning-streak was originally set in the latter half of the 1987-88 season. That streak was snapped in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 19, 1988, an 85-74 loss to Washington. This year's squad had their streak snapped on senior day against UT Rio Grande Valley (March 5).
 
ROLLIN' ROLLIN' ROLLIN'
The Aggies have been on a roll this year, winning 24-of-28 games in the regular season and tied the program's longest winning-streak at 15. New Mexico State has also won 18 of its last 20 games. During that stretch, the Aggies have held opponents to just 58.6 points per game to their 67.2 points per game.
 
The Aggie defense has also been ferocious in that stretch, forcing 19.4 turnovers per game and registering 10.1 steals per game. They've also outscored their opponents 391-251 in the points off turnovers category during the 20-game stretch.
 
IN THE NATION
Through Tuesday night's games, NM State is tied for 16th in NCAA Division I women's basketball with a 24-4 record. The Aggies are also in the top-80 of several categories.
 
On the offensive end, NM State's 9.1 scoring margin ranks them 56th. The Aggies' 211 three-pointers have them in 53rd-place while their 7.5 shots from downtown per game rank them 33rd.
 
On the defensive end, NM State's 19.57 turnovers forced average is also good for 27th in the country. The Aggies' 280 steals on the year have them in 60th while their 10 steals per game puts them in 29th. New Mexico State's 4.61 turnover margin is good for 24th in the nation.
 
Sasha Weber's 68 made 3-pointers has her ranked 80th in the country, and her 2.52 average beyond the arc has her sitting in 46th while her .405 clip from 3-point range is ranked 33rd.
 
BEST OF THE BEST
Sasha Weber currently ranks amongst the best of the best in the NCAA. Her 1,465 career points total has her 73rd in the NCAA Division I active career leaders list in scoring while her 259 made 3-pointers has her checking in at No. 11 amongst active players.
 
LEADING LADIES
With the non-conference slate concluded, NM State and its players lead the league in several categories or are in the top-10 at the end of the regular-season.
 
As a team NM State leads the league in scoring offense (69.2), scoring margin (+9.1), assists per game (13.4), turnover margin (+4.61), turnovers forced (19.57), 3-point field-goals made (211) and steals (280).
 
Sasha Weber's 12.1 points per game ranks her sixth in league. Brianna Freeman, who is shooting .494 from the field, is second in the league while Weber's 43.5-percent from the field is good for ninth.
 
In the assist column, Shanice Davis is fifth in the WAC with 3.5 dimes per game.
 
Weber is second in the conference in 3-point field-goal percentage, checking in at .405 and tops the league for 3-point field-goals made with 2.5 per game (68). Davis' .317 clip from 3-point rage ranks her in 10th amongst league leaders.
 
Freeman is third in the conference with 1.5 blocks per game (39) and also seventh on the Aggies' all-time blocks leaderboard. Tamera William's 54 steals (1.9 spg) has her sitting in third while Davis is in a tie for eighth with 1.5 swipes per game.
 
WEBER MOVING ON UP
Sasha Weber, a 6-0 senior guard, continues to leave her mark in the record books as she moved into eight all-time in scoring for the Aggies. The Lacey, Wash., product now has 1,465 points in her career. She's now 16 points shy of passing Madison Spence (1,480, 2007-11) for seventh all-time in scoring.
 
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 259 career three-point field goals, good for sixth all-time in WAC history and the active leader in that category.