LAS CRUCES, N.M. – New Mexico State women's basketball played their second Western Athletic Conference game of the season on Saturday afternoon against the Chicago State Cougars. A strong shooting night for the Aggies saw the team hit the century mark for the first time this season with an impressive 100-63 victory over CSU.
When asked about the team's performance after the game, head coach
Mark Trakh said, "We've seen the ball drop the last few games, now we just need to tighten up on defense. Chicago State played really hard but just wore out at the end because of their limited bench, which is understandable. We have to improve in some areas but I was impressed with the win tonight."
The first quarter of the game opened with NM State quickly going on a 9-0 run, which led to a 14-5 lead just 4:00 into the game. Chicago State responded, however, with strong perimeter shooting as they began to close in as the Aggies only led 23-18.
The next basket of the game was the most monumental, as
Brianna Freeman notched the 1,000th point of her career. Freeman joins an elite group as she is only the 21st player in school history to reach the milestone.
NM State rallied behind the senior forward as they came out in the second quarter up 27-20 and looked to expand the lead as the team went on an 11-0 run to start. The end of the first half saw
Tyler Ellis take over as she led the team at the half with 13 points.
As the Aggies made their way into the locker room to get ready for the second half, they led CSU, 58-40. This was the highest point total NM State has posted in a half this season, s the previous high was 47 put up against New Mexico Highlands on Nov. 25. The high point totals for both teams were a result of hot shooting as NM State (64.7 FG pct.) and Chicago State (61.5 FG pct.) both looked as if they could not miss.
Each team cooled down from the field in the third quarter, but that did not stop the Aggies form increasing their lead, beginning with a 9-0 run right out of the gate. The third quarter closed out with NM State ahead, 78-55.
The fourth quarter was the most lopsided on the scoreboard (22-8), as CSU began to tire out, having only six players dressed. The Aggies took advantage and hit triple digits, not only for the first time this season, but also the first time for any team in WAC play, since Jan. 18, 2014 as NM State had a 106-77 victory over UMKC.
The career night for Freeman saw the forward finish with 12 points. Five other Aggies also hit double figures at the end of the contest.
Tamera William led the way with 20 points, followed by
Tyler Ellis who put up a career-high of 15,
Brooke Salas had 13,
Gia Pack put up 11 and also had the first block of her Aggie career and
Moriah Mack finished with 10.
The dominant performance by the team featured a season-high in field goal percentage (63.9), a season-low in turnovers (8) and they also played well on the boards giving up a season low in rebounds for the opposition. (17).
The win on Saturday moves NM State to 10-6 on the year and 2-0 in WAC play. Next up for the team is a game in Phoenix, Ariz. against conference rival, Grand Canyon, on Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. MT.
