LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State women's basketball team opens the 2017-18 season against Western Michigan on Nov. 12, at 2 p.m. MT in the Pan American Center.
 
The Aggies then remain at home for a match up against UT Permian Basin on Tuesday, Nov. 14, at 6 p.m.
 
WHERE TO CATCH THE ACTION
Sunday's season opener versus the Broncos can be streamed on ESPN3 with Adam Young on the call and Patrick Knapp serving as the analyst. The contest can also be viewed on Altitude 2, FOX College Sports Pacific, FOX Sports Arizona, FOX Sports Southwest and Comcast New Mexico.
 
The game on Tuesday between the Aggies and Falcons can be heard on 91.5 FM KRUX or through the TuneIn site or app on your tablet or mobile device with Adam Young handling the play-by-play. 
 
GET CONNECTED
To stay connected with the women's basketball team and catch all of the up-to-date information and breaking news, follow the Aggies on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, @NMStateWBB.
 
GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS
To open the season at home, NM State is set to host Junior Aggie Day on Nov. 12. All Junior Aggie Club members are offered VIP seating for the game and are set to make a tunnel for the team as they enter the court. Members also receive a poster and are going to be escorted to the court post-game to meet the team and get autographs and photos.
 
LOOKING AT THE BRONCOS
Western Michigan enters the Pan Am on Sunday with a 0-1 record after dropping the season opener to UNM, 88-76, on Friday night.
 
The game against the Lobos saw three Broncos score double digits in the loss. Play was led by forward Breanna Mobley who had a team-high 19 points and nine rebounds.
 
In the season opener, Western Michigan shot 25-for-64 (39.1 %) from the field, including 5-for-19 (26.3 %) from three-point range, and 21-for-26 (80.8 %) from the line.
 
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
UT Permian Basin travels to Las Cruces, N.M. currently holding an 0-1 record after Friday night. The Falcons fell to Fort Lewis, 85-67, on the road.
 
Despite the loss, UTPB forward Khali Pippins-Tyron posted a team-best 32 points to go with five rebounds and two steals.
 
The Falcons were able to pressure their opponent defensively as they forced 15 turnovers in comparison to Fort Lewis' 10.
 
2016-17 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
- NM State was named the preseason favorite to win the WAC by both media and coaches.
- The Aggies set a new school record for wins in a row with 17.
- Moriah Mack was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year and WAC Tournament MVP.
- NM State defeated rivals UNM and UTEP in the same season for the first time in 21 years.
- The Aggies cracked the century mark for the first time since 2014 in a 100-63 win over Chicago State.
- Two Aggies (Brianna Freeman and Moriah Mack) crossed the 1,000 point threshold as the 21st and 22nd Aggies to do so in team history.
- For the first time in program history, the team completed the three-peat winning the WAC regular season and tournament championship with titles from 2015-17.
- NM State women's basketball made its third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 15 seed against No. 2 Stanford in Manhattan, Kan.
 
PRESEASON FAVORITES
The Western Athletic Conference released the preseason predictions from both coaches and media in which the Aggies were unanimously selected to win the WAC. This is the third season in a row which saw NM State selected as the preseason favorite.
 
#AGGIEUP
NM State women's basketball returns two starters and four letter winners from the 2016-17 squad. The returnees include junior Brooke Salas who was named to the All-WAC First-Team in 2016-17. Salas also got the nod for All-WAC First-Team on the coaches and media members' preseason poll in 2017-18. Point guard Zaire Williams also earned the vote for second-team in the coaches' poll.
 
NEW FACES ON THE COACHING STAFF
The New Mexico State women's basketball staff got a new look for 2017-18 which saw four new coaches join the Aggie family. Brooke Atkinson became the team's 11th head coach in program history on May 3rd, 2017. Atkinson then began to form her staff in the coming months welcoming on Ryan McAdams, Aisha Stewart and DeAudra Brown.
 
Brooke Atkinson joins NM State after spending the past three seasons at Colorado State University. However, Atkinson is no stranger Las Cruces as the Colorado native spent eight seasons on the Aggie bench from 2003-11.
 
In her three seasons in Fort Collins, Colo., the Rams enjoyed three-consecutive Mountain West Conference regular-season titles, including an NCAA appearance during the 2015-16 campaign – their first appearance in the Big Dance in 14 years (2002).
 
Ryan McAdams enters his first season with New Mexico State after spending seven years as the head coach of Eastern Arizona. The Gila Monsters reached the national tournament in three of the last four seasons under McAdams.
 
While at the helm for seven years, McAdams saw EAC named runner-up NJCAA Academic Team of the Year with the second-highest team GPA out of 181 schools, twice. Every two-year player under McAdams transferred to four-year schools under his watch.
 
Aisha Stewart spent the past two years as assistant coach with the North Texas women's basketball team. She also served as recruiting coordinator, academic liaison and guards coach. During Stewart's time with the Mean Green, she was able to improve the teams winning percentage in each of the two seasons.
 
Stewart led the North Texas attack as they were awarded with the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Shooting Award for the most improved field-goal percentage in the 2015-16 season.
 
DeAudra Brown joins NM State after two seasons as an assistant coach at Seward County Community College. In those years at Seward County, Brown helped lead the Lady Saints to a 57-11 overall record along with a pair of appearances in the National Junior College Athletic Association Region VI Tournament Game and one in the NJCAA National Tournament.
 
A leader off the court as well, Brown helped the Lady Saints in the classroom to an NJCAA Academic Team of the Year recognition with a 3.56 team grade point average in 2017.
 
UP NEXT
Following the pair of match ups at home to open the 2017-18 season, the Aggies travel a few hours north to take on Battle of I-25 rival New Mexico on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 2 p.m. MT.