LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State women's basketball team returns home for the last two games of 2017. The Aggies welcome the Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 29 at the Pan American Center with tip-off set for noon MT. Then on New Year's Eve, NM State hosts Western New Mexico at 2 p.m.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Fans who cannot make it to the game can follow live stats for each contest on
StatBroadcast. The game between the Aggies and Mustangs on Dec. 31 can be heard on 91.5 FM KRUX with Adam Young calling the action.
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.
SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS
UC Santa Barbara enters the Pan Am on Friday with a 2-9 overall record. The Gauchos won their most recent contest, 77-64, over San Diego State after dropping their previous nine.
UCSB has been outscored 73.5 to 62.6 in 11 games and has shot just .392 from the field (249-636). The Gauchos have fared well from the line with a .710 clip (103-145) and have two players shooting over 80 percent from the line.
Drew Edleman leads the team in points per game with 15.7 and rebounds bringing down 8.0 per contest. Sarah Porter also averages double-digit points with 10.1 per game to go along with 11 steals.
LOOKING AT THE MUSTANGS
Western New Mexico is still searching for its first victory of the year as the team currently holds an overall record of 0-12.
The Mustangs have been outscored by 20.2 points per game (74.3-54.2), to go along with a .344 mark from the field and a .262 shooting percentage from three.
Ciara Field currently leads WNMU scoring a team-high 11.0 points per game with 12 steals and two blocks. On the boards, Myla Woods-Brown has reeled in a team-leading 4.4 rebounds per contest.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After a stellar pair of games at the Long Beach Classic, NM State's
Gia Pack earned the nod as the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week.
Pack averaged a double-double (21.0 points/10.0 rebounds) in the tournament, which saw the Aggies split their games. In a heart-breaking loss to Northeastern the Phoenix, Ariz. native put up 15 points and eight rebounds to lead NM State.
Then to close out the tournament the Aggies took down host Long Beach State 72-63. The victory saw Pack score a team-leading 27 points to go along with 12 rebounds.
LAST TIME OUT
The Aggies recently wrapped up play at the Long Beach Classic from Dec. 20-21. In the first contest NM State was defeated by Northeastern in a close game at the Walter Pyramid. The Aggies fell to the Huskies 65-64 to open the Long Beach Classic.
After the Aggies pulled ahead 52-49, Northeastern went on a 6-0 run to take the lead. A three by
Monique Mills and a jumper by
Gia Pack tied the game and reclaimed the Aggies' two-point advantage late in the contest. A basket by NU with 1:03 remaining put the Aggies down by a point but a layup by Salas with 48 seconds remaining put the NM State ahead once more. The Huskies did not go away and with 11 seconds remaining, Northeastern hit the eventual game-winning three.
The second game saw NM State clash with host Long Beach State. The Aggies took down LBSU 72-63 to close out the tournament. NM State (5-7) fell behind early to start the game with LBSU (2-10) scoring the first five points of the contest. The Aggies overcame the early deficit with a rally of their own when
Monique Mills and
Gia Pack each hit a shot from beyond the arc. After falling behind 12-8 at the media timeout, the Aggies rallied with a 10-0 run to close out the first quarter.
NM State maintained its momentum early in the fourth with Salas and
Dominique Mills scoring but a 7-0 run by the Beach cut into the Aggies' lead.
Jeneva Toilolo snapped the LBSU rally when she hit a jumper with 5:51 remaining in the contest and a pair of free-throws by Salas extended New Mexico State's advantage to 15. A 10-1 rally by the Beach late in the game brought the Aggies' advantage to single-digits but NM State held on to defeat Long Beach State 72-63.
UP NEXT
New Mexico State kicks off 2018 at the Pan American Center when the Aggies welcome Chicago State on Jan. 6 to begin Western Athletic Conference action. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. (MT).
