MANHATTAN, Kan. – The New Mexico State women's basketball team (26-4, 14-0) travels to the "Little Apple" Manhattan, Kan. for their third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament as the team takes on the No. 2 seeded Stanford Cardinal (28-5, 15-2) on Saturday, March 18 at 11:30 a.m. MT in the Bramlage Coliseum.
 
WHERE TO CATCH THE ACTION
Watch on ESPN2
Listen on 91.5 FM KRUX or TuneIn Radio
Follow StatBroadcast Live Stats
 
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.
 
WATCH PARTY
For all Aggie fans in the Las Cruces area looking to catch the game, there will be a watch party at the Corbett Center Aggie Lounge on Saturday, March 18, for the women's game.
 
SCOUTING THE CARDINAL
The Stanford Cardinal sit on a 28-5 overall record, including 15-2 in Pac-12 play. The opponent currently rides a four-game win streak into the match-up with the Aggies including a Pac-12 championship over Oregon State, 48-43.
 
Over 33 games for Stanford, the team is led by Erica McCall, daughter of Aggie WAC opponent and CSU Bakersfield head coach Greg McCall, lead the Cardinal averaging a team-leading 14.6 points and 8.7 rebounds. McCall is the only Cardinal player to have started in all of the team's 33 games.
 
Two more Stanford players also average double-digit points with Brittany McPhee and Karlie Samuelson have each put up 12.7 points this season.
 
As a team, Stanford averages 72.1 points while allowing 55.5 this year. The squad pulls down 41.5 rebounds and dishes out 14.9 assists. The Cardinal put up their most points in the second half as they outscore opponents in the third (619-482) and fourth (582-456) quarters.
 
Stanford is coached by Tara VanDerveer, a Naismith basketball hall of famer, who has compiled a career record of 1,008-230. VenDerveer joined elite ranks earlier this season as the coach notched her 1,000th career victory which is a feat accomplished just one other time in NCAA women's basketball history, by former Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt (1,098). VanDerveer has also led Stanford to 29 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances during her time at the helm.
 
This will be the first contest between NM State and Stanford in the school's history.  
 
AGGIES TOURNAMENT HISTORY
NM State women's basketball is making their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. Head coach Mark Trakh has now led the Aggies to the NCAA's in each of the last three seasons. Under Trakh's guidance, the team's appearance against No. 1 Maryland back in 2014-15 ended a 27-year drought for NM State in the big dance. All-time in the tournament the Aggies are 0-4.
 
THE LEADER OF THE WAC
NM State has dominated in Western Athletic Conference competition as the team is 46-2 in their last 48 conference meetings, including tournament play, with a perfect 14-0 in WAC play this regular season. The team recently just captured their third-straight WAC Tournament championship.
 
With all the wins and notoriety, New Mexico State women's basketball also proves to be ahead of the WAC competition as they rank in the top-three in 18 of the 21 recorded team statistical categories.
 
The team's play is featured by leading the conference in six fields over 30 games, including scoring offense (69.6 PPG), scoring defense (58.4 PPG), scoring margin (+11.2), field goal percentage (.425 FG pct.), three-point field goal percentage (.358 3FG pct.) and three-point field goal defense (.272 3FG pct.).
 
STREAKING
After the team's WAC Tournament semi-final win on March 10 against UMKC, NM State set the new program record for wins in a row (16). The previous record of 15-consecutive was set by the Aggies back in 1987-88 coached by Joe McKeown and tied in 2015-16 by Trakh and the Aggies. The original streak was snapped in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 19, 1988, in an 85-74 loss to Washington.
 
Currently, NM State holds a 17-game win streak, tied for the fourth longest in the country, dating back to the team's win over Western New Mexico (85-28), back on Dec. 31, 2016.
 
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE AGGIES
The Aggies are coming off their third-straight WAC Tournament Championship, a program record. The tournament saw the No. 1 seeded Aggies get a bye to the semi-finals where they defeated UMKC, 71-63.
 
Then, in the championship game, the NM State squared off against the Seattle U Redhawks in a game the Aggies dominated from start to finish winning the WAC Championship, 63-48.
 
After the game, Aggie guards Moriah Mack and Tamera William earned All-Tournament team honors while WAC Player of the Year Moriah Mack also earned the title of WAC Tournament MVP.