LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State women's basketball dropped a 75-50 decision in the Battle of I-25 on Saturday afternoon in the Pan American Center.
 
After New Mexico notched the game's opening bucket, NM State went on a 9-0 run including back-to-back threes from Monique Mill and Brooke Salas to take a 9-2 lead with 7:24 in the first. The Aggies then got buckets from Baylee Robinson, Dominique Mills and Rodrea Echols to take a 15-10 lead after one quarter.
 
The second quarter started with an 8-2 Lobo run that saw them take an 18-17 lead heading into the media timeout. Then, NM State got back in the lead at 22-18 after five straight points from Brooke Salas. However, New Mexico closed the half on a 12-5 run for a 31-27 halftime lead. Salas led all scorers at the half with 14 points and added seven boards. The Aggie defense held UNM to just 30.2 percent (13-43) shooting from the floor in the half.
 
Coming out of the break, the two sides traded buckets with New Mexico State taking a 38-37 lead with 5:48 to go in the third. However, New Mexico rattled off a 14-2 run to close the quarter with a 51-40 lead. The fourth quarter was all Lobos as they outscored NM State 24-10 in the period to close out a 75-50 win.
 
Salas moved into ninth place on NM State's all-time scoring list with 24 points while recording 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Salas currently sits at 1,437 points. Roswell, N.M., native Jaedyn De La Cerda led New Mexico with 21 points off the bench. The Aggies were outrebounded 49-47 on the evening while turning it over 28 times to 15 for UNM.
 
The New Mexico State women's basketball is back in action when it kicks off a road trip with a visit to Texas A&M – Corpus Christi on Tuesday, Dec. 18, at 4:30 p.m. (MT) before heading to Miami for the Florida International Holiday tournament on Dec. 20 and 21.