Game Eight
NM State (3-4) vs. UTEP (6-1)
Wednesday, Dec. 15 | 6 p.m. | Pan American Center (12,572) | Las Cruces, N.M.
Watch | Live Stats | Tickets | NM State Game Notes | UTEP Game Notes
Opening Tip
The Aggies return to the home confines of the Pan American Center Wednesday evening as they take on I-10 rival UTEP in the second meeting of the two programs this season. In the initial matchup, the Miners' defense proved to be enough to overcome the Aggies' sharpshooting. Despite NM State shooting over 53 percent from the field and 67 percent from deep, the Miners forced 28 Aggie turnovers to secure a 76-61 victory in El Paso on Nov. 17, 2021.
This will be the 89th all-time meeting between the two heated rivals. The Aggies lead the all-time series 50-37, however, they have not defeated the Miners since Nov. 17, 2018. The last time the Aggies conquered UTEP inside the Pan Am was Dec. 10, 2017, when they defeated the Miners 76-68 behind a 29-point effort from Brooke Salas.
The mid-week contest will also mark the first time the Battle of I-10 visits Las Cruces in 763 days as the last four tilts have been played in El Paso due to COVID-19 restrictions in place one season ago.
Scouting the Miners | Roster | Schedule | Statistics
The Miners enter the matchup with a 6-1 record and are coming off a 69-57 win over Texas State on Monday night. The battle with the Bobcats marked the first time that the Miners took the court since Nov. 27 due to COVID-19 protocols.
The Miners leading scorer is Destiny Thurman, who averages 16.0 points per game. Thurman is coming off her second 20-plus point effort of the season, reaching exactly 20 points on the road against Texas State on Monday night. The Aggies were able to hold Thurman to just seven points in the first meeting, while Avery Crouse led the way with 15 points for UTEP. Sophomore guard Katia Gallegos serves as the Miners' engine as she accounts for 11.3 points, 4.0 assists and 2.1 steals per game. As the primary ball-handler, Gallegos has helped the Miners accumulate the 36th fewest turnovers among Division I teams this season.
Last Time Out | New Mexico 73, NM State 66 | Sunday, December 5
The Aggies came up just short of defeating the Lobos In the second round of this season's Rio Grande Rivalry as they held the lead for over 33 minutes before succumbing to a barrage of Lobo three-pointers in the fourth quarter, giving UNM the seven-point victory. The Aggies led after the first three quarters and led by as much as 13 points with 8:16 left to play before the New Mexico offense exploded for a 28-point fourth quarter.
The Aggies received a dominant performance from Bigue Sarr, who posted a season-high in both points (28) and rebounds (12). The Aggies also got solid production off the bench from Taylor Donaldson as the Newbury Park native scored 10 points in 22 minutes.
The defending Mountain West champions were led offensively by a 24-point outing from LaTora Duff after she was unable to compete in the second half of the first meeting between the two teams due to injury. Duff went 5-of-8 from three-point land and also chipped in five assists as she played all 40 minutes. Shai McGruder and Antonia Anderson also reached double-digit scoring figures as McGruder finished with 17 points and Anderson tallied 16.
Up Next
NM State will take to the road this upcoming weekend as they travel to Ogden, Utah, to do battle with Weber State. Tip-off in Utah is set for noon (MT) on Saturday, Dec. 18. Following a meeting with the Wildcats, the Aggies will return to Las Cruces for a three-game home stint surrounding Christmas Day.
Sprinting Out of the Gate
The Aggies toppled Western New Mexico in their season opener, winning by a margin of 54 points. This marked the first 50-plus point win since last November when they derailed Park Gilbert, 92-38. Also, five Aggies reached double-digit scoring for the first time since Nov. 26, 2018 when they did so in a win over Northern New Mexico.
In the blowout win, the Aggies were led by Molly Kaiser who finished with a career-high 18 points. Oklahoma State transfer Bigue Sarr also had a productive night, posting 16 points and grabbing six boards in just 16 minutes of action.
2020-21 Highlights
- Finished the regular season riding a three-game winning streak.
- Aaliyah Prince was name Second Team All-WAC and earned WAC All-Defensive Team honors.
- Took down No. 5 Seattle U in the opening round of the WAC tournament as Shania Harper posted a season-high 15 points.
Sights on Six
NM State will seek its sixth WAC regular season title since the 2014-15 season. The Aggies are 80-18 in conference play across the past seven seasons.
Preseason Picks
NM State was picked to finish in seventh place in the WAC Coaches' Poll while the media selected the Aggies to land in sixth this season.
The WAC media also selected junior guard Soufia Inoussa to the Second Team All-WAC list.
Bringing Home the Hardware
Following her final season with the Aggies, Aaliyah Prince earned Second Team All-WAC and WAC All-Defensive Team honors. Prince finished the season ranked 11th in the league in steals per game while ranking 13th in points per game.
