Box Score ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Despite cutting into the lead in the second half, the Aggies' late push fell short as round one of the Battle of I-25 went to New Mexico, 58-77.
The Aggies received huge production from
Bigue Sarr who finished with her first double-double of the season, scoring 21 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. The Aggies also got great production off the bench from
Fama Thiam as she scored seven points in just six minutes late in the fourth.
Jade Bradley turned in an efficient night as well, scoring eight points from her starting role.
Sarr tallied the first points of the game as she found space down low in the opening quarter to start the night off. The graduate transfer also snagged four rebounds in the first to kick start a career night. UNM's Latascya Duff scored nine in the first quarter, including seven which came as part of a 14-0 run for the Lobos that put the Aggies in a 4-18 hole at the 3:48 mark. A
Deja Terrell jumper from the top of the key stopped the streak and helped the Aggies head into the second quarter trailing 8-21.
The Lobos continued their hot shooting in the second period as they knocked in a pair of threes in the opening two minutes of the quarter to carry a 29-10 advantage with 8:05 left in the half.
Bigue Sarr showed her dominance in the second quarter as she scored the first four Aggie points and was responsible for 10 of the Aggies' 16 in the second. Despite Sarr's efforts, NM State entered the half down 24-45.
The Aggies came out inspired to start the half as they turned three turnovers into six points as part of an 8-0 run that cut the deficit to just 13 points at the 7:10 mark. Both teams then went scoreless for nearly two minutes before UNM's De La Cerda took the lid of the basket with a jumper to put Lobos up 47-31 with 5:28 still on the clock in the third. Following a Lobo triple, an and-one from
Jade Bradley capped off a quick scoring spurt for the Aggies to put the score at 36-50 in favor of UNM.
Molly Kaiser also found her way inside to draw a shooting foul on a made basket with 1:10 remaining, leaving the Aggies down 40-59 heading into the fourth quarter.
Fama Thiam's scoring off the bench was the story in the closing quarter as she scored seven unanswered points to cut the Lobo lead to 14 points with 2:44 left to go. With the help of Thiam, the Aggies scored 18 in the quarter to equal the output of the Lobos in the fourth. A successful Sarr and-one at the 2:15 mark put the Senegal native over 20 points for the first time in her career and capped off the Aggie scoring for the night.
