Opening Tip
• The Aggies take to the court in Abilene, Texas, after suffering their first WAC loss of the season on Thursday night.
• NM State has faced Abilene Christian three times in its 48-year history and currently holds a 1-2 record in meetings with the Wildcats.
• The most recent game between the two schools came in 2019-20 when ACU knocked off NM State, 67-54.
• This will mark the first time that the Aggies face off with the Wildcats while residing in the same conference as Abilene Christian made its way over from the Southland Conference last summer.
• Abilene Christian currently resides with an overall record of 11-5 and a record of 3-2 in conference play after dropping a game to Grand Canyon on Thursday night.
• Against the Lopes, the Wildcats had four different scorers finish in double digits, however, a second quarter in which ACU only scored 11 points proved to be the difference.
• Head Coach Brooke Atkinson leads one of the WAC's top defensive rebounding teams as the Aggies rank second in the conference, averaging 33.6 boards off the defensive end.
 
Scouting the Wildcats | Roster | Schedule | Statistics
• After winning four-straight, including its first three WAC contests, ACU dropped its second-straight game on Thursday as they fell to the Lopes after coming up short against Stephen F. Austin on Monday, Jan. 10.
• One season ago, Abilene Christian finished the year with a 14-13 record to earn the seventh seed in the Southland tournament where they fell to Nicholls St. in the second round.
• The Wildcats are led by a sharpshooting graduate student in Jamie Bonnarens who ranks sixth in scoring in the WAC at 14.5 points per game.
• Preseason Second-Team All-WAC member Madi Miller is one of three ACU players averaging nine points or more this season as she posts 9.0 points per game.
 
Last Time Out | NM State 56, Tarleton 58 | Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022
• The Aggies fell short in Stephenville, Texas, on Thursday night as they were beaten by single digits for the fourth time this season.
• In the narrow defeat, the Aggies were led in scoring by Soufia Inoussa who poured in 12 points in her starting role.
• The Aggies also received good production from fellow starter Jade Bradley who finished with nine points and eight rebounds.
• Shania Harper was the Aggies' second-leading scorer as she posted a line of 10 points and seven boards.
• Despite pulling to within just one point late in the fourth-quarter, the Aggies could not reach the top of the hill as Tarleton answered and closed out the game on its home floor.
 
Up Next
The Aggies will return to the home confines of the Pan American Center as they continue their stretch of facing WAC newcomers next week. On Thursday, NM State will host Sam Houston at 6 p.m. (MT).
 
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.
 
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.