Opening Tip
• The Aggies will match up with the Cougars on Tuesday afternoon after having their original contest pushed back due to COVID-19 protocols.
• On Tuesday, NM State will look to increase its WAC win total to three after taking down Sam Houston at home on Thursday.
• After taking down the Bearkats, NM State has now compiled an impressive league record of 42-20 during Brooke Atkinson's tenure.
• Heading into Tuesday's contest, the Aggies record versus Chicago State is unblemished as they have gone 18-0 since the first meeting on Jan. 16, 2014.
• In fact, the Cougars have only finished within single digits of the Aggies on two occasions over the seven-year history.
• Coming off of a year in which Chicago State finished 0-10 in WAC play, the Cougars have already taken a step forward as they defeated Seattle U earlier this season to earn their first win in conference play since Jan. 18, 2020.
• However, the Cougars will enter the matchup with the Aggies on a two-game losing skid after falling to UT Rio Grande Valley and Lamar in their last two tilts.
• Head Coach Brooke Atkinson leads one of the WAC's most efficient offensive teams as the Aggies rank third in the WAC in shooting percentage in league matches, shooting at a .463 clip.
• The Aggies also rank in the top five among WAC team in field goal percentage (3rd, .435), free throw percentage (3rd, .703), rebounds per game (5th, 37.00), scoring defense (5th, 62.4), scoring margin (4th, 6.4), scoring offense (4th, 68.8), three-point field goal defense (3rd, .296), turnover margin (4th, +2.07) and turnovers forced per game (4th, 18.14).
• NM State is led in scoring by graduate transfer Bigue Sarr who ranks fifth in the WAC in both points (14.0) and fourth in rebounds per game (7.2). Sarr also posts a field goal percentage of 58.5 percent to rank third in the league and 15th in the nation in that category.
 
Scouting the Cougars | Roster | Schedule | Statistics
• Chicago State is coming off of a 47-55 loss to Lamar on Jan. 15 when they were led in scoring by freshman standout Aaliyah Collins who finished the contest with 23 points.
• Collins has been one of the top performers in all of the WAC this season and has been CSU's top scorer in all but three games this season.
• The freshman from Snohomish, Wash., has averaged just over 16 points per game to rank fourth in the conference this season.
• Collins has really been the Cougars' do-it-all star as she also ranks first on her team in field goals made, field goal percentage, free-throw percentage, steals per game, three-pointers made per game and three-point percentage.
• Junior Kyjai Miles has also been a bright spot for the Cougars as she ranks fifth in the conference in blocks per game, rejecting 1.07 shots per outing.
• From last season's squad, the Cougars returned two starters, however, lost seven of their 10 letterwinners.
 
Last Time Out | NM State 72, Sam Houston 59 | Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022
• The Aggies returned to their winning ways and pushed their WAC win percentage back up to .500 after defeating the Bearkats at home.
• NM State's bench was the story of the 13-point victory as they accounted for 52 of the Aggies points and nearly outscored the Bearkats by themselves.
• The Aggies' top two scorers emerged from the bench as Molly Kaiser and Taylor Donalson scored 13 and 12 points, respectively.
• Donaldson also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds to come up just shy of recording her first collegiate double-double.
• Moe Shida also provided a spark off the bench, reaching a career-high eight points while dishing out a game-high four assists.
• Against the Bearkats, the Aggies shot 53 percent from the field to record their fourth game with a shooting clip better than 50 percent.
• As a team, the Aggies held the statistical advantage in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, points off turnovers, rebounds, bench points, points in the paint, steals and assists.
• This marks the Aggies' third-straight home victory and helped the Aggies move into the eighth spot in the WAC standings.
 
Up Next
The Aggies will travel to Phoenix to take on Grand Canyon in an important rivalry meeting on Saturday, Jan. 29. Tip-off is set for 2 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.