New Mexico (1-1, 0-0 Mountain West) at NM State (1-1, 0-0 WAC)
Tuesday, November 15, 2022 | 6:00 p.m. MT | Pan American Center
Watch | Live Stats | Digital Program | NM State Game Notes
Opening Tip
After the first win in the Jody Adams era, NM State (1-1, 0-0 WAC) once again opens the Pan American Center to a visiting team. This time, the opponent is in-state rival New Mexico (1-1, 0-0 Mountain West) in the Battle of I-25.
The Lobos are riding a hot streak against the Aggies, winning nine of the last ten meetings, including eight straight. NM State will make the return trip to Albuquerque on December 11, 2022.
News and Notes
Scouting the Lobos
New Mexico fell to one of the newest WAC members, Southern Utah, on opening night 76-68 before taking down Houston in The Pit, 68-61. The Lobos have used the same starting five (Brown, LaTascya Duff, LaTora Duff, McGruder, and Reus) in the first two contests with LaTora Duff leading scoring efforts at 13.5 points per game.
The Adams Family
Jody Adams enters her first season as the head coach of NM State. Adams has a history of success throughout Division I basketball, including 185 career wins.
Most notably, Adams led Wichita State for the nine most successful seasons in program history. Before Adams was hired, the Shockers had only one 20-win season in school history and had never made the NCAA Tournament, won a Missouri Valley title, or won the Missouri Valley Tournament tile. Under Adams, Wichita State posted four-straight 20-win seasons and made six-straight postseason appearances from 2009-15.
Attendance
NM State leads the WAC in average attendance through the young season. With 1,394 people inside the Pan American Center last Wednesday, the Aggies edge out Abilene Christian (1,310) and Utah Tech (1,308) for the highest average attendance.
Taylor Time
Swiftly dropping the hits, Taylor Donaldson leads NM State in scoring with 13.5 points per game. Against New Mexico Highlands, Donaldson dropped 17 points on 6-8 from the floor, including a triple.
From Range
NM State currently leads the WAC in three-point percentage, shooting an even 40.0%. The clip ranks nationally as Mercer has connected on 66.7% of long-range attempts.
Aggie Debuts
Both Ashlee Strawbridge and Lucia Yenes scored in their NM State debuts against Colorado. Strawbridge, a transfer from the College of Southern Idaho, closed with seven points and five rebounds in her Division I debut. Yenes, a true freshman from Spain, logged six minutes of action and added two points.
Coaching Staff
The entire NM State coaching staff is new for the 2022-23 season. Adams brought in Patrick Harrison, Chynna Turner, and Zach Banks as assistant coaches for her first staff in Las Cruces.
Harrison comes to NM State from Kansas City, where he had spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach under now Oklahoma State head coach Jacie Hoyt.
Turner played for Adams at Wichita State before entering the world of coaching. Before coming to NM State, Turner spent four seasons at Gardner-Webb, leading the Bulldogs to 61 wins.
Banks joins the Aggies after serving as an assistant at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Fla. Banks' time in Florida was capped off with a 2021 NJCCA National Championship and a career record of 128-22 (.853).
Tough Tests Ahead
The test with Colorado won't be the last time NM State faces an opponent from the 2022 NCAA Tournament this season. The Aggies will also square off with Stephen. F. Austin (12 seed; Lost to North Carolina) on February 28 and will host WAC newcomer UT Arlington (14 seed; Lost to Iowa State) on February 23.
Conference Variety
The Aggies will square off with teams from ten different conferences throughout the 2022-23 season.
⁃- Pac-12 (Colorado)
⁃- Ivy League (Yale)
⁃- Summit (Denver)
⁃- Mountain West (New Mexico)
⁃- Conference USA (UTEP)
⁃- West Coast (San Diego)
⁃- Big Sky (Idaho, Portland State)
⁃- Rocky Mountain Athletic - NCAA Division II (New Mexico Highlands)
⁃- Continental Athletic - NAIA (Northern New Mexico)
⁃- WAC (UTRGV, Southern Utah, Utah Valley, Tarleton, Sam Houston, Utah Tech, Grand Canyon, Seattle U, Abilene Christian, California Baptist, UT Arlington, Stephen F. Austin.)
Ms. Worldwide
The Aggies have seven international players on the roster throughout 2022-23. Sabou Gueye and Fama Thiam both hail from Senegal while Nigeria (Ene Adams), Sweden (Soufia Inoussa), Japan (Moe Shida), New Zealand (Ashlee Strawbridge), and Spain (Lucia Yenes) are all represented as well.
Frequent Fliers
NM State will also hit the road for games in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, California, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, and Washington during the 22-23 campaign. In addition, the WAC Tournament is held annually in Las Vegas, Nevada - Adding a ninth state to the list.
Road Warriors
Following the Battle of I-25, the Aggies will play six straight contests away from the Pan American Center. NM State will head back to Colorado for the Denver Classic (Nov. 25/26 vs. Yale/Denver) before returning to the Borderland to take on UTEP (Nov. 30). From there, NM State heads to sunny San Diego for the San Diego Classic (Dec. 3/4 vs. San Diego/Idaho) and wraps up the road swing on December 11 at New Mexico.
Last Time Out
NM State (1-1, 0-0 WAC) throttled New Mexico Highlands, 80-39, for the first win of the Jody Adams era. The win was also the home opener for NM State after opening the season at Colorado.
Taylor Donaldson led all players with 17 points in the contest while Sabou Gueye joined the double-figure club with 10 points. Gueye also led NM State with five rebounds in the contest.
Moe Shida dished out five assists against the Cowgirls, marking the highest single-game total for an Aggie on the young season.
Up Next
Following the Battle of I-25, the Aggies will head to Denver for the Denver Classic over Thanksgiving weekend. NM State will meet Yale on Friday, November 25 before squaring off with the host, Denver, on Saturday, November 26.
