Opening Tip
NM State (0-1, 0-0 WAC) returns to Las Cruces to take on New Mexico Highlands (0-0, 0-0 Rocky Mountain) in the home opener. The Aggies fell on the road to a strong Colorado team on Monday afternoon. Wednesday night's in-state clash marks the first home game of the Jody Adams era.

News and Notes
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.

It's Been a Minute
NM State and New Mexico Highlands have not met on the women's side of the hardwood since November 25, 2016 - A span of 2,174 days. Six Aggies recorded double-digit scoring in the contest as NM State cruised to a 94-37 victory.

Aggie Debuts
Both Ashlee Strawbridge and Lucia Yenes scored in their NM State debuts on Monday. 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.

Scoring Threats
Soufia Inoussa and Molly Kaiser lead the scoring efforts among NM State returners. Inoussa has poured in 654 points throughout her collegiate career, averaging 8.2 points per game. Kaiser finished second among Aggies in scoring last season, dropping 8.2 points per game.

Taylor Donaldson had the highest single-game scoring effort of any returner, dropping 25 against I-10 rival UTEP.

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 Nigera (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 a two-game homestand, 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.

NCAA Tournament
NM State looks to get back to the NCAA Tournament field for the first time since the 2018-19 season. In the last trip to the postseason, the Aggies fell to Iowa State in the Round of 64.

Last Time Out
On the opening afternoon of the 2022-23 college basketball season, NM State (0-1) fell on the road to Colorado (1-0). The Buffs are coming off of a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament last year and proved to be much more physical than the Aggies.

NM State jumped out to an early 6-0 lead before Colorado went on a blazing 21-0 run in the first quarter. The Aggies outscored Colorado 20-15 in the second quarter to take a 36-28 deficit into halftime. From there, it was all Colorado as the Buffs scored 49 points in the second half to secure a 85-55 victory in the season opener.

Soufia Inoussa (15), Taylor Donaldson (10), and Fama Thiam (10) all scored in double-figures for the Aggies in the contest. The Aggies struggled to grab rebounds against Colorado, losing the battle on the boards 46-28, led by six from Inoussa.

Up Next
After a brief six days off, the Aggies will once again be in action on Tuesday, November 15 in Las Cruces. NM State will welcome in-state rival New Mexico to Las Cruces for the first meeting in the Battle of I-25. The Aggies will make the return trip to Albuquerque on Sunday, December 11.