NM State (6-7, 1-0 WAC) vs. Southern Utah (5-7, 1-0 WAC)
Saturday, December 31, 2022 | 1:00 p.m. MT | Pan American Center | Las Cruces, NM
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Opening Tip
• New Mexico State (6-7, 1-0 WAC) is looking to extend their winning streak to four games Saturday as they get set to host Southern Utah (5-7, 1-0) on New Year's Eve for the second game of this early conference schedule.
• The Aggies are currently riding a three-game win streak after defeating UTRGV (67-59) on the road Thursday. This is the first three game win streak for the Aggies since March 2021 when the team beat Tarleton and Chicago State twice.
• The Thunderbirds come into Las Cruces fresh off a win against their in-state neighbors, Utah Tech (76-61)
• NM State is 4-1 all time against Southern Utah. The Aggies have come out victorious in each of the last three meetings with the last one coming on Nov. 24, 2016, which saw the Aggies route the thunderbirds to a 14 point victory (74-60) in Las Cruces.
Last Time Out
• NM State made its way to Edinburg, Texas Thursday to face UTRGV to open up conference play.
• The Aggies sealed a 67-59 win over the Vaqueros after leading them from the 6:32 mark in the first quarter all the way to the end of regulation.
• Three different Aggies scored double digits in the contest. Shaina Harper led all Aggies with 14 points coming just shy of her career high (15). Molly Kaiser racked up 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Sylena Peterson scored 11 after hitting on a career high seven free-throws on 12 attempts.
• The Aggies shot an efficient 41.9% clip while holding the Vaqueros to 33.3% from the field. Both teams only combined to make six three pointers on 27 shots attempts.
Nail Biting Finishes
• Ten of the Aggies 13 games this season have all been decided by single digits with six of those games being within two possessions or less.
• Nine straight games were decided by single digits before NM State dominated Northern NM at home last week winning by 48 (90-42).
Double Trouble
• The veteran guard pair of Molly Kaiser (11.0) and Sylena Peterson (10.4) lead the Aggies in scoring this season. Kaiser had scored double figures in over half of the Aggies games this season and is averaging 12.5 points per game over her last seven contests scoring an even 100 points.
• Sylena Peterson managed to score 11 points off the bench for the Aggies in their win against UTRGV Thursday. Her best game came earlier this month in a loss to Idaho in her native town of San Diego. Peterson put up her first career double-double in that game igniting for 22 points, 13 rebounds and five steals.
Defense Travels
• NM State is allowing just 60.2 points a game to their opponents this season which is the fourth lowest among WAC schools thus far. Only two teams have scored 70+ points on the Aggies this season: Colorado (85) and Yale (73).
• The team also carries the second highest turnover margin in the WAC at +3.42 forcing 19.15 turnovers a contest.
Big Ene Energy
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Ene Adams didn't get a lot of playing time to start the season due to injury but has played a huge role for the Aggies off the bench the past few weeks, enough so that Jody Adams elected to start the junior forward in the WAC opener Thursday.
• Adams didn't do a whole lot in the scoring department in that one but was a physical force on the glass as she secured seven rebounds – the third consecutive game she's accomplished this.
Scouting the Thunderbirds
• Southern Utah (5-7, 1-0 WAC) is a lot better than their record might suggest. Three of the Thunderbirds losses have come at the hands of Pac-12 opponents (Oregon, Colorado, Utah). The others have come against marque programs such as Gonzaga, UC Santa Barbara, and Northern Arizona.
• Southern Utah defeated New Mexico 76-68 in their season opener on Nov. 7th.
• The Thunderbirds are averaging 68.3 points a contest while giving up 71.2 points to opponents this season.
• UTRGV sits just two spots ahead of the Aggies in the early WAC standings currently sitting in a three-way tie for fourth place.
• The Team is led by 5'10'' graduate Cherita Daugherty who's averaging 13.2 points a game this year. She is one of four players to be averaging double figures: Daylani Bellena (11.5), Lizzy Williamson (11.2) and Megan Jensen (10.9) are all averaging double figures regularly this season.
Puttin' Fans in the Stands
• NM State and Southern are among the conference leaders when it comes to attendance. Southern Utah is currently second in the WAC in average attendance (1,472) while the Aggies are just one of eight schools in the conference averaging over 1,000 fans a game (1,080)
Up Next
• New Mexico State is on the road once again to kick of the New Year as they are slated to face Utah Valley in Orem, Utah for the third game of conference play. That game is set to tip off on Jan. 4th, at 6 p.m. (MST).
