Game Twenty-Four
NM State (9-14, 5-8 WAC) vs. Dixie State (7-16, 3-9 WAC)
Thursday, Feb. 17 | Noon | Burns Arena (4,779) | St. George, Utah
Watch | Live Stats | NM State Game Notes | Program
 

Opening Tip
• The Aggies return to the court on Thursday in an important contest for WAC Tournament seeding purposes as they take on Dixie State in St. George, Utah. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. MT.
• Two days of rest isn't much under normal circumstances, but after competing in four games in just seven days, the Aggies could feel well-rested heading into their meeting with the Trailblazers.
• Thursday will also mark the second time these two programs will see each other in a span of seven days as the two sides met on Thursday, Feb. 10, when the Aggies walked away with a triple-overtime victory.
• This is the Trailblazers' second season in the WAC, however, year one was cut short when the university decided to suspend all of its women's basketball activities after five of the Trailblazers' eight non-conference tilts were canceled due to COVID-19 policies.
• NM State's trip to the southern portion of Utah will mark the first time in program history the Aggies face Dixie State on the road with the first-ever meeting coming last Thursday in the Pan American Center.
• Prior to tip-off on Thursday, the Aggies find themselves in 10th place in the WAC standings but would be slotted in ninth in the WAC Tournament due to Tarleton being ineligible to participate in Las Vegas. The Trailblazers, who join Tarleton as the other WAC school that will not compete in Las Vegas, enter the matchup with NM State sitting in 11th place in the league standings.
• This will be the 71st WAC contest in which Brook Atkinson will be at the helm as the Aggies have compiled a league record of 45-26 during her tenure, including two regular-season WAC titles.
 
The Nitty Gritty
• Head Coach Brooke Atkinson leads one of the WAC's top rebounding teams as the Aggies rank first in the conference in rebounding margin, out-rebounding opponents by 5.3 boards per game. This mark is also good for the 51st-best in the nation.
• The Aggies also rank first in rebounding margin in league contests as, on average, they collect 6.5 more rebounds than their opponents in WAC games. In WAC play, the Aggies are also tops in offensive rebounds per game (14.7) and total rebounds per game (39.2).
• The Aggies also rank in the top five among WAC teams in free throw percentage (4th, .701), scoring offense (5th, 65.9) and turnovers forced per game (5th, 16.83)
• NM State is led in scoring by graduate transfer Bigue Sarr who ranks 11th in the WAC in points per game (13.3) and third in rebounds per game (8.7). Sarr also posts a field goal percentage of 53.4 percent to rank third in the league and 33rd in the nation in that category. Sarr's ability to create second-chance opportunities for the Aggies is also among the league's best as she ranks second in the WAC in offensive rebounds per game, pulling down 3.3 per contest.
 
Scouting the Trailblazers
• After facing the Aggies last Thursday, Dixie State has only played once as they dropped a road meeting with Grand Canyon on Saturday, Feb. 12, losing 50-66.
• With the losses versus the Aggies and Lopes included, the Trailblazers are currently riding a four-game losing streak.
• Leading the charge for Dixie State will be Long Beach State transfer Shanaijah Davison who finished with a team-high 22 points the last time these two teams met.
• Breaunna Gillen also created havoc against the Aggies as she posted 21 points while also pulling down eight rebounds and snatching four steals.
• The Trailblazer offense relies heavily on the three-pointer as it ranks first in the WAC in three-pointers made per game (9.5) and three-point attempts per game (30.0).
• Head Coach Gustin is entering his sixth year with the Trailblazers and has generated a record of 56-75 to this point in his career in St. George.
 
Last Time Out | NM State 55, Stephen F. Austin 69 | Monday, Feb. 14, 2022
• The Aggies went toe-to-toe with the WAC-leading Ladyjacks before SFA broke open an 8-0 scoring run in the third to take a lead it would never give up.
• NM State was led in the scoring column by Molly Kaiser who finished with a career-high 20 points off the bench.
• After posting six points on Saturday, Bigue Sarr returned to her usual production as she finished the afternoon with 12 points and 15 rebounds, including five offensive boards.
• As a team, the Aggies posted their best free-throw shooting performance of the season as they went 13-of-14 from the line.
 
• However, the Aggies could not connect from three-point range for the second consecutive game after hitting nine triples in the three-overtime thriller with Dixie State last Thursday.
• The Ladyjacks were powered by Zya Nugent who posted a career-high 31 points on 10-of-17 from the field while also pulling down seven rebounds.
• The Aggie defense did do their jobs in stopping the powerful post play of the 'Jacks leading scorer and rebounder Aiyana Johnson as she finished with just five points and four rebounds in 23 minutes of action.
 
Up Next
• Following the meeting with Dixie State, the Aggies will turn their attention to Grand Canyon as they get set to host the Lopes on Saturday, Feb. 19.
• Tip-off in the matchup with visiting GCU is set for noon.
 
Sights on Six
NM State will seek its sixth WAC regular-season title since the 2014-15 season. Including this season, the Aggies are 85-23 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.