NM State (8-8, 3-1 WAC) vs. Sam Houston (6-7, 2-1 WAC)
Thursday, January 12, 2023 | 6:00 p.m. MT | Pan American Center | Las Cruces, N.M.
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Opening Tip
• Winners of five of their last six games, NM State women's basketball (8-8, 3-1 WAC) is back in action this week as they get set to host two conference games, starting with Sam Houston (6-7, 2-1 WAC) Thursday at 6 p.m.
• The Aggies are riding a two-game win streak and have gotten out to their best start in conference play (3-1) since the 2018-2019 season.
• Sam Houston was handed their first loss in conference last week by Utah Tech (79-67). Prior to the loss, the Bearkats were on a three-game win streak defeating UNT Dallas (84-44), Seattle U. (92-72) and Abilene Christian (69-66).
• The Aggies defeated the Bearkats (72-59) in their last matchup (1/20/22), which also happened to be the first matchup all time for the two programs.
Last Time Out
• NM State defeated Tarleton (61-43) last week (1/7/23) giving them their third win in conference (3-1) and eighth overall (8-8).
• Molly Kaiser finished with 13 points, her tenth double-digit output of the season and ninth in the past 11 games.
• Points off turnover margin went heavily in Aggies favor (19-6)
• Shania Harper made her second straight start, recording a double-double of ten points and 11 rebounds in 21 minutes of action.
• The Aggies dominated Tarleton on the glass (34-20), especially on the offensive glass (12-4).
• Taylor Donaldson scored 11 points on the night, her sixth double-digit scoring performance of the season
• The Aggies had the advantate on the paint (32-16)
• NM State held Tarleton to 33% shooting, 27% from three.
Nail Biting Finishes
• 12 of the Aggies 16 games this season have all been decided by single digits with eight of those games being within two possessions or less.
• Nine straight games had been decided by single digits before NM State faced Northern NM at home Dec. 20, dominating the Eagles by 48 (90-42).
More Molly, More Problems
• Molly Kaiser currently leads the Aggies in scoring (11.2) and field goal percentage (.441).
• Her last outing, she scored 11 points on 4-7 shooting while making five of her seven attempts from the free throw line.
• This marked her ninth double digit scoring output in the last 11 games.
• She was also able to add four rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block to her stat line in the game.
• Kaiser's highest scoring burst of the season was 18 points, which came on two separate occasions: vs. UTEP (12/13/22) and vs. Southern Utah (12/31/22).
Defense. Defense. Defense
• NM State is allowing just 58.9 points a game to their opponents this season which is the second lowest average amongst WAC schools so far, trailing only Grand Canyon (58.60).
• Nationally, the Aggies carry the 49th highest turnover margin in the country and second highest margin in the WAC at +4.12 forcing 19.56 turnovers a contest, which is good for 47th best in the nation.
• Additionally, NM State ranks 46th in the nation in steals per game (10.1) and fifth in the WAC.
Minutes for Everybody
• There is no shortage of minutes on Jody Adams' squad this season – 10 different players are averaging 10+ minutes for the team this season with two others averaging over nine minutes per game.
• Taylor Donaldson leads the team in minutes averaging 30.1 per game this season. The other nine players averaging double digit minutes include Soufia Inoussa (29.0), Molly Kaiser (26.3), Fama Thaim (25.3), Sylena Peterson (21.9), Ashlee Strawbridge (21.9), Taylein Grays (19.7), Shania Harper (14.1), Sabou Gueye (11.8) and Ene Adams (10.9).
• Mo Shida (9.5) and Lucia Yenes (9.3) are both just shy of averaging 10+ minutes a game.
Scouting the Bearkats
• Sam Houston (6-7, 2-1 WAC) is currently sit sixth in the WAC standings.
• The team opened conference play with two wins versus Seattle U (92-72) and Abilene Christian (69-66) but dropped their first WAC game of the year to Utah Tech (79-67) last week.
• The Bearkats are led by fifth year guard, Chyna Allen who leads the team in scoring (14.7), field goal percentage (.358) and assists per game (3.0).
• Madelyn Batista is the Bearkats dominate force down low. The 6'3" forward leads the team in rebounds (7.5) while scoring 9.8 points, 1.4 steals and 0.7 blocks a game. She's also shooting 41% from the floor this season.
Up Next
• The Aggies will close out their three game homestand Saturday as they get set to host Utah Tech, who started off the season winning seven of their first ten games but have since cooled to an even 3-3 record over their last six games, going to 10-5 overall and 2-2 in WAC play. The Aggies are set to play the Bison at 4 p.m. Saturday as a part of another double header between NM State men's and women's basketball with the men scheduled to play at 7 p.m.
