Opening Tip
• NM State women's basketball (12-11, 7-4 WAC) is back on the road this week for a pair of game in Utah.
• NM State opens their trip with a game against Southern Utah (Feb. 9) before heading to Utah Tech (Feb. 11).
• Last week, the Aggies went 1-1 splitting a pair of games against California Baptist (W, 62-61) and Grand Canyon (L, 64-59).
• The Thunderbirds are arguably the hottest team in the conference at the moment bolstering the top record in the conference at 9-1, however, dropped their first WAC game Monday to UT Arlington (60-58).
• The Aggies are 4-2 all time against the Thunderbirds and have taken three out of the last four matchups. The T-birds took the last meeting back in December when the team made the trip to Las Cruces defeating the Aggies, 61-58.
 
Last Time Out
• NM State dropped its fourth game in WAC play last week to Grand Canyon back in Las Cruces, 64-59.
• The Lopes led the entire game and jumped out to a couple double-digit leads throughout the game, including a 10-0 lead to open the game.
• The Aggies were able to crawl themselves out of an 11 point deficit with just under 50 seconds remaining in the game, cutting the Lopes lead to as low as three, but couldn't catch up to the Lopes.
• Tayelin Grays recorded her fifth double-digit scoring output of the season, and the fourth since WAC play began.
• Molly Kaiser secured her 14^th double-digit scoring performance of the season, and the sixth in her previous eight games.  
• Sylena Peterson notched her tenth game with double-digit points, and fourth in conference play.
• Soufia Inoussa, the Senior from Stockholm, Sweden, recorded her 100^th career start on Saturday afternoon; she also connected on 2+ three pointers for the seventh time this season, and third straight game.
• NM State forced 20 turnovers, the 21^st time they've forced an opponent into 15+ turnovers in a game.
• The Aggies dominated when giving extra possessions, outscoring the 'Lopes in points off turnovers (19-5), and second chance points (21-9).
 
Defense. Defense. Defense
• NM State is allowing just 59.3 points a game this season to opponents, leading the WAC and ranking 60th nationally.
• The Aggies possess one of the best turnover margins in the country, tallying the 31st best turnover margin nationally (+4.48) and second highest margin in the WAC trailing only Grand Canyon. As a team, NM State forces 19.39 turnovers a contest, which is 42nd best in the nation and third in the WAC.
• Additionally, NM State ranks 41st in the nation in steals per game (10.0) and third in the WAC.
 
The Sum of Our Parts
• Coach Jody Adams' squad this season is built on balance, with a deep rotation and scoring from all over the court.  Eight different players are averaging 10+ minutes for the team this season, while five average at least 5.0 minutes a contest.
• Soufia Inoussa leads the team in minutes averaging 30.7 per game this season. The other nine players averaging double digit minutes include Taylor Donaldson (29.0), Molly Kaiser (28.1), Fama Thaim (25.3), Tayelin Grays (22.7), Sylena Peterson (22.6), Ashlee Strawbridge (20.7), Shania Harper (16.4)
• Molly Kaiser paces the team on the scoring front, managing 11.5 points a game, with that average bumping up to 12.2 in conference play. In total, six players are averaging six or more points a contest since the start of conference play: Kaiser (12.2), Tayelin Grays (10.1), Sylena Peterson (9.3), Soufia Inoussa (8.3), Shania Harper (7.6), and Taylor Donaldson (6.0).
 
Changing the Landscape
• In her first season as Head Coach, Jody Adams has jumpstarted the Aggies to their best record in conference play (7-4)  since the 2018-2019 season when the team finished the year 15-1 in WAC play.
• After the season got out to a slow 3-7 start, the Aggies have shifted their narrative winning nine of the next 13 game played, including five wins on the road.
• Last season, the Aggies went 0-12 on the road overall and have improved to six road wins this season, including a 4-1 record against WAC competition. This marks the most road victories since the 18-19 season (11-5 road record).
• With 12 wins on the year, Adams has surpassed the Aggies win total from last season (10), with seven contests still left to be played.
 
Scouting the Thunderbirds
• Southern Utah (13-8, 9-1 WAC) currently holds the best record in the conference and sits alone at the top of the WAC standings. Despite this, the T-Birds sit second in the new WAC resume seeding system ranking behind Stephen F. Austin (9-2).
• Since their 4-7 start, Southern Utah has gone 9-1 over their last ten games.
• Cherita Daugherty leads the club in scoring (14.8), free throw percentage (.842) and steals per game (1.1).
• Lizzy Williamson is the Thunderbirds strong forced down low averaging 10.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks a game, leading the team in both categories.
• SUU is scoring 67.0 points a game while allowing 65.2 points to opponents, giving them a +1.8 scoring margin, which ranks sixth in the WAC.
 
Up Next
• The Aggies Road trip continues in Utah Saturday as they are set to face Utah Tech in St. George at 2 p.m. MST. After that, the Aggies return home for the final three home games of the season where they will face Seattle U, California Baptist and UT Arlington.