Opening Tip
• NM State women's basketball (14-15, 9-8 WAC) will wrap up their regular season Thursday night in Huntsville, Texas when they take on Sam Houston (12-15, 8-9 WAC).
• The Aggies are coming off a loss (62-47) to Stephen F. Austin Tuesday night in Nacogdoches, Texas.
• Sam Houston will look to snap their three-game losing streak Thursday against the Aggies. The Bearkats are coming off losses to SFA (71-56), UTRGV (65-51) and Abilene Christian (74-68).
• NM State is 2-0 all time against the Sam Houston. The Aggies came away with a double-digit victory (69-48) the last time they met in January back in Las Cruces.
 
Last Time Out
• NM State dropped their last matchup to Stephen F. Austin this past Tuesday, 62-47.
• The Aggies led the Lady Jacks for the first two quarters of play after holding SFA to a season low in scoring (15) through the first 20 minutes of play.
• Molly Kaiser scored her 20^th double-digit output of the season.
• NM State held SFA to its lowest scoring quarter (4) and half (15) of the season.
• The Aggies forced the Lady Jacks to 18 turnovers in the game – the 25^th time this season they've forced 15+ turnovers.
• Both teams match each other in rebounds (37)
• Both teams combined to make just four threes in the game
 
Defense. Defense. Defense
• NM State is allowing just 60.6 points a game this season to opponents, the second-best scoring defense in the WAC this season.
• The Aggies possess one of the best turnover margins in the country, tallying the 30th best turnover margin nationally (+4.31) and best margin in the WAC. As a team, NM State forces 18.9 turnovers a contest, which is 40th best in the nation and third best in the WAC.
• Additionally, NM State ranks 52nd in the nation in steals per game (9.5) and fifth in the WAC.
 
Changing the Landscape
• In her first season as Head Coach, Jody Adams has jump started the Aggies to their best record in conference play (9-8) since the 2018-2019 season when the team finished the year 15-1 in WAC play and went on to win the WAC Tournament.
• Last season, the Aggies went 0-12 on the road overall and have improved to six road wins this season. This marks the most road victories since the 18-19 season (11-5 road record).
• With 13 wins on the year, Adams has surpassed the Aggies win total from last season (10), with three contests still left to be played.
 
Agent 0
• With 20 double-digit performances on the season, including 15 in conference play, Molly Kaiser has been a consistent force for the Aggies on the scoring front.
• Kaiser currently paces the team in scoring averaging 12.2 points per game on the season with that number jumping up to 13.3 points a contest since the start of WAC play. Kaiser also leads the team in field goal percentage (.417) and free throw percentage (.806).
• On January 14th, 2023, Kaiser eclipsed the 500-career point mark after dropping 15 points against Utah Tech – also setting a career high in rebounds (8) and steals (5).
 
Scouting the Bearkats
• Sam Houston (12-15, 8-9 WAC) currently ranks ninth in the WAC standings and eighth in the new WAC resume seeding system – just one sport behind the Aggies.
• The Bearkats have lost five of their last six matchups, including each of their last three games.
• Averaging 67.9 points a contest, Sam Houston ranks eighth in the WAC in scoring offense while also holding their opponents to the same average which ranks ninth in the conference.
• As a team, Sam Houston ranks toward the bottom in shooting percentage (.375) but is one of the better teams in the conference this season when it comes to three-point percentage (.315) coming in at fourth.
• Chyna Allen (12.5) and Madelyn Batista (11.4) lead the Kats in scoring this season being the only two players averaging double-digit outputs.
•  Allen also leads the team in assists per game (2.9) while Batista tops the team in rebounds (8.0).
 
Up Next
The 2022-2023 regular season will conclude following Thursday's action. NM State has already secured a spot in this year's WAC Tournament in Las Vegas and will await their opponent which will be known as early as Friday when the final WAC resume seeding numbers come out. As of Now, NM State ranks seventh in the seeding system and would play the tenth seed (UTRGV) on Monday if the season ended today.