Opening Tip
• NM State women's basketball embarks on a 1,500-mile journey to the Bluegrass State of Kentucky this weekend to play in its sixth post season appearance in nine seasons – the first under head coach Jody Adams – and their tenth in program history.
• It was announced late Sunday night that NM State had accepted an invite to participate in the 13th annual Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) in Lexington, Ky. this week and would take on Illinois-Chicago (18-15, 9-11 MVC) in the first round of the tournament this Friday.
• This news of the Aggies season extending came just days after the heartbreaking loss to Southern Utah (62-61) in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament where the Aggies saw victory slip away on a last second heave at the buzzer.
• The Aggies will be looking to secure the programs first ever postseason win during their time in Kentucky and will have three opportunities to do so as all teams attending are guaranteed a trio of games, win, or lose.
 
Last Time Out
• NM State was seconds away from dropping #2 seed Southern Utah during last week's WAC Tournament in Las Vegas.
• A three-point heave by Southern Utah's Cherrita Daughtery went in the cylinder as the shot clock expired, seemingly ending the Aggies hopes of a WAC Championship in their final year in the conference.
• The Aggies led the Thunderbirds after every quarter, even carrying a 16-point lead over the eventual champions at the halfway-point but couldn't seem to find any answers offensively in the second half, which ultimately allowed the T-birds back into the game.
• NM State had its best performance of the season from the free throw line sinking 22 of their 32 attempts. Peterson set a career high in this mark, making eight free throws in ten attempts.
• Four Aggies reached double-figures in scoring: Molly Kaiser (15), Sylena Peterson (14), Tayelin Grays (13) and Soufia Inoussa (11).
• It was only the fourth game of the season the Aggies produced less than ten turnovers (8) as a team.
• The Aggies also had their second-best shooting percentage from the three-point range (.600) going 3-5.
• The Aggies matched a season low in points allowed in a quarter after holding the T-Birds to just four points in the second period.
 
Aggies in the Postseason
• NM State will be making its tenth postseason appearance on Friday – their sixth appearance in the last nine seasons.
• The Aggies have yet to pull off a win in the postseason. Their last appearance came in 2019 when they faced #3 seed Iowa State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, losing 97-61.
• This will also be the Aggies first time appearing in the WBI. 
 
The Adams Effect
• In her first season at the helm, Jody Adams has taken an NM State team that only won ten games last season (all coming at home) to the postseason, becoming just the third coach in school history to take the program to a postseason tournament in their first year.
• The team also nearly doubled the amount of conference wins they had from last year after finishing the season with a 10-8 record in WAC play, earning them a seven seed in the tournament after being selected to finish 12th out of 13 teams in the preseason media poll.
• Adams was able to do all this with nine returners from last year's squad. She's even helped eight players improve their scoring averages this season, including Molly Kaiser and Sylena Peterson, who improved their averages from a year ago by over five points.
 
 
Postseason Experience
• Out of the entire 2023 roster, only Tayelin Grays has experience playing in the postseason. Grays helped her team reach the postseason during her freshman campaign after the group won the conference, advancing them to the NCAA Tournament.
• Jody Adams has seen her fair share of the postseason, both as a player and a coach. While playing at Tennessee (1990-1993) under legendary head coach Pat Summitt, Adams advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of her four seasons with the Lady Vols and captured the NCAA's ultimate prize with a national championship in 1991.
• As a coach, Adams is no stranger when it comes to March. Serving as both an assistant and a head coach, Adams has experienced 16 games from the sideline in ten trips to the postseason. Coach Adams' record in the postseason stands at 6-10 overall and 2-7 as a head coach. In her 14 years as a coach, Adams has made five NCAA Tournament appearances (3-5), four WNIT appearances (2-4) and one WBI appearance (1-1).
• This will be Adams' second consecutive trip to the postseason after she helped take Southern Illinois to the WNIT last season as an associate head coach. Adams' last appearance in the postseason as a head coach came in 2015 when she took a 29-5 Wichita State team to the NCAA Tournament after winning the Missouri Valley Conference. In her second season at Wichita State, Adams led the Shockers to their first postseason appearance in ten years when she took them to the WBI in 2010, where they split a pair of games.
 
On Lock
• NM State is allowing just 60.4 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 32nd best turnover margin nationally (+4.16) and second-best margin in the WAC.
• As a team, NM State forces 18.3 turnovers a contest, which is 51st highest average in the nation and third best in the WAC.
 
Agent 0
• With 22 double-digit performances on the season, including 16 in conference play, Molly Kaiser has been a consistent force for the Aggies on the scoring front, especially over the last five games. The third-year guard is averaging 21.8 points a game over her last five outings with 27, 18, 24, 25 and 15 points performances.
• Kaiser was dominate in the Aggies round one win over UTRGV leading all scorers with 25 points on 11-19 shooting, including a made three.
• Kaiser currently paces the team in scoring (13.2), field goal percentage (.424) and free throw percentage (.808).
• 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).