LEXINGTON, Ky – Believe, and you shall achieve: The Aggies are moving on to the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) Championship after defeating East Tennessee State, 57-53, in a back-and-forth affair that saw a dozen lead changes.
 
After securing their first-ever postseason win yesterday with a victory over Illinois-Chicago, the Aggies were looking to take the program to new levels with a win today over ETSU – a team that went 24-10 in the regular season and 9-5 in the Southern Conference.
 
The game could have gone either way. The Buccaneers had a better shooting percentage than the Aggies, connecting on 19-41 shots for a 46.3% clip compared to the Aggies 34.5%. NM State owned the offensive glass 16-3, especially in the second half, recording 11 of those boards in the final 20 minutes and holding ETSU to just one offensive rebound in the final two quarters.
 
Offensively, the Aggies had no individuals who stood out on the scoring front. However, they did see all nine players who checked into the game record a basket. Soufia Inoussa (9), Molly Kaiser (8) and Sylena Peterson (8) were the team leaders in scoring, combining for 25 of the Aggies 57 points. The trio also combined for 16 of the Aggies 36 rebounds in the game. The Aggie bench also contributed for 19 of the 57 points scored compared to the Bucs, who saw zero points come from their reserves.
 
 First Half
 Sylena Peterson scored the first basket of the game on the Aggies opening possession. After the Bucs answered the Aggies score with a second-chance layup, Soufia Inoussa came right back with a three from the left wing, giving NM State a 5-2 lead. Three straight makes by ETSU put the Bucs our front 9-5 with 2:18 remaining in the first period.
 
Four straight makes from the line finally ended the Aggies scoring drought, bringing the two teams even at nine. Both teams struggled to find their offense in the first ten minutes of play, combining for seven makes from the floor, sending them into the second quarter with an 11-11 tie.
 
The Aggies opened the second frame with three straight buckets – two by Taylor Donaldson and one by Ashlee Strawbridge – giving them their largest lead of the game (6) with 8:31 to go in the second quarter. The Bucs answered this with three straight makes of their own, including a made three, putting them back on top by one.
 
After some back-and-forth scoring, the Aggies were able to take a two-point lead over ETSU with a smooth reverse layup under the rim by Sabou Gueye. Tayelin Grays extended that lead to four the ensuing possession with a second-chance layup in the paint, sending the Aggies into the locker room with a 26-24 advantage over the Buccaneers. 
 
 Second Half
 ETSU opened the second half with two straight makes - a layup and a three - to put them back out front by a point. Soufia Inoussa regained the Aggie lead with a second chance make at the rim with 6:43 to go in the third. Ene Adams put the Aggies up four after a pair of made free throws and a backdown layup making her the ninth and final Aggie to score a bucket in the game.  
 
With 3:27 to go in the third quarter, Kendal Folley drove the lane and made a tough contact layup to help put the Buccaneers back out front by one until Ene Adams brought the game back to even with a free throw the following possession and later tied it again with a put back lay in following a Molly Kaiser miss at the rim.
 
Now trailing by a pair, Tayelin Grays sprinted down the floor and scored a fastbreak layup following a miss by Kendal Folley at the other end. ETSU took the lead in the closing seconds of the third with a make from the charity stripe, sending the Bucs into the final quarter with a 41-40 lead over the Aggies.
 
Jisselle Thomas put ETSU up by three with a made jumper at the 8:37 mark of the fourth quarter. It took NM State over three minutes to record their first basket of the fourth. Soufia Inoussa scored the bucket with a putback layup following a Taylor Donaldson miss. A made three on the other end by ETSU gave the Bucs a 46-42 advantage over the Aggies with 6:26 remaining in the game.
 
This would be the precursor to an 8-0 run by the Aggies, starting with a fastbreak score by Sylena Peterson and ending with a wide-open layup by Molly Kaiser following a steal by Tayelin Grays. The Aggies were looking to hold onto a four-point lead heading into the final minute of regulation. With 31 seconds to go, Soufia Inoussa drove towards the tin and got a difficult jump shot to fall after faking out her defender to give the Aggies a six-point edge in the game's final stages.
 
The Buccaneers got some shots to fall down the stretch but couldn't catch up to the Aggies as they made three of four attempts from the line, ultimately giving them a 57-53 victory.

 Notes

• NM State records it's second postseason win in program history with the win
• Jody Adams' postseason record now improves to 8-10 overall, 4-7 as a head coach, and 3-1 in the WBI.
• Every player who checked into the game for the Aggies recorded a made basket, marking the sixth time this season they've been able to accomplish this feature.
• The game saw 12 lead changes and 10 ties.
• Aggies carried a lead for 19:18, the Buccaneers only led for 11:37.
• NM State scored 10 points; ETSU had none.
• Aggies also saw 19 points scored from their bench; The Bucs bench didn't score the entire game.
• The crimson and white didn't have a single player reach double-figures in scoring; ETSU had three players eclipse the double-figure mark.
• The Aggies largest lead (6) came in the second quarter with 8:31 on the clock.
• The largest scoring run came in the fourth quarter with 2:23 remaining after the Aggies sparked an 8-0 run, taking the lead in the process.

 
 
Up Next
NM State now awaits the winner of the game eight matchup between California Baptist and Georgia Southern. The winner will advance to tomorrows championship game to face the Aggies at 5:30 MDT.