LYNCHBURG, Va. – It's hard to find a turnaround as stark as New Mexico State Women's Basketball has produced in the past few weeks. After a five-game losing streak crept into the first two games of CUSA play, Jody Adams and her bunch found themselves tied at the bottom of the league standings. Now, the Crimson & White have won three of four and have their eyes on another pair of wins away from home. Before visiting Jax State on Saturday, NM State will make the 1,827-mile trek to Liberty to take on the Lady Flames (8-13, 3-3). The Aggies are currently in fourth at 9-10 overall and 3-3 in CUSA, setting up a matchup between two of three teams that stand at 3-3 in the league.
 
 
How to Follow
Who: NM State (9-10, 3-3 CUSA) at Liberty (8-13, 3-3 CUSA)
Where: Liberty Arena - Lynchburg, VA
When: Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024 at 5:00 PM MT
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Statistics: nmstatestats.com
All-Time Series Record: Series tied 0-0
Last Meeting: N/A
 
Where the Aggies Stand
A five-game losing streak across December and part of January sent the Aggies towards the bottom of the CUSA standings. Now, the Crimson & White have won three of four contests, with the only loss coming in the toughest game of the regular-season CUSA slate (at unanimously-projected-first Middle Tennessee). Elsewhere, NM State took down a well-respected WKU squad in its own building, holding them to just 44 points and forcing 19 turnovers. 
 
Last week, the Aggies returned home for a pair with Sam Houston and LA Tech. In the former matchup, NM State never trailed, building up a lead as large as 25 and comfortably winning by 13. On Saturday, a lightning-fast 12-0 start propelled the home team to a thrilling overtime victory. Sylena Peterson poured in 12 points to go along with three assists, four rebounds and zero turunovers. The junior guard made multiple clutch plays down the stretch of the fourth quarter and overtime, to go along with four points from Jaila Harding in the extra period to secure the win at home. 
 
Old Reliable
There have been two Aggies to start all 19 games this season. Every opening tip has been taken by Ene Adams, who has put forth a career year. The senior is sinking 53.7 percent of her shots en route to averaging 7.2 points per game in just 21.6 average minutes of action. Adams also paces the Aggies in total rebounds with 93. Molly Kaiser has been the other senior in every starting five of 2023-24. The fourth-year Aggie has improved in nearly every offensive statistic from a year prior. Kaiser has already made more 3-pointers this season (18) than last (12), and has drastically improved her 3-point percentage (39.2). Additionally, the Watauga, Texas native has canned 84.1 percent of her free-throw attempts to bolster her career-high 14.3 points per game. 
 
1K Kaiser
With 1:12 remaining in the third quarter at Middle Tennessee on Jan. 20, Watauga, Texas native Molly Kaiser employed one of her patented moves – driving down the left side of the lane before pulling up for an elbow jumper – burying the shot to give her six points in the quarter. The play held extra significance as it gave Kaiser 1,000 career points, with every bucket coming as a member of the Crimson & White.
 
Kaiser became the 25^th member of the 1,000 club, and the first since Gia Pack, who played for the Aggies from 2016-2020.
 
Jaila's Jumpers
Transferring in from Butler CC in El Dorado, Kansas, junior guard Jaila Harding has been a spark on offense for the Crimson & White, especially from the 3-point line. Last season, the Aggies ranked 328^th in the nation from beyond the arc, shooting just 26.1 percent. Through 19 games in the 2023-24 season, this has jumped to 33.3 percent, while ranking 91^st  in the nation.
 
Individually, Harding paces both the Aggies and CUSA in 3-point percentage, converting at a 37.4 percent clip and making 2.3 triples per game. Across the nation, the Wichita, Kansas native ranks 83^rd individually by 3-point percentage. 
 
Sabou's Swipes
Junior guard Sabou Gueye has seen massive improvement through her second season with NM State, taking significant leaps in minutes per game (+13.6), free-throw percentage (+24.6), rebounds per game (+2.2), and points per game (+4.9). 
 
The Senegal native's most impactful improvement has come on the defensive end. Totaling 16 steals in 34 games during the 2022-23 campaign, Gueye has already posted 34 steals in just 18 contests, good for 1.9 steals a game. This ranks third in the conference and 170^th nationally.
 
Scouting the Lady Flames
Liberty is led by 25^th-year Head Coach Carey Green, who possesses a 555-230 career record. Green has spent his entire career in Lynchburg, where he has led the program to 14 NCAA Tournament appearances and 19 seasons with 20 or more wins. 
 
The Lady Flames are led on the floor by a trio of juniors. 6-foot-6 center Bella Smuda is the team's leading scorer (13.5) rebounder (9.4), and is second in the conference with 51 blocked shots this season. Emma Hess leads Liberty in minutes per game with 30.4, and is one of the offensive engines, averaging 12.5 points and 2.1 assists per game on 36.5 percent from beyond the arc. The final junior to start all 21 games for the Lady Flames is Jordan Hodges, who is averaging a team-high 4.0 assists and nailing over 35 percent of her 3-pointers.
 
Asia Boone has been a pleasant surprise for the Lady Flames this season, notching a remarkable six CUSA Freshman of the Week honors thus far. Boone leads the team with 35 steals on the campaign, and scores 9.4 points per game, ranking third on the roster. 
 
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