LAS CRUCES, N.M – It has been exactly 250 days since NM State Women's Basketball took the floor for a regular-season contest in the Pan American Center. That drought ends on Thursday, as Utah Tech rolls into town for a matchup between two programs that shared the WAC earlier this decade. The Aggies return from Irvine, Calif. to open a three-game homestand that will carry them through Thanksgiving. Their matchup with the Trailblazers (1-0) will tip off at 6:00 PM MT on Thursday as the home side looks to improve to 2-0 for the first time in three seasons.   
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
Who: Utah Tech (1-0, 0-0 WAC) at NM State (1-0, 0-0 CUSA)
Where: Pan American Center – Las Cruces, N.M.
When: Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024 at 6:00 PM MT
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Statistics: StatBroadcast
All-Time Series Record: Utah Tech leads 3-1
Last Meeting: NM State 57 at Utah Tech 90 (Feb. 11, 2023)
 
LAST TIME OUT
On Monday, NM State visited UC Irvine for its season opener. The Crimson & White held the hosting Anteaters to just 49 points on the night in which they hoisted their 2024 Big West Championship banner. Molly Kaiser posted her usual 15 points and six rebounds, but it was Fanta Gassama who stole the show. The senior forward was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line as she posted a dominant outing that included 22 points and 16 rebounds. The duo combined for all 13 of the Aggies' made free throws on just 14 attempts as they improved to 1-0 for the first time since 2021-22. 
 
Elsewhere, Madi Gewirtz and Emma Dasovich each made their collegiate debut, with the former nailing a 3-pointer in the second quarter. The freshmen composed two of the three Aggies to make their regular-season debut for the program, alongside Anna Csenyi. The Hungarian cracked the starting rotation in her debut for Head Coach Jody Adams. The junior guard tallied six points as she was the lone visitor to sink multiple triples. NM State only needed five bench points to walk out with an impressive eight-point road victory over the 2024 NCAA Tournament representatives by a score of 57-49. 
 
FANTA-STIC
Midway through last season, NM State bolstered its frontcourt with the addition of Fanta Gassama. The now-senior went on an impressive run at the end of 2023-24, averaging 9.1 rebounds and nearly six points per game over the final eight contests of the regular season. In the CUSA Quarterfinals, the Spain native was exceptional, collecting 20 points and 17 rebounds. Gassama was perfect from the floor, sinking all eight of her field goals and going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line as the Aggies prevailed 63-58 in an upset over No. 3 seed FIU. 
 
This year, Gassama started off with a bang at UC Irvine. She paced both teams with 22 points as she hit eight of her 16 field goal attempts. Down low, she drew four fouls and converted on all six of her free-throw attempts. Her presence was most felt on the glass, however, as she hauled in 16 rebounds, which ranked fourth in the nation across all Division I student-athletes in their season openers. 
 
HELLO OLD FRIEND
NM State and Utah Tech each called the Western Athletic Conference home from 2021-23. Over that span, these two squads faced off four times, with the Trailblazers coming out on top three times. The Aggies took the first-ever matchup on Feb. 10, 2022 in triple overtime, but Utah Tech has claimed each of the past three meetings. In their most recent clash, the Trailblazers cruised to a 90-57 victory on their home floor in St. George. 
  
VETERAN LEADERSHIP
The Aggies are led by 11 upperclassmen, including nine seniors. Molly Kaiser and Diarrah Sissoko are each in their fifth season of collegiate basketball, headlining a 15-person roster that has 50 combined seasons of experience, including 32 at NM State. Four Aggies are on at least their third season in the program: Molly Kaiser (five), Sylena Peterson (four), Sianny Sanchez-Oliver (four) and Lucía Yenes (three). 
 
GUESS WHO'S BACK… BACK AGAIN
There are two notable absences in the paint as Honorable Mention All-CUSA selection Ene Adams was joined by 6-foot-5 Femme Sikuzani Masudi as the two key departures from last year. However, nearly every rotational guard and wing will be back in action in 2024-25, with 75.66% of the 2023-24 point production still on the roster. Additionally, the returning Aggies accounted for 85.14% of all assists and 97.71% of 3-pointers made (128 of 131) a season ago.  
 
ONE LAST RIDE
This iteration of the Aggies revolves around fifth-year Aggie legend Molly Kaiser. The Watauga, Texas native exercised her extra year of eligibility that she earned from the NCAA's response to COVID-19, electing to spend her fifth and final campaign with the Crimson & White. In 2023-24, Kaiser led the Aggies in games played (31), games started (31), points (463), points per game (14.9), minutes per game (34.2), field goals made (165), free throws made (107) and free-throw percentage (86.3).
 
Last season, Kaiser drove and buried a patented elbow jumper shot to give her 1,000 career points, with every bucket coming as a member of the Crimson & White. She became the 25^th member of the 1,000-point club, and the first since Gia Pack, who played for the Aggies from 2016-2020. 
 
INTERNATIONAL AGGIES
There are seven Aggies with international backgrounds on the 2024-25 roster. Four of those seven hail from Spain (Fanta Gassama, Noah Garcia, Marta Guilera, Lucía Yenes). Hungary (Anna Csenyi), Netherlands (Loes Rozing) and Mali (Diarrah Sissoko) are also represented on this year's squad. Four of six Aggie newcomers are form overseas, rounding out a roster that is 46.7% international. 
 
35 of the Aggies' 57 points in their season-opening win came courtesy of international members. Those seven student-athletes accumulated 20 of 35 rebounds (57.1%) and 13 of 20 made field goals (65.0%). In addition to newcomer Anna Csenyi, Loes Rozing and Fanta Gassama each returned to the starting lineup in similar fashion to the regular first five at the conclusion of 2023-24.
 
SCOUTING THE TRAILBLAZERS
Utah Tech is led by ninth-year Head Coach JD Gustin, who touts a 245-189 record in his time with the program. Last season, the Trailblazers finished 18-14 overall with a 12-8 mark in WAC play. In the opener, Chardonnay Hartley led the squad with 21 points. In their win over Northern NM, the home team hit 17 of 47 3-pointers attempted, racking up 29 bench points in a 21-point victory.  
 
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