LAS CRUCES, N.M. – There's simply no place like home. For the Crimson & White, only three of the past 11 contests have taken place in the Pan American Center, where they boast a 5-3 record and have won four of their last five. In a return to their home floor, the Aggies (9-12) will reunite with their most-faced opponent in program history; UTEP from 40 miles south along I-10. On Saturday, the Miners and Aggies will meet for a 98th clash, but for just the second time as CUSA opponents. On Jan. 6, UTEP (8-13) earned a nine-point win in El Paso, but the Miners will now head north to The Land of Enchantment in a battle of 3-5 CUSA foes.
How to Follow
Who: UTEP (8-13, 3-5 CUSA) at NM State (9-12, 3-5 CUSA)
Where: Pan American Center – Las Cruces, NM
When: Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024 at 2:00 PM MT
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Statistics: nmstatestats.com
All-Time Series Record: NM State leads 54-43
Last Meeting: NM State 72 @ UTEP 81 (Jan. 6, 2024)
Where the Aggies Stand
A week ago, NM State took on two separate teams each for the first time in program history, ultimately falling short in both affairs. Liberty welcomed the Aggies on Thursday, and the home team controlled the paint en route to a 16-point victory. On Saturday, Molly Kaiser led all scorers with 25 efficient points, but NM State allowed a 9-0 fourth quarter run from Jax State that secured the win for the home Gamecocks. The Aggies fell by a score of 56-49, scoring just one point in the final five minutes and 25 seconds.
Molly Kaiser erupted on Saturday, pouring in 15 first-half points in a low-scoring affair. The senior guard scored more than half of her team's points and was perfect in five attempts from the free-throw line. Elsewhere, Tylie Jones made her return from a 13-game absence last week. The junior forward was exceptionally efficient in limited minutes, sinking seven of 11 shots and going 3-for-4 from behind the arc versus Jax State. The Rigby, Idaho native now leads the team with a remarkable 58.8 percent clip from deep on the season.
Outside of the duo of Kaiser and Jones, the Aggies scored just 14 points on Saturday. The rest of the team shot 5-for-26 from the field and 0-for-6 from 3-point range. Despite that, NM State still built a 48-47 lead with 5:25 to go. After that point, the Gamecocks scored nine unanswered points, effectively sealing the win for the home team. A late free throw from Fanta Gassama finalized the score at 56-49, handing the Aggies their eighth loss in eleven outings.
Home Sweet Home
The Conference USA schedule has included 38 games through Feb. 8, 2024. Road teams now have a 13-25 record in those games. The conference's top two seeds (Middle Tennessee and FIU) are each 4-0 away from home, meaning the other seven league teams have combined for just five road wins in 30 tries. In games outside the Pan American Center, NM State is 4-9, with a 2-8 road record and wins in two of three neutral games.
Unfortunately for the Aggies, who are now 1-4 in road CUSA games, they have played 13 of their first 21 outside of Las Cruces, including eight of the past 11. An extensive road trip a week ago capped off a brutal stretch of travel for Jody Adams and her squad, who anxiously await its return to Lou Henson Court. Tipoff between the Miners and Aggies will signify the end of a 55-day period that included just three home games for the Crimson & White.
The Adams Family
Jody Adams spent nine years at Wichita State, amassing a 170-121 record (.584). After departing WSU in 2017, the Shockers named Keitha Adams their next head coach. The latter Adams spent six seasons in Wichita before returning to El Paso in the 2023 offseason. The two coaches will now meet in a head-to-head competition as both sides look to earn a crucial win to start the second half of the CUSA slate.
Old Reliable
There have been two Aggies to start all 21 games this season. Every opening tip has been taken by Ene Adams, who has put forth a career year. The senior is sinking 51.9 percent of her shots en route to averaging 7.0 points per game in just 21.3 average minutes of action. Adams also paces the Aggies in total rebounds with 99, 35 of which have come on the offensive end. 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 (19) than last (12), and has drastically improved her 3-point percentage (38.0). Additionally, the Watauga, Texas native has canned 85.9 percent of her free-throw attempts to bolster her career-high 14.7 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 25th 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 328th 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 91st in the nation.
Among members with at least 2.0 made deep balls per game, Harding paces the Aggies and is second in CUSA with a 35.2 3-point percentage. The Wichita, Kan. native ranks 114th individually by 3-point percentage and is third in the conference with 2.05 made threes per contest.
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 (+12.4), free-throw percentage (+24.1), rebounds per game (+1.8), and points per game (+4.5).
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 36 steals in just 20 contests, good for 1.8 steals a game. This ranks fourth in the conference and 188th nationally.
Scouting the Miners
UTEP is led by 17th-year Head Coach Keitha Adams, who possesses a 166-147 record with the program. Under Adams, the Miners advanced to a pair of NCAA Tournaments and an additional two WNITs. The program collected three CUSA regular-season titles along with a CUSA Tournament championship.
Jane Asinde is the team's leading scorer (16.5) and rebounder (9.2). The senior went for 19 points and 11 rebounds on 7-for-13 shooting last time out against the Aggies on Jan. 6. However, the NM State defense did force Asinde into a season-high 7 turnovers in just 24 minutes.
Starting every game alongside Asinde has been Erin Wilson. The 5-foot-10 guard not only scores at a high level (12.4 points per game) but also snags 8.3 rebounds. The third-year Miner already has more rebounds in 21 games this season than in the 61 games she played in her first two seasons combined. Last time against the Aggies, she poured in 14 points, six rebounds and went 6-for-7 at the free-throw line.
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