LAS CRUCES, N.M. – After opening the 2025-26 campaign on the road, NM State returns to action from the friendly confines of the Pan American Center on Tuesday, Nov. 11, to host New Mexico Highlands – a Division II program settled in Las Vegas, N.M. First tip is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. MT. The game will be streaming on ESPN+, with live statistics available at nmstatesports.com/stats.
 
The Aggies are 7-0 all-time against New Mexico Highlands, last meeting during the 2022-23 season, Head Coach Jody Adams' first season at NM State.
 
OPENING TIP
 
Who: NM State (0-1) vs. New Mexico Highlands (0-0)
Where: Pan American Center (12,200) | Las Cruces, N.M.
When: Tuesday, Nov. 11 | 5 p.m. MT
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: nmstatesports.com/stats
 
LAST TIME OUT

• NM State took to the road for its first contest of the 2025-26 campaign, traveling west to the Galen Center for a matchup with No. 18 USC.
• Seven members of the Crimson & White made their first appearances with the program, with senior forward Lucía Yenes (career-high 27 points) and junior guard Imani Warren (11 points, tied career high) leading the way.
• Emma Christiano made her Division I debut after transferring into the program from New Mexico Highlands, finishing with a team-high four assists (tying her career best) in 20 minutes of action.

 
L.A., MEET LUCIA

• Senior forward Lucía Yenes showed out in the Aggies' season-opening contest against No. 18 USC, tallying her first collegiate start en route to pouring in a career-high 27 points.
• This became the most by an Aggie against power conference competition since NM State Hall of Famer and three-time All-American Anita Maxwell tallied 27 against No. 20 Ole Miss in 1996.
• Through the first week of action, she holds the highest single-game scoring output in Conference USA, as well as leading the league in single-game field goals made, while ranking second in total blocks (3) and fourth in 3-point percentage (.667).
• Coming into the contest, Yenes' previous career high was 20 points, set against rival New Mexico on Dec. 2, 2023. In the first half of last Tuesday's matchup, the Madrid, Spain, native already had 17 points.
• Alongside the impressive scoring feat, Yenes also recorded a team-high three blocks in the contest, a new career high and the most by an individual at NM State since Sabou Gueye swatted three shots against Sam Houston on Jan. 25, 2024. 

 
IMANI'S IMPACT

• Junior guard Imani Warren also notched a solid showing against the Women of Troy, scoring the first six points of the contest for the Crimson & White in her first collegiate start.
• In all, Warren scored 11 points, tying a career-best set in her freshman season at the 2023 Conference USA Championships, notching 11 points in just 12 minutes of action against Liberty in the semifinal round.
• The Milwaukee, Wis., native rounded out her performance with three rebounds and two assists.

 
THIS FEELS FAMILIAR…

• Junior guard and Las Cruces native Emma Christiano is quite familiar with the Cowgirls program, spending her first two collegiate seasons in Las Vegas before transferring into NM State this season.
• In two seasons with the Cowgirls, Christiano played in 55 games (26 starts), helping the team advance to the RMAC Tournament for the first time since 2005.
• Last season, Christiano notched a career-best 13 points against Western New Mexico.
• During the Aggies' season-opening tilt against No. 18 USC, Christiano led the team with four assists off the bench.

 
2024-25 YEAR IN REVIEW

• In 2024-25, the Aggies amassed an 18-16 record, including a 10-8 mark in Conference USA action (their first winning record in conference play since joining CUSA). This secured a spot in the 2025 Conference USA Championships in Huntsville, Ala., where NM State played host to LA Tech as the No. 4 seed.
• Eighteen victories tied the most wins in the regular season and ten wins in conference play tied the high-water mark for the Aggies under Jody Adams, with the 2022-23 team posting a similar 18-17 record and a 10-8 mark in conference play (then members of the Western Athletic Conference).
• Graduate guard Molly Kaiser put the nation on notice for her scoring prowess, finishing 17th in the nation in points per game (20.5, one of just 23 players to tally 20+ points per contest in 2024-25) and 17^th in total points (677) en route to earning Conference USA Player of the Year honors.
• Kaiser became the first Aggie to win conference player of the year honors since Brooke Salas recorded back-to-back honors in 2017-18 and 2018-19 in the Western Athletic Conference.
• Alongside a player of the year selection for Kaiser, the Watauga, Texas, native also collected First Team All-CUSA honors, posting averages of 21.2 points, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while shooting 46.5% from the field (seventh best in CUSA) and 83.5% from the charity stripe in conference play.
• Then-senior guard Loes Rozing played in all 34 contests for NM State, tallying 31 starts with 21 minutes per contest. In a pair of wins over rival New Mexico, the Heiloo, Netherlands, native notched averaged 12.5 points (17 in the first meeting in Albuquerque), 4.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals.
• Then-junior forward Lucia Yenes posted her best season in the Crimson & White, shooting 46.1% from the field (second-highest on the team), with per-40 minute averages of 15.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.9 steals.

 
FRESH FACES

• NM State returns just 16.6% of their offensive production (365/2,204 total points in 2024-25) and 14.6% of their 3-pointers made (28/192).
• Head Coach Jody Adams and her staff welcomed eight new student-athletes, with five collegiate transfers, and a trio of freshmen.
• At the forward positions are newcomers Morane Dossou (Independence CC/Dodge City CC), Iyana Beh (Snow College), Lucia Lara (Mississippi Valley State/Butler CC) and Senoj Jones (Tyler Legacy HS).
• Lara becomes not only the second Lucia on the NM State roster, (senior forward Lucia Yenes), but is also the third Spaniard on the squad, joining junior forward Marta Guillera and Yenes.
• New to the roster at the guard position are Keira Hudson (Barker College), DeAvion Wilson (C.E. King HS), Nikki Stanic (St. Petersburg CC) and Emma Christiano (New Mexico Highlands).
• Joining the Aggies serves as a homecoming for Christiano, a Las Cruces native who attended Las Cruces High School, where she earned district player of the year honors in 2022.

 
FRESH FACES (COACHING STAFF EDITION)

• As Head Coach Jody Adams marks her fourth season on the bench for the Crimson & White, the Cleveland, Tenn., native works alongside some new faces – with Associate Head Coach James Frey in his third season in his role.
• Joining the Aggies ahead of the 2024-25 season, Assistant Coach Preston Planells quickly impressed Adams, earning a promotion to assistant coach during the season. Planells recently began his first full season in the position at NM State.
• Assistant Coach Kayla Tucker began her first season with the Aggies, following a trio of seasons in the same role at Southern Nazarene, a DII member of the Great American Conference.
• During her time with the Crimson Storm, Tucker helped the team achieve three consecutive regular-season championships, a GAC Tournament title, and three straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
• Rounding out the assistant coaches is Myron Brown, who comes to the Aggies following a pair of seasons as the director of player development at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., near his hometown of Detroit.
• Prior to his time at Oakland, Brown also served as an assistant coach at North Florida, while also previously spending five seasons as the head coach at Thomas University (NAIA).

AUSSIE AUSSIE (AUSSIE!)

• The Aggies welcome a pair of student-athletes from Australia to the roster for the 2025-26 season in Keira Hudson and Nikki Stanic. The freshman Hudson joins from the mainland and Barker College, while the junior Stanic arrives from St. Petersburg Community College in Florida.
• Hudson brings experience from the semi-pro NBL1, playing three seasons with the Hornsby Ku-ring-Gai Spiders, while also helping Barker College to a pair of District ISA championships, one state championship and a bronze-medal finish at the national championships.
• Last season with the Titans, Stanic recorded 29 games played (25 starts), while averaging 8.8 points per game on 42.9% shooting from the field (39.5% from 3-point range). 

SCOUTING THE COWGIRLS

• The Cowgirls are led by Head Coach Lindsey Fearing, entering her second season at the helm in Las Vegas. In her first year with New Mexico Highlands, the Cowgirls went 13-14 with a 10-10 mark in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play (RMAC).
• This became their first time advancing to the RMAC Tournament in Grand Junction, Colo., since 2005.
• After pacing the team in points last season (16.3) en route to an RMAC All-Freshman selection, redshirt sophomore guard Kapiolani Anitielu returns to lead the Cowgirls. Ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, she was named to the preseason All-RMAC team.
• While New Mexico Highlands has not played an official contest in the 2025-26 season, the Cowgirls visited Northern New Mexico for an exhibition on Oct, 25, winning by a score of 93-47.

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