LAS CRUCES, N.M. – NM State hits the road to officially open the 2025-26 season, heading out to Los Angeles, Calif., for a matchup with No. 18 USC. First tip is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. MT from the Galen Center, streaming on Big Ten Plus, with live statistics provided through Sidearm Sports.
 
This becomes the first all-time meeting between the Aggies and Lady Trojans, while marking the first matchup against a Big Ten opponent since 2015, when NM State faced No. 1 seed and national semifinalist Maryland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The last win for the Crimson & White against a Big Ten foe came on Nov. 28, 2009, a 72-67 win over Michigan in the NMSU Thanksgiving Classic.

OPENING TIP
 
Who: USC Lady Trojans
Where: Galen Center (10,258) | Los Angeles, Calif.
When: Tuesday, Nov. 4 | 8 p.m. MT
Live Stream: Big Ten Plus
Live Stats: SidearmSports
 
Last Time Out

• Junior guard Imani Warren paced the team in scoring, posting 14 points in just ten minutes of action against Cochise College in an exhibition matchup.
• In the second stanza, senior guard Anna Csenyi made her presence felt on both ends of the court, tallying seven points to go along with a trio of steals. Newcomer Iyana Beh chipped in seven points as well, part of a 20-point second quarter outing for NM State.
• The most successful offensive outing for Jody Adams' squad came in the third quarter, as senior forward Lucía Yenes racked up nine points while pulling in four rebounds – tallying one of five NM State 3-pointers on the day. 
• As a team, the Aggies forced the Apaches into 39 turnovers, while also holding a 25-0 edge in fast break points en route to a 70-35 victory.

 
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 in2024-25) 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 welcome in eight new student-athletes, with five collegiate transfers, and a trio of freshman.
• 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 will work 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 now enters his first full season in the position at NM State.
• Assistant Coach Kayla Tucker is set to begin 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 Lady Trojans

• Last season, the Lady Trojans advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament behind Naismith Trophy winner and All-American Juju Watkins – falling to eventual champions UConn.
• Bolstered by additions such as Londynn Jones (UCLA), Kara Dunn (Georgia Tech) and Jazzy Davidson (No. 1 recruit out of High School), USC enters the 2025-26 season ranked No. 18 in the Associated Press Preseason Women's Basketball Poll.
• Davidson, along with sophomore guard Kennedy Smith, was recently named to the Naismith Trophy's Women's College Player of the Year Watchlist.
• The Women of Troy are led by Head Coach Lindsey Gottlieb, in her fifth season at the helm. Sporting a 93-36 record with the Lady Trojans, Gottlieb led USC to a Big Ten regular-season title in their debut season in the conference.

For complete coverage of NM State Women's Basketball, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow us on Twitter (@NMStateWBB), Instagram (@NMStateWBB), and like us on Facebook (NMStateWBB).