LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Returning to action from the Pan American Center for the first time in 28 days, NM State (3-6) handily defeated Western New Mexico (0-8, 0-2 LSC) by a final score of 76-44 on Sunday night. Dominant post play powered the Aggies to victory, finishing with 52 points in the paint - tying their season high. 

Morane Dossou tallied the first points of the contest for NM State, though the Mustangs would answer back and knot the game 2-2. This would be WNMU's lone made field goal of the first quarter, finishing just 1-for-11 (9.1%) from the field in the opening stanza. Dossou would pace the Crimson & White in the first, tying her NM State-best with six points. In all, six different Aggies scored in the frame, with Las Cruces native Emma Christiano notching five points at the end of the quarter to put the home side ahead 19-8. 

The Mustangs broke their field goal drought to begin the quarter, though freshman forward Senoj Jones quickly responded to keep the Aggie lead at 11 (21-10). Iyana Beh knocked in her lone basket of the night to kickstart a 17-4 run, including a 7-0 burst over the final two-and-a-half minutes to send the game to break with NM State ahead 38-16. 

At the half, the Aggies held the visiting Mustangs to just 16% from the field (4-25), while going 0-for-5 from beyond the arc. Conversely, NM State shot 52% from the field, also holding the edge in bench points (24-6), fastbreak points (13-4) and steals (8-3). 

NM State enjoyed its most successful offensive outing in the third quarter, finishing with 12 made field goals on18 attempts (66.7%), the most points in a single quarter for the team this season. The Aggies and Mustangs would mostly trade baskets in the frame, though a layup by Lucía Yenes put the Crimson & White ahead by 30 (57-27) for the first time on Sunday. At the end of the quarter, NM State held a 64-33 advantage. 

Senoj Jones and Lucia Lara would score to open the fourth and final quarter, pushing the home side lead to its largest of the game (69-33) before WNMU rattled off a 9-0 run. Lara would finish with eight fourth-quarter points, including six in a row as the Aggies put away the Mustangs by a score of 76-44. 

Senior forward Lucía Yenes led the team in scoring on Sunday with 14 points, adding in four rebounds and tying her career-best with four assists. Morane Dossou finished with a personal Division-I best ten points, while pulling in eight rebounds. The Aggies tallied a season-best 16 steals in the win, capitalizing with 25 points off turnovers. The 76-44 victory over the Mustangs marks the Aggies third win of the season, and their first winning streak during the 2025-26 campaign. 
 

NUMBERS OF NOTE

• Lucia Yenes paced NM State in the scoring column, finishing with 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting. This is the seventh game with 10-plus points in just nine games this season, far surpassing her total from the 2024-2025 campaign (five games with ten or more points in 33 contests).

• Morane Dossou tallied her first double-digit scoring performance with the Crimson & White, posting ten points and eight rebounds in just under 17 minutes of play.

• Junior forward Marta Guilera similarly notched her NM State best, posting nine points on 4-for-5 shooting (80%). 

• The Aggies tallied a new season-low in turnovers with 15, while forcing the opponent into 20+ turnovers (24, a season-high) for the fourth time this season.

• Among the 24 turnovers were 16 steals, the most by NM State in a single game in 2025-26, last surpassed by swiping 27 steals against these same Mustangs on Nov. 20, 2024.

• Imani Warren stuffed the stat sheet for the Aggies, finishing with seven points (3-4 from the field), six assists, three steals and a pair of rebounds. Warren has recorded six assists in three games this season, tied for the most by an Aggie this year.

• Emma Christiano also posted six assists on the night, doing so in back-to-back contests for the Crimson & White. 

• NM State finished with 32 made field goals in the win, its most in a single game on the year, while a 52.5 percentage from the field marks the second-highest of 2025-26 (52.7%, NM Highlands).  

• Three made 3-pointers is the lowest by an Aggie opponent this season, while the 21.4% clip also marks a new season low for opponents. 

QUOTABLES

Junior forward Morane Dossou, on the team's performance: "Today was really about the whole team. Whether it was the starters or coming off the bench, everyone came in ready to do their job and brought the energy. I focused on doing what I could to help the team and trusted my teammates. We stayed locked in, and that made the difference."

Head Coach Jody Adams, following the win over Western New Mexico:  "I liked our intensity, and it was a good opportunity to play a lot of people. We've got a good team coming in on Tuesday, and today was a valuable experience to help prepare us."

The Aggies face a quick turnaround following Sunday's victory, returning to the Pan American Center floor on Tuesday, Dec. 16, as they play host to Big West opponent UC Irvine. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. in Las Cruces, with the game streaming live on ESPN+ and live stats available at nmstatesports.com/stats.

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 (NM State Women's Basketball).

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