LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Following a stretch of three games in five days, NM State is back on the road, venturing to the Beehive State for a meeting with Southern Utah on Thursday, Dec. 4. Slated for a noon MT kick off, the contest will stream live on ESPN+, with live stats available at this
link.
This becomes the first meeting between the Aggies and Thunderbirds since 2023, the final season in the Western Athletic Conference for NM State.
OPENING TIP
Who: NM State (1-5) vs. Southern Utah (6-1)
Where: America First Event Center (5,300) | Cedar City, Utah
When: Thursday, Dec. 4, Noon MT
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: nmstatesports.com/stats
LAST TIME OUT
- NM State wrapped up a three-game week and its second contest in 48 hours, a 64-49 loss to Fresno State in the Big Easy Classic.
- Lucía Yenes paced the team with 13 points, her fourth game in double-digits this season.
- Loes Rozing notched a season-high 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
- Iyana Beh tallied eight points, a Division I-best for the junior forward.
- Morane Dossou recorded a new NM State best in points with six, while dishing out two assists.
- Pulling down 40 rebounds compared to 30 for Fresno State, the Aggies tallied their best rebounding margin of the season.
IMANI'S IMPACT
- Junior guard Imani Warren has tallied a standout season for the Crimson & White, recently setting a new career-high with 20 points against San Diego (Nov. 24).
- Also against the Toreros, Warren tallied a new career high with seven made free throws – the most by an Aggie in a game this season.
- This became the third time through the young season that Warren has tied or set a career high in points, while making her the 21st player in Conference USA to notch 20-plus points this season.
- Against Fresno State (Nov. 28), Warren stuffed the stat sheet, notching seven points, six rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks.
- Her three blocks are the most by an Aggie in a single game this season, while six assists tied a season best for NM State – equaling the total she set against New Mexico Highlands (Nov. 11).
- Against New Mexico Highlands (Nov. 11), the Milwaukee, Wis., native posted her first career double-double (15 points, 11 rebounds), and the lone double-double for the Aggies this season.
- Warren currently leads the Aggies in steals (1.7 per game; 17th in Conference USA) and assists (2.7 per game), while ranking second in made field goals (23), free throws made (13), rebounds (32, 5.3 per game), blocks (6) and scoring (10.0 points per game).
LUCIA LA REINA
- Senior forward Lucía Yenes showed out in the Aggies' season-opening contest against No. 18 USC (Nov. 11), 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 beginning of the 2025-26 season, she holds the highest single-game scoring output in Conference USA, while ranking seventh in the conference in scoring (14.7 points per game). The Madrid, Spain, native leads the league in free-throw percentage (88.2%), ranks sixth in field goals made (35), seventh in total points (88) and ninth in field goal percentage (.432).
- With a team-high six blocks on the season, Yenes sits tenth in the conference in blocks per game (1.0).
- In the following contest against New Mexico Highlands, the senior from Madrid notched a game-high 23 points, adding five rebounds and a trio of steals.
- Tallying back-to-back 20-plus point scoring performances to open the season, Yenes became the first Aggie to do so since Aaliyah Prince in the 2019-20 campaign.
MO REBOUNDS
- Junior forward Morane Dossou tallied her best performance in the Crimson & White against the College of Charleston (Nov. 27), finishing with 14 rebounds (five offensive) in 24 minutes off the bench.
- This became the single-game high for rebounds by an Aggie this season.
- After tallying her first points in Division I against the Cougars, the first-year Aggie would follow up with a new NM State best of six points against Fresno State (Nov. 28).
FRESHMAN DEBUT
- Freshman forward Senoj Jones made her NM State debut against San Diego (Nov. 24) after beginning the year sidelined with injury.
- Coming off the bench, Jones tallied her first points as an Aggie late in the first half.
- In 12 minutes of action, the Tyler, Texas, native finished with six points, four rebounds and two blocks.
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 17th 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 Lucía Yenes), but is also the third Spaniard on the squad, joining junior forward Marta Guilera 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 THUNDERBIRDS
- The Thunderbirds are lead by Head Coach Tracy Mason, who recently recorded her 100th victory at Southern Utah against Cal Poly. In Mason's eight years at the helm in Cedar City, she holds a career record of 101-111.
- Last season, SUU finished with a 9-21 record, falling in the first round of the WAC Basketball Tournament.
- The Thunderbirds sports a 6-1 record in 2025, securing three victories against non-Division I competition, while also tallying a home victory over Washington State.
- Ranking ninth in the nation in both free throws attempted (25.4 per game) and free throws made (19.0 per game), the Thunderbirds' offense also ranks 12th in the nation in scoring (87.6 points per game).
- Southern Utah also ranks among the nation's best in rebounding, pulling down 47.1 boards per contest, ninth most in the country.
- Sophomore guard Sierra Chambers leads SUU in multiple categories, ranking first on the team in points (14.7 per game), minutes (29.1 per game), free throws made (29), and assists (26).
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