LYNCHBURG, Va. – NM State will continue their 2-game winning streak against CUSA opponent, Liberty Flames. The Flames have only taken two losses thus far in the conference season and are currently sitting in second in conference play.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Who: NM State (12-11, 5-5 CUSA) at Liberty (16-6, 9-2 CUSA)
Where: Liberty Arena – Lynchburg, Virginia
When: Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. MST
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Statistics: StatBroadcast
All-Time Series Record: Liberty leads 3-1
Last Meeting: Liberty won 82-72 (January 18, 2025)
LAST TIME AGAINST LIBERTY
The Aggies fell to the Flames, 72-82. Molly Kaiser finished her fourth game this season with a +30 point mark (31 points total). Kaiser also produced 10 makes at the charity stripe which marks first time in almost five years (Gia Pack-January, 30, 2020) that an Aggie has tallied 10 or more free throws in a single game. Jaila Harding shot perfectly at the line with a 4-for-4 finish. Loes Rozing shot 50% from deep (2-for-4 flush) leading the Aggies in 3-point percentage against Liberty.
THE PRODIGY
Molly Kaiser has spent all five seasons with the Crimson & White, making her the longest-tenured Aggie on the 2024-25 roster. The Watauga, Texas, native has over 1,700 points across her career and has moved into fifth all-time in scoring for the Aggies in program history. With 1,724 points, she's also currently the active leader in career points among CUSA players. She now sits just 45 points shy of moving into fourth on the Aggies all-time scoring list.
Last week, Kaiser finished against UTEP with a 30 point effert to give the Aggies the second largest road victory against the Miners in school history.
Two weeks ago, Kaiser was named Conference USA Player of the Week for the fourth time this season after dropping 31 points against Liberty. This marked the fourth CUSA weekly award for Kaiser, which equals the most by an Aggie in program history. This season, Kaiser has also hauled in two NCAA Starting Five accolades, which recognizes the nation's top five performers each week.
Kaiser ranks ninth in the nation in points per game (21.8) and twelfth in total points (502). Including her 30-point outing against UTEP last week, Kaiser is also responsible for the five highest scoring performances in league play this season. Molly was one of 22 Division I players to score 30 or more points in a game last week. Her 85.7% from the floor was also tied for fourth best in a single game among all D-I players with 10 or more makes last week.
FANTA-STIC
Her six double-doubles thus far marks the first time that an Aggie has recorded five or more double-doubles in a single season since Bigue Sarr tallied 12 double-doubles in the 2021-22 season.
She currently ranks 40th in Division I with 9.4 rebounds per game and third in Conference USA. She currently sits at 12th in the nation and second in CUSA in defensive rebounds per game (7.7) as well.
D-UP
At the moment, NM State ranks third in the conference in steals per game (10.1), which has led their opponents into 464 total turnovers. This has carried over in league play as the Aggies currently rank third in turnovers forced per game (21.4) against CUSA opponents.
FROM DOWNTOWN
Entering Thursday, the Aggies rank second in 3-point percentage in CUSA play, shooting 33.2%. This mark is led by Jaila Harding who is currently shooting an impressive 43.1% from the perimeter.
HOT IN HUNTSVILLE
NM State shot 5-of-9 from the perimeter against Sam Houston on Jan. 2 which marks the highest 3-point percentage (.556) by any CUSA team in conference play this season. Molly Kaiser led the charge by going a perfect 2-for-2 on her way to scoring a game-high 28 points.
FRESH FISH
Madi Gewirtz picked up her second Conference USA Freshman of the Week award this past week. Previously, Madi Gewirtz became the first and only player in Aggie program history to earn the honor. Two weeks ago, she scored 17 points over Western Kentucky and picked up four defensive boards along with two assists to serve as a catalyst in the Aggies' win over the Hilltoppers.
VETERAN LEADERSHIP
The Aggies are led by 11 upperclassmen, including nine seniors. Molly Kaiser and Diarrah Sissoko are each in their fifth season of collegiate basketball, headlining a 15-person roster that has 50 combined seasons of experience, including 32 at NM State. Four Aggies are on at least their third season in the program: Molly Kaiser (five), Sylena Peterson (four), Sianny Sanchez-Oliver (four) and Lucía Yenes (three).
INTERNATIONAL AGGIES
There are seven Aggies with international backgrounds on the 2024-25 roster. Four of those seven hail from Spain (Fanta Gassama, Noah Garcia, Marta Guilera, Lucía Yenes). Hungary (Anna Csenyi), Netherlands (Loes Rozing) and Mali (Diarrah Sissoko) are also represented on this year's squad. Four of six Aggie newcomers are from overseas. 486 of the Aggies' 1,515 points this season have come courtesy of international members, accounting for over 32.3% of the team's production thus far.
GUESS WHO'S BACK… BACK AGAIN
Nearly every rotational guard and wing has returned in action in 2024-25, with 75.66% of the 2023-24 point production still on the roster. Additionally, the returning Aggies accounted for 85.14% of all assists and 97.71% of 3-pointers made (128 of 131) a season ago.
ONE LAST RIDE
This iteration of the Aggies revolves around fifth-year legend Molly Kaiser. The Watauga, Texas, native exercised her extra year of eligibility that she earned from the NCAA's response to COVID-19, electing to spend her fifth and final campaign with the Crimson & White. In 2023-24, Kaiser led the Aggies in games played (31), games started (31), points (463), points per game (14.9), minutes per game (34.2), field goals made (165), free throws made (107) and free-throw percentage (86.3).
Last season, Kaiser drove and buried a patented elbow jumper shot to give her 1,000 career points, with every bucket coming as a member of the Crimson & White. She became the 25th member of the 1,000-point club, and the first since Gia Pack, who played for the Aggies from 2016-2020.
LAST TIME OUT...
The Aggies' first-half scoring total of 42 points marked the second most points they have scored in the first half against a Division I opponent this season - only scoring more in an 85-63 win over Utah Tech in the second game of the season. The 25-point win for the Aggies marks the largest margin of victory for either side since the 2013-14 season. This also marks the largest margin of victory for the Aggies since a 29-point win on Dec. 7, 1999.
Additionally, the 25-point win is the second-largest margin in program history in El Paso - second only to a 79-50 win in 1990.
Kaiser finished 6-for-8 at the line to add to her 30-point game against UTEP. Sylena went perfect 5-for-5 in attempted field goals, including her two made baskets behind the arc. Three separate players (Kaiser, Harding, and Peterson) scored in double-figures over the UTEP Miners. The Aggies held the Miners to 0% out of five attempts from the perimeter in the third quarter of the game.
SCOUTING LIBERTY
Leading the Flames with his 26 year tenure at Liberty as head coach is Carey Green. In his coaching career, Green has taken the Flames to 14 appearances to the NCAA Tournament.
The Flames currently sit at 9-2 in CUSA play, just one spot behind conference leader, Middle Tennessee.
Leading Liberty in scoring this season thus far is Bella Smuda who averages 12.2 points per game and has picked up 43 blocks to this point of the season
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