LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Aggies will host two games this upcoming week as they look to take on Jax State for the second time this season when they host the Gamecocks on Thursday. Coming off a win over FIU on Saturday, NM State looks to keep its poise as it seeks a series split with the Gamecocks on Thursday at 6:00 pm MST.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Who: NMSU (13-12, 6-6 CUSA) at Jax State (10-14, 4-9 CUSA)
Where: Pan American Center – Las Cruces, N.M.
When: Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. MST
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Statistics: StatBroadcast
All-Time Series Record: Jax State leads 3-0
Last Meeting: NMSU lost 60-56 (January 25, 2025)
LAST TIME AGAINST JAX STATE
Fanta Gassama notched her fifth double double (18 points and 10 rebounds) of the season. Jax State was only able to finish 25% from the charity stripe in the final quarter. NM State was one free throw away from shooting a perfect 12-for-12 at the line. Molly Kaiser led the Aggies in scoring with 19 points against the Gamecocks.
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 1,756 points, she's also currently the active leader in career points among CUSA players. She now sits just 4 points shy of moving into fourth on the Aggies all-time scoring list and 24 points from third.
Three 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 sits at ninth in the nation in points per game (21.7) and 11th in total points (543). Including her 30-point outing against UTEP two weeks ago, Kaiser is also responsible for the five of the seven highest scoring performances in league play this season.
FANTA-STIC
Fanta Gassama's 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 sits at 19th in the nation and second in CUSA in defensive rebounds per game (7.5).
D-UP
At the moment, NM State ranks third in the conference in steals per game (10.08), which has led their opponents into 496 total turnovers. This has carried over in league play as the Aggies currently rank second in turnovers forced per game (20.5) against CUSA opponents.
FROM DOWNTOWN
Entering Thursday, the Aggies rank second in 3-point percentage in CUSA play, shooting 32.6%. This mark is led by Jaila Harding who is currently shooting an impressive 43.5% from the perimeter against league opponents.
Just last week against the Panthers, the Aggies went 8-20 (40%) from beyond the arc which marked their best 3-point percentage since January 11th when they shot 42.1% against UTEP.
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. Three 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. 513 of the Aggies' 1,638 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...
Three separate Aggies scored in double figures against the Panthers to lead NM State to a 65-55 road victory over FIU. The win was fueled by a defensive effort which forced 19 turnovers and allowed the Aggies 24 points off turnovers. Additionally, the Aggie bench vcontributed 18 points led by a pair of 7-point effort from both Madi Gewirtz and Sylena Peterson.
Against the Panthers, two Aggies shot completely perfect at the stripe (Kaiser, 4-4 ; Gewirtz, 2-2). Madi Gewirtz also picked up her career high in rebounds, cleaning the glass seven separate times (three offensive and four defensive).
Both Loes Rozing (3-for-6) and Jaila Harding (4-for-8) finished the game shooting 50% from the floor.
SCOUTING JAX STATE
Leading the Gamecocks in his 11th season at Jax State as head coach is Rick Pietri. In his coaching career at JSU, Pietri has notched 161 wins at the helm of the Gamecocks program.
The Gamecocks currently sit with a 4-9 record in the conference standings and are coming off a home win LA Tech.
Leading Jax State in scoring this season is Bre'Anna Rhodes who averages 8.4 points per game.
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