LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Aggies will continue at home this week as they take on Kennesaw State to follow Thursday's win against Jax State. The Owls have previously defeated NM State this season as the Las Cruces squad looks to split the conference series.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Who: NM State (14-12, 7-6 CUSA) vs Kennesaw State (10-15, 5-9 CUSA)
Where: Pan American Center – Las Cruces, N.M.
When: Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. MST
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Statistics: StatBroadcast
All-Time Series Record: Kennesaw State leads 1-0
Last Meeting: NMSU lost 68-66 (January 23, 2025)
LAST TIME AGAINST KENNESAW STATE
Fanta Gassama finished one point shy of a double-double, tallying nine points and 10 rebounds. Kaiser tied with her high in steals in a single game this season, recording five against the Owls. This would also equal her career high – matching a five-steal effort from 2023. Jaila Harding would also match her career high in steals with two – a mark she has now reached three times in her two-year collegiate career. Kennesaw State finished with two individuals that scored 20-plus points against the Aggies.
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 fourth all-time in scoring for the Aggies in program history. With 1,778 points, she's also currently the active leader in career points among CUSA players. She now sits just 11 points shy of moving into third on the Aggies all-time scoring list.
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 (21.4) and ninth in total points (556). 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 seven 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.
Fanta tallied her second highest game in rebounds this season, snagging down 14 against the Gamecocks.
She currently sits at 16th 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 (9.92), which has led their opponents into 512 total turnovers. This has carried over in league play as the Aggies currently rank second in turnovers forced per game (20.2) against CUSA opponents.
FROM DOWNTOWN
Entering Thursday, the Aggies rank second in 3-point percentage in CUSA play, shooting 32.9%. 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. 538 of the Aggies' 1,704 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...
Molly Kaiser finished with 13 points, moving up to fourth in all-time scoring. Five Aggies scored in double-figures for the first time since facing the UNM Lobos back in December.
The Aggies tallied a lead for 35 minutes of play against the Gamecocks.
Lucia Yenes picked up her career-high in steals (3) to help provide NM State the edge defensively over Jax State. Fanta Gassama tallied her second most rebounds in a single game this season (14).
SCOUTING KENNESAW STATE
Leading the Owls in her fourth season at Kennesaw State as head coach is Octovia Blue. In her coaching career, Blue has notched 45 wins at the helm of the Kennesaw State program.
The Owls currently sit with a 5-9 CUSA record after their win to UTEP last night.
Leading Kennesaw State in scoring this season is Prencis Harden who averages 16.0 points per game. She is also currently ranked ninth in the nation and first in the conference in rebounds per game (10.8).
At the moment, she also leads the Owls in blocks (0.8) and Free throw percentage (78.3)
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