MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Aggies will face the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders for a second time in conference play. NM State travels to Murphy Center in hopes to split the series between the two opponents.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Who: NM State (15-12, 8-6 CUSA) vs MTSU (21-6, 13-1 CUSA)
Where: Murphy Center – Murfreesboro, Tenn.
When: Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. MST
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Statistics: StatBroadcast
All-Time Series Record: MTSU leads 5-2
Last Meeting: NMSU lost 66-59 (January 30, 2025)
LAST TIME AGAINST MTSU
Molly Kaiser finished with 19 points. Kaiser had her 20th game this season with 10 or more points, including 13 in a row. Jaila Harding (13 points) and Fanta Gassama (10 points) rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Crimson & White.
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 1,800 points across her career and has moved into third all-time in scoring for the Aggies in program history. With her 1,800 points, she's also currently the active leader in career points among CUSA players. She now sits just 131 points shy of moving into second on the Aggies all-time scoring list.
Last month, 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 10th in the nation in points per game (21.4) and 10th in total points (578). Including her 30-point outing against UTEP three 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 17th in the nation and second in CUSA in defensive rebounds per game (7.4).
D-UP
At the moment, NM State ranks third in the conference in steals per game (9.79), which has led their opponents into 533 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 32.0%. This mark is led by Jaila Harding who is currently shooting an impressive 42.3% from the perimeter against league opponents.
Two weeks ago 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. 549 of the Aggies' 1,765 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 had her third game out of past five with 20+ points, and Sylena Peterson finished in double figures in the last four of the five games. The Aggies notched their first win in a game decided by four or fewer points this season, and finished 23-for-26 at the charity stripe (most free throws made and attempted this season).
Despite losing in field goal percentage (44.4% to 34%) to Kennesaw State, the Aggies grabbed the victory, improving to 5-12 on the season when outshot by opponents. Sianny Sanchez-Oliver pace the Aggies in rebounds on the day, grabbing six – her second-most rebounds on the season (8, vs. UT Arlington)
SCOUTING MTSU
Leading the Blue Raiders in his 20th season with MTSU as head coach is Rick Insell. In his coaching career at Middle Tennessee, Insell has notched 484 wins at the helm of the Blue Raider program.
MTSU currently sits with a 13-1 conference record, sitting at first in the CUSA standings.
Leading MTSU in scoring this season is Ta'Mia Scott who averages 16.7 points per game. A huge contribute to the Blue Raiders successful season thus far is the team's ability to rebound, led by Anastasiia Boldyreva, who leads the conference with 10.1 per game and 24th nationally.
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