LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Opening a two-game week from the Pan American Center, NM State (6-11, 2-3 CUSA) showed fight but ultimately could not complete the comeback, falling to FIU (9-6, 2-2 CUSA) by a score of 83-74 in Las Cruces.
 
Morane Dossou opened the night's scoring, knocking down a fade-away jumper in the post. Trading buckets to begin the quarter, the Aggies tallied a 7-0 run, including five points off the bench from Keira Hudson. Later in the stanza, the Lady Panthers closed on a 10-0 run to take a 25-15 lead at the end of the first.
 
Imani Warren tallied her first points of the night to begin the second quarter, but FIU would tally nine of the following 13 points to take hold of a 34-21 lead with less than five minutes remaining in the first half.
 
Jody Adams' squad remained resilient as the Aggies concluded the second period on a 10-1 scoring run. During this stretch, the Aggies saw five different players score, including reserves Marta Guilera, Keira Hudson and Senoj Jones. Ultimately, the NM State defense forced a turnover on the final possession of the quarter, entering the locker room trailing by just four (35-31). After allowing 25 first-quarter points, NM State held the Lady Panthers to just 10 in the second.
 
An explosive third quarter saw both teams combine for 58 points, including 25 from the Crimson and White, who used a balanced attack with nine different Aggies logging at least two points during the period.
 
After FIU extended its lead to as much as 19 points, a surge from the Aggies late in the period saw the home side cut the lead to 12 points entering the fourth quarter. This momentum carried over into the fourth quarter as NM State opened the final period on a 10-2 run, cutting the Lady Panther advantage to four (70-66). However, this would be the closest the contest would get down the stretch, as the Aggies fell by a final score of 83-74.
 
NUMBERS OF NOTE

• Keira Hudson tallied 10 points on Thursday night, her third game in double-figures this season, while tying her career high in made 3-pointers (2).
• Lucía Yenes finished with 19 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, her 13^th game in double figures this season. The Madrid, Spain, native added six rebounds and three blocks, tying a career-high set against No. 18 USC (Nov. 4).
• Emma Christiano tallied 10 points on Thursday, matching her Division-I best. Adding four steals, this is her third contest in the past six with four or more swipes.
• Freshman guard DeAvion Wilson recorded five assists, a new best, while adding a trio of steals in 17 minutes of action.
• With a made 3-pointer in the third quarter, Anna Csenyi continued an eight-game streak with at least one make from beyond the arc.
• Nikki Stanic notched her first made two-point basket of the season and recorded her first trip to the free-throw line, finishing with three points.
• Finishing with 11 steals on the night, the Aggies have tallied 10 or more in eight of the past 10 games.

QUOTABLES

Keira Hudson, on the team's performance against FIU: "I think we struggled to be consistent. We made a run in the third quarter off our defense, but maintaining that for a whole game is something we as a team need to work on and continue to grow in that aspect."

Head Coach Jody Adams, following Thursday's matchup: "I think our players gave unbelievable effort tonight, I really do. But there's the inches in a close game that we're not nailing. I think their want to has to exceed my want to, they got to match it. We know that we picked a hard sport to play, so when you pick hard, you're going to be uncomfortable. You have to be comfortable being uncomfortable."

NM State returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 17, playing host to Missouri State at the Pan American Center. Tip-off is scheduled for noon MT, streaming live on ESPN+ with live stats available at nmstatesports.com/stats. 

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