LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Following a three-game homestand, NM State (5-9, 1-1 CUSA) ventures east to Bowling Green, Ky., for a Thursday night meeting with the Western Kentucky Lady Toppers (4-9, 0-2 CUSA). Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. MT from E.A. Diddle Arena, with the game streaming live on ESPN+, with live stats available here.
 
The Aggies hold a 4-7 record all-time against WKU, splitting last season's series 1-1, with NM State winning 64-59 in Las Cruces and falling 85-68 in Bowling Green.
 
OPENING TIP
 
Who: NM State (5-9, 1-1 CUSA) vs. Western Kentucky (4-9, 0-2 CUSA)
Where: E.A. Diddle Arena (7,253) | Bowling Green, Ky.
When: Thursday, Jan. 8, 5:30 p.m. MT
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: SidearmStats
 
LAST TIME OUT

• NM State tallied its first win of the conference season, knocking off first-year Conference USA member Delaware in an overtime affair, 64-57.
• Four Aggies finished with 10-plus points on Sunday, led by double-doubles by Morane Dossou (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Lucía Yenes (10 points, 10 rebounds).
• Dossou and Yenes became the first Aggie teammates to post a double-double in the same game since Feb. 10, 2022 – a triple overtime win over Utah Tech.
• Recording 16 steals against the visiting Blue Hens became the most against Division I competition for the Aggies in 2025-26, and the fourth straight game with double-digit swipes (sixth time in the past seven games).
• Forcing 24 Delaware turnovers overall, this tied the single-game high this season, while also the most against Division I opponents.

 
IMANI'S IMPACT

• Imani Warren has tallied a breakout season for the Crimson & White, setting a new career-high with 29 points against CUSA foe Liberty (Jan. 2) – the third-highest scoring output by a player in CUSA this season.
• This is the most by an Aggie since Molly Kaiser tallied 35 against LA Tech in the 2024-25 campaign.  
• Her 12 field goals made in the meeting with the Lady Flames are a career best and a new single-game high for the Crimson & White this season. Three 3-pointers made also mark a personal best for the Milwaukee, Wis., native. 
• Against Utah Tech, Warren put in the go-ahead basket to secure the victory, finishing with 13 points and four rebounds to give the Aggies their first road win of the year.
• Her three blocks against Fresno State (Nov. 28) were the most by an Aggie this season.
• In the matchup against the Bulldogs, she also tied a team high with six assists, matching a mark she previously set against New Mexico Highlands.
• Against New Mexico Highlands (Nov. 11), the junior guard posted her first career double-double (15 points, 11 rebounds).
• Against Eastern New Mexico (Dec. 29), Warren finished with eight made free throws – the most by an Aggie in a single game this season.
• Warren currently leads the Aggies in steals (2.4 per game; 7^th in CUSA), free throws made (41; 10^th in CUSA), and assists (2.9; 10^th in CUSA). She also ranks second on the team in made field goals (68; 8^th in CUSA), scoring (13.1 points per game; 12^th in CUSA) and blocks (8). She is also third on the team in both total rebounds (56) and rebounds per game (4.0).

 
WE WANT SOME MO

• Junior forward Morane Dossou recorded a breakout performance against Saint Mary's (Dec. 20), tallying 15 points (7-of-8 from the floor) while pulling down 17 rebounds, earning Conference USA Player of the Week honors.
• The Charleville-Mézières, France, native became the first Aggie to earn a conference player of the week award since Molly Kaiser on Mar. 9, 2025.
• In a thrilling overtime win over Delaware (Jan. 4), Dossou notched her second double-double with the Aggies, posting 11 points and 12 rebounds.
• Dossou is one of just four players in the conference to tally 17 or more rebounds in a game this season, ranking seventh in Conference USA with 8.6 total rebounds per contest, and third in defensive rebounds per game (6.6).
• Across the nation, she ranks 63^rd in rebounds per contest.
• Earning her first start with the Crimson & White against Southern Utah (Dec. 4), Dossou would finish with double-digit rebounds, pulling down 11 in just over 16 minutes of action.
• Following a 12-rebound game against Delaware (Jan. 4), the junior from France holds six of the nine 10-plus rebound performances for NM State this season, with Lucia Lara (Nov. 11), Imani Warren (Nov. 11) and Lucía Yenes (Jan. 4) recording the others.

 
LUCIA LA REINA

• Senior forward Lucía Yenes showed out in the Aggies' season-opening contest against No. 18 USC (Nov. 4), tallying her first collegiate start en route to pouring in a career-high 27 points.
• Her point production was the most by an Aggie against power conference competition since NM State Hall of Famer and three-time All-American Anita Maxwell tallied 27 against No. 20 Ole Miss in 1996.
• Tallying back-to-back 20-plus point scoring performances to open the season, Yenes became the first Aggie to do so since Aaliyah Prince in the 2019-20 campaign.
• Against UC Irvine, the senior forward notched her third 20-point performance of the season, tallying 22 against the Anteaters.
• In an overtime victory against Delaware (Jan. 4), Yenes recorded a new career high with 10 rebounds, adding 10 points for her first collegiate double-double.
• This season, she holds the fifth-highest single-game scoring output in CUSA, while ranking eighth in the league in scoring (13.7 points per game). The Spaniard leads the league in field goals made (77), fourth in total points (192) and seventh in the conference in field-goal percentage (45.3).
• With a team-high 12 blocks on the season, Yenes is 11th in the conference in blocks per game (0.9), making her one of just 11 players in Conference USA to reach that mark.

 
LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR…

• This season, the Aggies currently rank third among Conference USA members in total assists (186) and fourth in assists per game (13.3).
• On Dec. 14 against Western New Mexico, NM State notched 25 helpers, a season-high and the most in a game for the Crimson & White since Dec. 20, 2022, against Northern New Mexico (25).
• Junior guard Imani Warren leads the team with 40 assists, averaging 2.9 per contest.
• Warren ranks 10^th in CUSA in assists per contest, while Las Cruces native Emma Christiano ranks 13^th (2.8).
• While Christiano and Warren each have two games with six assists on the year, forward Morane Dossou dished out a team-high six helpers against Saint Mary's (Dec. 20), a new career best.

 
WHAT'S YOURS IS OURS

• Heading into Thursday's contest, NM State ranks 61^st in Division I in steals per game (10.6).
• Against Delaware (Jan. 4), the Aggies tallied 16 swipes, the most against Division I competition in a single game this season and tied for the second-most overall (ENMU, 17). This also marks the sixth instance of double-digit steals in the past seven games for the Crimson & White.
• Imani Warren leads the team with 2.4 steals per contest, good for seventh in Conference USA and 89^th nationally. Lucía Yenes also ranks among the conference's best, sitting in 15^th while averaging 1.7 steals per game.
• The Aggies also rank 76^th in the nation in turnovers forced per game (19.7).
• Forcing 29 turnovers against ENMU (Dec. 29), this became the most in a single game for the Crimson & White since Jan. 16, 2025, against FIU (30).

 
HEATING UP

• Posting six 3-pointers made against Liberty last Friday, the team tied a season-high in makes from deep for the third time this season (Dec. 4, Dec. 20).
• In the Aggies' first five contests of the season, the squad combined to make 11 triples while shooting 20.3% from beyond the arc. Since December 1^st, the Aggies have averaged 4.4 three-pointers made per game, converting on 31.0% of their attempts.
• Upperclassmen have led the charge from beyond the arc over the past five games, with senior Anna Csneyi (nine 3-pointers made), graduate student Loes Rozing (5), junior Imani Warren (3) and senior Lucía Yenes (3) notching 20 of the Aggies' 22 triples over that stretch.

SCOUTING THE LADY TOPPERS

• Grant Collins leads the charge in Bowling Green, in the midst of his eighth season at the helm, boasting a 128-99 career record.
• Last time out, the Lady Toppers dropped a pair of road CUSA contests, at Jax State (75-48) and Kennesaw State (78-64).
• Overall, WKU boasts a 4-9 record, having lost its past three contests.
• A balanced offensive attack paces the Lady Toppers, with forwards Zsófia Telegdy (9.7 points per game) and sophomore forward Torri James (9.5) leading in scoring. Overall, nine student-athletes tally at least 3.0 points per game (min. 10 games played).
• The duo of Telegdy and James also leads in rebounding (4.8 per game), while James boasts the highest shooting percentage (55.4) and free-throw percentage (72.7) on the squad.
• As a team, WKU ranks among the nation's best in fewest fouls committed (13.1, 14^th in Division I) and blocked shots with 5.1 per game (26^th nationally).

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