LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Following an opening night matchup with San Diego, NM State returned to the Pan American Center floor for a midday matchup with Southern Utah.
In a game that featured just one lead change and saw the Aggies hold the advantage for just two seconds, NM State emerged with a 64-63 victory to earn the program's first win of the Adeniyi Amadou era.
The Aggies were led in scoring by Stacy Chovino who logged a career-high 25 points, including 12 in the final seven minutes of action. Chovino also added eight rebounds and a pair of steals.
Eva Hamlil made the first start of her Crimson & White career, while Eva Agba, Stacy Chovino, Aimeé Michel and Lilyana Fontcha made their second consecutive starts.
The visiting Thunderbirds raced out to an 8-0 lead, though Michel and Fontcha rattled off six points to trim the SUU lead 10-6. However, at the end of the first quarter, the Aggies trailed 19-10.
Tallying just 10 points in the opening frame, NM State found a rhythm offensively, posting 21 in the second behind seven points apiece from Stacy Chovino and Raina Tomasicka. The Aggies held the visiting Thunderbirds without a made field goal over the last three and a half minutes of the first half, using a 9-5 run to shrink the SUU advantage and make it a 37-31 contest at halftime.
Recording just two made three-pointers on Monday night, in the opening 20 minutes, the Aggies had tallied three triples, including the first of the season for both Stacy Chovino and Aimeé Michel.
In the third, the Aggies would cut the lead to just two points (41-39) following an 8-2 scoring burst. Southern Utah closed the quarter with an extended 9-0 run to take a 50-39 lead into the final frame.
The fourth quarter saw the most exciting action of the day, with the Crimson & White notching a game-high 25 points in the quarter. Raina Tomasicks, Eva Hamlil and Aimeé Michel spearheaded an 8-0 run to trim the SUU advantage to just two points. Back-to-back baskets by Stacy Chovino then evened the score at 52 with 6:25 remaining.
In all Chovino, tallied 12 of her game-high 25 points in the fourth, including 12 of the final 16 points down the stretch. With two seconds remaining, Chovino knocked in a layup to give the Aggies a 64-63 lead. Southern Utah put up a shot as the buzzer sounded, but it would ultimately miss the rim, giving the Aggies the win.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- Freshman forward Stacy Chovino led all scorers, tallying a career-high 25 points including the game-winning basket with two seconds left. This became the most points by an Aggie since Jan. 2, 2026 (Imani Warren, 29)
- Chovino also paced the Aggies in rebounds (8), steals (2) and blocks (1).
- Junior Raina Tomasicka followed up a 24-point performance in her debut on Monday night with 16 points and a career-best seven rebounds.
- NM State finished with a 40-28 edge in paint points, and a 7-0 advantage in fast-break points.
- With the 64-63 win, this becomes the first career victory for Head Coach Adeniyi Amadou.
- Sophomore forward Aimeé Michel tallied her second consecutive double-digit performance, tallying 10 points and five rebounds, along with a team-high two assists in 37 minutes.
- Eva Hamlil made her first start for the Crimson & White, recording five points and two steals in 32 minutes of action.
- Rhode Island transfer Lilyana Fontcha was a force in the post in limited action, tallying six points and eight rebounds in just 14 minutes.
- NM State defeated SUU while leading for just two seconds – the final two ticks in the contest.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Adeniyi Amadou, following the comeback victory over Southern Utah: "Too many emotions to describe. I'm just extremely proud of the team, the resilience and the toughness they showed today. That's all we talked about is being focused and locked into our process, and that's what we did today.
UP NEXT
NM State will embark on their first road trip of the season, traveling to El Paso, Texas, for a meeting with rival UTEP on Tuesday, Nov. 10. This serves as the first matchup between the two programs since the Miners departed CUSA for the Mountain West. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. MT, with the game streaming on the Mountain West Network, and live stats available at nmstatesports.com/stats.
For complete coverage of NM State Women's Basketball, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow us on Twitter (@NMStateWBB), Instagram (@NMStateWBB), and like us on Facebook (NM State Women's Basketball).
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