LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Coming off an impressive win over Sam Houston on Thursday night, NM State (8-15, 4-7 CUSA) battled with the top team in the league in Louisiana Tech (17-5, 10-1 CUSA). A roller coaster contest ultimately went the way of the visitors, as the Aggies fell by a final score of 77-58.
 
The team began the contest on a 6-2 run thanks to baskets by Lucía Yenes, Imani Warren and Morane Dossou, though a trio of 3-pointers kept the visiting LA Tech in the contest, with the Aggies trailing 13-10 with less than three minutes to go in the first. Bench buckets by Anna Csenyi, including her first of three 3-pointers saw the first ten minutes end with a score of 15-13, in favor of the Lady Techsters.
 
A sluggish defensive start to the quarter saw a 17-5 run put the Aggies behind 32-18. Keira Hudson buried a jumper with 2:15 remaining for her first points of the weekend, and just the second made field goal for the Crimson & White in the second quarter. Lucía Yenes added in a three-point play shortly after, though the Aggies trailed 38-23 at the half. 
 
Turnovers played a major role in the Aggies second-quarter dry streak, as LA Tech scored nine points off of 12 Aggie turnovers and were effective in fast breaks. The Aggies shot 20% from the field and failed to make a three pointer in the second quarter.
 
Following the halftime break, a renewed energy emerged from the Aggies, with Senoj Jones playing an integral part in the Aggie's third quarter resurgence. The freshman scored all nine of her points on Saturday in just over two minutes of gametime. 3-pointers by Loes Rozing, Anna Csenyi and Imani Warren helped NM State trim the 17-point LA Tech edge, with Warren tallying five straight points to make it a 51-49 contest with 2:11 left in the third. 
 
Following a made bucket by the visitors to end the third, Marta Guilera kept the difference at two (53-51) with her first basket of the afternoon. However, this would be one of just four made baskets for the Aggies in the fourth, while the visitors put together their best offensive quarter, tallying 24 points to end the game on a 19-5 run. As the final buzzer sounded, NM State fell by a final score of 77-58. 
 
NUMBERS OF NOTE

• Imani Warren rebounded from her first single-digit scoring performance since Jan. 15, posting a team high 17 points, adding three steals, three rebounds and two assists in 33 minutes.
• Anna Csenyi was a productive offensive piece off the bench for the Aggies, recording a new career-high of 13 points, while posting three 3-pointers, her second most makes in a single game (4, versus UC Irvine).
• Senoj Jones fell just short of tying her career high, finishing with nine points - all coming in just over two minutes of play. The freshman forward also recorded four rebounds and one assist. 
• For the seventh time in conference action, the Aggies tallied 10 or more steals, finishing with 11 total from seven different players. 

 
QUOTABLES
 
Head Coach Jody Adams, on the mentality in the matchup with LA Tech: "You can't relax ever against any team in this league, and I thought we did that in the third quarter when we shrunk the deficit to four. LA Tech is talented. What we can continue to learn from each game, be it a win or a loss, is when we bring energy, stick together and stick to the game plan we can compete with anyone."
 
Senoj Jones, on the third quarter run that helped shrink the deficit: "We came together and we played as a team, and the bench energy definitely helped. The energy on the floor, off the bench, the communication definitely turned it around for us."
 
Imani Warren, on the upcoming road trip to Delaware and Liberty: "It's going to be a long week. It is hard travelling so it's about us being locked in to the game plan and being focused."   

The Aggies will now embark on their furthest road trip of the season, taking on the Delaware Blue Hens and Liberty Lady Flames. Action begins on Thursday, Feb. 12, from the Bob Carpenter Center in Delaware. Tip-off is slated for 5:00 p.m. MT, with the game streaming live on ESPN+ 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).