next game:
vs Yale
11/25/2022 | 2:30pm
Denver Stream
Nov 25 (Fri) / 2:30 PM
Yale
History
LAS CRUCES, NM – It’s been 2,176 days since the Aggies last beet the Lobos. Three weeks is all it took for Jody Adams in her first season to end that streak after a nail biting overtime victory in Las Cruces.
The Aggies dominated the Lobos from the opening tip. NM State opened the game on a 20-2 run which was capped off by a Molly Kaiser quarter ending buzzer beater.
Ashlee Strawbridge knocked down a three-pointer to open the scoring and it was all Aggies from there. Strawbridge led the way for NM State in the opening half, matching her career-high with seven points.
After twenty minutes, NM State held a 32-13 lead and sat in the driver’s seat for the second half.
By halftime, Taylor Donaldson had hauled in a season-high six rebounds to go alongside four points. Donaldson’s six boards matched the high of any Aggie in a game this season.
The Aggies carries a sizable 16 point lead into the locker rooms at half time shooting 50% from behind the arc and 44% from the field. This wasn’t the case in the second half, however.
The Lobos mounted a remarkable come back in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 52 with just under 3:00 to play, eliminating what once was a 28 point lead by the Aggies.
After a lot of sloppy play on the low post from both teams, the score remained tied at the end of regulation, sending the battle of 1-25 into overtime.
The Aggies got the overtime period started by making their first two buckets, including a triple from Soufia Inoussa, just her second of the night. Inoussa would hit another three later in the period to extend the Aggies lead to eight with just 1:38 left in the ball game.
In the end, the Lobos had nothing left in the tank and their hopes of another comeback were pretty much shot. NM State wound up outscoring the Lobos 16-7 in overtime to secure Jody Adams her first Rivalry game of her Aggies career.
News and Notes
- The Aggies had not an opponent to two points or less since March 11, 2016 against Utah Valley in the WAC Tournament.
- The Aggies snap an eight-game skid against the Lobos
- All ten Aggies who appeared in the game scored
- The Aggies set a new season high in rebounding securing 44 boards.
- NM State forced 20+ turnovers for the third consecutive game.
- The Aggies elected to go with their same starting five from the previous game: Ashley Strawbridge, Molly Kaiser, Soufia Inoussa, Taylor Donaldson and Fama Thiam
Quotable | Jody Adams
“These girls are different. They didn’t have to take me. I didn’t have to taken them. We decided to take a chance on each other. They deserve it – Of any team I’ve ever coached, they deserve it They work. They come in the office. They come and hang out with us. They want to watch film with us. They want to goof around with us. It’s truly a family atmosphere. I’m just really, honestly, honored to be on the journey with them.” Adams iterated following her teams victory.
Quotable | Molly Kaiser
“We just continued to believe in our coaching staff, our teammates, and just from all five players on the court to everyone one the bench was just believing in each other. We kept talking to each other and leading each other. We just got our confidence back and it’s our game. We’re gonna go out there and we’re gonna take it. That was the mindset – That was the shift change toward the end of fourth quarter, going into overtime.” Said Kaiser after the game.
Kaiser talks about the impact of her head coach, Jody Adams:
“She’s different. And I think it’s taken me a long time just believing and trusting in her and seeing how she’s installed a culture here. That’s something we’ve never had before. And she’s rare – She pushes us … I think that’s really what won us this game tonight is our Big Belief, not only in our coaching staff, but in each other. Just empowering each other to go be great. I think that’s the biggest difference of why we won this game and the statement that we’re making. We’re not the old New Mexico State. We’re the new New Mexico State. We have Big Belief and we believe in ourselves. We believe in our coaches. We believe in each other.”
Comments are closed.