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Denver Classic
Game #4
NM State (2-1, 0-0 WAC) vs. Yale (3-2, 0-0 Ivy)
Friday, November 25, 2022 | 2:30pm MT | Denver, Colo.
Watch | Live Stats | Digital Programs | NM State Game Notes
Game #5
NM State (2-1, 0-0 WAC) at Denver (1-3, 0-0 Summit)
Saturday, November 26, 2022 | Noon MT | Denver, Colo.
Watch | Live Stats | Digital Programs | NM State Game Notes
opening tip
Jody Adams and her team are coming off a tight overtime victory at home last week when the Aggies defeated in-state rival New Mexico 73-64 (OT). This marks be the second time in this early season that the Aggies make the mile high trip to the Rockies – the team opened the 2022-23 season in Boulder, Colo. (Nov. 7th) against the University of Colorado.
The Bulldogs come into Denver riding a three-game winning streak, recently defeating Fairfield (68-61), Army (71-66) and Maine (55-46).
The Pioneers are still fresh off a 23-point loss to Wyoming last Friday (68-45). Freshman guard, Emma Smith led the team in scoring that night with 14 points, going 4-6 from the field with two three pointers.
News and Notes
Scouting the Bulldogs
Prior to their three-game win streak, Yale dropped their first two games of the season (Both on the road) to Fordham (80-67) and Saint Josheph’s (59-54). Jenna Clark is the only Bulldog to have started all five games this season. She currently is second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.6 ppg. – Elles van der Maas leads the team with 13.3 ppg.
Scouting the Pioneers
Denver is still recovering from a 23 point loss handed to them by Wyoming last Friday. Their lone win came against Loyola Marymount in an overtime game that saw the Pioneers sneak away with a three point victory (70-73). Emma Smith leads the team in scoring (12.7 ppg) despite missing one game this season.
attendance
NM State leads the WAC in average attendance through the young season. With 1,394 people inside the Pan American Center last Wednesday, the Aggies edge out Abilene Christian (1,310) and Utah Tech (1,308) for highest average attendance.
Inoussa Time
Swiftly dropping the hits, Soufia Inoussa leads NM State in scoring with 12.0 points per game. Inoussa dropped 15 points in the season opener at Colorado, going 5-11 with three triples. Against New Mexico, she put up 14 points going 6-12 from the field, including two triples.
From Range
NM State currently leads the WAC in three-point percentage, shooting 36.8% from behind the arc. The clip ranks nationally as Colorado State has connected on 51.1% of long-range attempts.
coaching staff
The entire NM State coaching staff is new for the 2022-23 season. Adams brought in Patrick Harrison, Chynna Turner, and Zach Banks as assistant coaches for their first staff at Las Cruces.
Harrison comes to NM State from Kansas City, where he had spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach under now Oklahoma State head coach Jacie Hoyt.
Turner played for Adams at Wichita State before entering the world of coaching. Before coming to NM State, Turner spent four seasons at Gardner-Webb, leading the Bulldogs to 61 wins.
Banks joins the Aggies after serving as an assistant at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Fla. Banks’ time in Florida was capped off with a 2021 NJCCA National Championship and a career record of 128-22 (.853).
Tough Tests Ahead
The test with Colorado won’t be the last time NM State faces an opponent from the 2022 NCAA Tournament this season. The Aggies will also square off with Stephen. F. Austin (12 seed; Lost to North Carolina) on February 28 and will host WAC newcomer UT Arlington (14 seed; Lost to Iowa State) on February 23.
Conference Variety
The Aggies will square off with teams from ten different conferences throughout the 2022-23 season.
⁃- Pac-12 (Colorado)
⁃- Ivy League (Yale)
⁃- Summit (Denver)
⁃- Mountain West (New Mexico)
⁃- Conference USA (UTEP)
⁃- West Coast (San Diego)
⁃- Big Sky (Idaho, Portland State)
⁃- Rocky Mountain Athletic – NCAA Division II (New Mexico Highlands)
⁃- Continental Athletic – NAIA (Northern New Mexico)
⁃- WAC (UTRGV, Southern Utah, Utah Valley, Tarleton, Sam Houston, Utah Tech, Grand Canyon, Seattle U, Abilene Christian, California Baptist, UT Arlington, Stephen F. Austin.)
Ms Worldwide
The Aggies have seven international players on the roster throughout 2022-23. Sabou Gueye and Fama Thiam both hail from Senegal while Nigera (Ene Adams), Sweden (Soufia Inoussa), Japan (Moe Shida), New Zealand (Ashlee Strawbridge), and Spain (Lucia Yenes) are all represented as well.
Frequent Fliers
NM State also wants to hit the road for games in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, California, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, and Washington during the 22-23 campaign. In addition, the WAC Tournament is held annually in Las Vegas, Nevada – adding a ninth state to the list.
road warriors
The game versus the Yale marks the first of six road games the Aggies will play away from the Pan American Center. Following their two-game series with the Yale and Denver, NM State will be returning to the Borderland to take on UTEP (Nov. 30) at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso. From there, NM State heads to sunny San Diego for the San Diego Classic (Dec. 3/4 vs. San Diego/Idaho) and wraps up the road swing on December 11 at New Mexico.
Last time out
The Aggies snuck past their in-state rival New Mexico last week in overtime fashion, beating the Lobos 73-64. The Aggies dominated the first three quarters of the game. They closed out the first quarter on a 20-2 run and eventually took a 28-point lead right before the final period.
Some sloppy play and turnovers allowed the Lobos to mount a sizable comeback in the fourth quarter. UNM outscored NM State 30-13 in the final period to help force overtime.
Despite blowing a near 30-point lead, the Aggies were able to keep their composure and come out with a win after shooting 62.5% from the field in overtime, including two threes’.
Three Aggies found themselves in double figure scoring – Soufia Inoussa (14), Molly Kaiser (12) and Fama Thiam (10) all scored double digit points.
up next
The Aggies will return to the border land region for a quick game against I-10 rival, UTEP. Following that, the Aggies are back on the road as they head to San Diego, Calif. for the San Diego Classic, where they will face off against San Diego and Idaho.
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