The Aggies will host North Dakota (0-3) on Monday, November 23rd at 7 p.m. in the Pan American Center. This will be the first meeting between the two schools. Fans can listen to all the action on KSNM, 570 AM with Kyle Doperalski beginning at 6:45 p.m.
Series Notes versus North Dakota
This will be the first time the Aggies face off against the Great West's North Dakota Fighting Sioux. This is the inaugural season for the Great West, which includes seven women's basketball teams - Houston Baptist, North Dakota, Utah Valley, Texas Pan-American, Chicago State, South Dakota and New Jersey Institute of Technology. NM State is 4-1 against teams from the Great West. The Aggies are 1-1 against Utah Valley and 3-0 against Texas Pan-American. The last time the Aggies faced Utah Valley was Jan. 5, 2008, with NM State winning 82-73. The most recent game against Texas-Pan American was Jan. 18, 2003, with the Aggies prevailing 77-42. North Dakota head volleyball coach Ashley Hardee, Athletic Director Brian Faison and Associate Athletic Director Sean Johnson are former employees of NM State's athletics department.
Scouting North Dakota
North Dakota has opened the season with an 0-3 mark, with two losses coming at home and one on the road. The Fighting Sioux have been outscored by an average of 23 points per game and have been outrebounded by six rebounds per game. North Dakota is led in scoring by Kayla Bagaason, who is averaging 15.3 points per game and also second the team in 3-point field goal percentage (.476), and Mallory Youngblut who is averaging 9.0 points per game. North Dakota opponents also have more assists, blocks and steals on the season.
Aggies beat Long Beach State, 69-56
The New Mexico State women's basketball defeated Long Beach State, 69-54 in their 2009-10 season opener in front of 1,033 fans at the Pan American Center, Friday night. Crystal Boyd scored a career-high 17 points to lead the Aggies. Head Coach Darin Spence is now 4-3 all-time in home openers as the Aggies' head coach.
The Aggies improve to 2-1 on the young season, while Long Beach State falls to 1-2 on the year.
Boyd had eight of her career-high 17 points in the second half, as the Aggies hit 13-of-14 from the free throw line in the second period as well. Danisha Corbett and Madison Spence both added 12 points apiece. As a team, the Aggies shot 35 percent from the floor, while holding the 49ers to 31 percent shooting from the floor. Tabytha Wampler led the Aggies with 11 rebounds.
The Aggies started the second half on fire, scoring the first seven points, taking a 32-29 lead with 17:44 remaining in the game. LBSU hit a 3-point bucket to the tie the game at 32-32, followed a steal and a fast break lay-up to recapture the lead at 34-32. But the Aggies responded and tied the game at 34-34 with 16:40 left in the game.
The Aggies went on a 9-0 run to take a 43-34 lead with 13:41 to go in the game. The run was highlighted by a 3-point basket by Jasmine Lowe. NM State also made 4-of-4 from the line during the run.
Corbett's long 3-pointer with 12:30 to go in the game, put the Aggies up by 10 points at 46-36. The Aggies continued to pour it on the 49ers over the next seven minutes, extending their lead to 52-36 with 9:41 left in the game. NM State was on an 18-2 run.
NM State extended its lead to 21 points at 62-41 with 6:17 remaining in the game. Over the next five minutes of play the Aggie defense continued to pressure the 49ers, as NM State held a double-digit lead over LBSU at 62-46 with 4:44 to go.
The 49ers would not go away as they chipped away at the Aggie lead, cutting it to 10 points at 64-54 with 2:40 to go. LBSU went on a 13-2 run over the next two minutes to cut into the Aggies lead.
But the Aggies were too much for the 49ers on this night as the Aggies hung on to beat Long Beach State, 69-54.
Boyd Gets Career-High
Transfer Crystal Boyd scored a career-high 17 points on 8-of-21 shooting from the floor against Long Beach State. She also had a career-high in minutes (29), field goals made (8), field goals attempted (21) and blocks (2).
On the season, Boyd is averaging 14 points a game, while hitting 34 percent of her shoots from the floor. Her 71.4 percent from the free throw line is third on the team. Boyd has now recorded two games this season in double-figures.
Wampler Pulling Down the Boards
Tabytha Wampler currently leads the Aggie attack on the boards, averaging 7.7 boards a game. Against long Beach State, Wampler pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds, helping the Aggies to a 69-56 win over the 49ers. In fact, this was the first game in Wampler's career that she has recorded double-digit rebounds.
Her 7.7 rebounds a game leads the Aggies, while she is shooting 31.3 percent from the floor and averaging 4.7 points a game.
Corbett off to a Hot Start
Junior guard Danisha Corbett started her 2009-10 season on the right foot, scoring 21 points in the season opener against Cal State Northridge and 15 versus Cal Poly two nights later. She would add 12 against Long Beach State in the Aggies home opener of the season. This is the long stretch in her career
Corbett is averaging 16.3 points a game, which leads the Aggies and is fourth in the conference. She is also second on the team in rebounds per game with six.
Her 21-point performance against the Matadors was the fifth time in her career she has recorded 20 points or more in a game. She has now scored in double-figures in all three games this season.
Magazzeni Blocks Opponents
Freshman Malia Magazzeni has proved to be a presence in the paint early for the Aggies. In just two game, she has recorded three blocks, which is first on the team and fifth in the WAC, while grabbing three boards a game and averaging two points a contest.
Lowe Dishes the Ball
Freshman point guard Jasmine Lowe is just what the doctor ordered for the Aggies offense. Although she hasn't started at the point position this season, in two game, Lowe is leading the team with 11 assists. Her nine assists ranks her fifth in the WAC.
She ia averaging 9.0 points a game and has pulled in 13 boards as well. She has also only turned the ball over six times in two games.
Spence is Doing her Thing
The Aggies leading scorer from a year ago has started the 2009-10 season in the same fashion... scoring points.
Junior Madison Spence is averaging 15.3 points a game, while shooting 51.6 percent from the floor and 46.2 percent from beyond the 3-point line. She has also hit 8-of-9 from the charity stripe.
She is also putting up the defensive numbers, with four steals and a block, including 13 of her 14 rebounds being defensive boards.
Spence Looks to Make History
Head coach Darin Spence is just three wins away from becoming the school's second winningest coach in history. He also needs just four wins for 400 in his career. Currently, Spence is 396-184 all-time as head coach, and 79-105 in six seasons as the NM State general.
18 Home Games a School Record
18 home games in regular season is a school record.
Top 3
- 2009-10: 18
- 1979-80: 17 (10-7 at home, 22-12 overall)
- 2007-08: 16 (14-2 at home, 23-9 overall)
NM State has had 10 seasons where they have played at least 15 regular season games at home and they have averaged 19.8 wins over those 10 seasons. The Aggies have also won at least 19 games in seven of those 10 seasons where they have played at least 15 games at home in a season. Seven-straight home games ties for the longest home-stand in program history. (The Aggies played seven-straight at home in 1989-90, 1985-86, 1983-84, 1982-83, 1976-77)
Courtesy: Tim Barnett-Queen
