NM State Women's basketball to Play Long Beach State in Home Opener
The NM State women's basketball team (1-1) will host Long Beach State (1-1), Friday, November 20th at 7 p.m. in the Pan American Center. This will be the Aggies' first home game of the 2009-10 season.
The Aggies look to avenge their loss to Long Beach State a year ago, as the Aggies fell 74-61 in California. NM State and LBSU have split the last four meetings, but the Aggies are 8-1 all-time against the 49ers.
Fans can listen to all the action on KGRT, 104 FM with Kyle Doperalski beginning at 6:45 p.m.
North Dakota Comes to Town on Monday
The Aggies will host North Dakota (0-3) on Monday, November 23rd at 7 p.m. in the Pan Ameican Center.
This will be the first meetig 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 vs Long Beach State
New Mexico State leads the all-time series record against Long Beach State 13-8. The Aggies first played the 49ers in 1977 in a 91-43 loss that triggered four consecutive losses. From 1991-2000, the Aggies and 49ers were conference foes in the Big West, in which NM State's record against Long Beach State was 12-4. Since opening the all-time series by losing five of six to the 49ers, the Aggies have followed it with a 12-3 record. NM State is 8-1 at home against Long Beach State. The last time the two teams met, the Aggies lost 74-61, on the road in 2008.
Scouting Long Beach State
Long Beach State opened the year with a 76-68 victory against Prairie View A&M, and now stands at 1-1 for the 2009-10 season. The 49ers are led in scoring by senior guard Karina Figueroa, who has averaged 22 points per game and has nine steals on the season. The 49ers also have two other players averaging double digit scoring - senior guard Lauren Sims (17 ppg) and senior forward Whitney Fields (10.5 ppg). Leading the team with 13 rebounds on the season are senior forward Ally Wade and junior forward Ashley Bookman.
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.
Last Time Against Long Beach State
The New Mexico State women's basketball team made seven 3-pointers in the second half, but could not overcome a 15-point halftime deficit and fell at Long Beach State, 74-61, Monday in the Walter Pyramid.
The Aggies came out in the second half and cut that halftime lead down to six behind 12 points from sophomore guard Madison Spence in just five minutes. However, the Aggies shot just 11-of-25 at the free-throw line and couldn't put together stops defensively as they fell to 0-5 on the road this season.
Spence finished with 19 points in the game and four assists to lead New Mexico State. Freshman guard Kaitlyn Soto scored a career-high 13 points playing in place of sophomore Danisha Corbett, who left the game late in the first half with an injury.
The 49ers' Whitney Fields scored 30 points on 13-of-17 shooting, as she hurt NMSU all night in the paint. Long Beach State shot 46.8 percent in the game and held the Aggies to just 36.8 percent.
NMSU got 29 points from its bench Monday and saw freshman Taylor Altenburg step in during the second half to contribute with seven points. Senior center Niki Holt added nine rebounds for the second consecutive game and three blocked shots while Tabytha Wampler, one of four freshman to play in the game, had eight rebounds.
Corbett off to a Hot Start
Junior guard Danisha Corbett started her 2009-10 season on the right foot, scoring 21 points int he season opener against Cal State Northridge and 15 versus Cal Poly two nights later.
Corbett is averging 18.5 points a game, which leads the Aggies and is fourth in the conference. She also leads the team in rebounds per game with seven.
Her 21-point performance against the Matadors was the fifth time in her career she has recorded 20 points or more in a game.
Magazzeni Blocks Opponents
Freshman Malia Magazzeni has proved to be a presene 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 to points a contest.
Lowe Dishes the Ball
Freshman point guard Jasmine Lowe is just what the docotr 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 nine assists. Her nine assists ranks her fifth in the WAC.
She ia averaging 9.5 points a game and has pulled in nine boards as well. She has also only turned the ball over three times in two games.
Spence is Doin' 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 avergaing 17 points agme, while shooting 61.9 percent from the floor and 50 percent from beyond the 3-point line. She has also hit 4-of-5 frm the charity stripe.
She is also putting up the defensive numbers, with four steals and a block, including four of her five rebounds being defensive boards.
Spence Looks to Make History
Head coach Darin Spence is just four wins away from becoming the school's second winningest coch in history. He also needs just five wins for 400 in his career. Currently, Spence is 395-184 all-time as head coach, and 78-105 in six season 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
