Courtesy: New Mexico State University           Release: 02/10/2010

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NM State vs. Hawai'i, Women's Basketball, 26th Meeting
    The New Mexico State (15-8, 5-4) women's basketball team takes on Hawai'i (9-13. 3-6) to conclude the Rainbow Wahine's three-game homestand in a Western Athletic Conference (WAC) matchup at the Stan Sherriff Center Wednesday night at 10:00 p.m. MT. A broadcast of the contest will be carried live across the state on the Aggie Sports Radio Network with Kyle Doperalski on KSNMAM 570.
    The Aggies stand alone in fourth in the conference, one game behind third place Louisiana Tech and are two games ahead in the win column over UH and three other teams in fifth thru eighth. NM State is 3-1 on the road in the WAC this season, its best four-game road start since joining the league in 2005-06. The Aggies are on a two-game win streak after a road win at San Jose State (68-48) and home win over Boise State (85-76) last week.
    The Rainbow Wahine have split the first two games of their homestand, beating San Jose State 63-49 before falling to first-place Fresno State, 78-69.

Inside the Series
    NM State has won six of the last eight contests between the schools, including three of the last four in Honolulu. The Aggies trail UH 7-4 at the Stan Sherriff Center. . The last four contests between the squads on the islands have been decided by seven points or less with the Aggies taking three of four. The last three games at UH have been low scoring affairs with both teams scoring in the fifties. Hawai'i edged NM State last season 54-51. The Aggies' 22-point victory Jan. 9 in Las Cruces was the largest margin of victory for NM State in 15 years of the series.

Scouting the Rainbow Wahine
    The Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine (9-13, 3-6) are 3-2 at home in league play and six of their nine wins overall have come in Honolulu. UH boasts a win over BigXII opponent Kansas State on a neutral court but also faltered in three additional 30-point plus losses at the hands of UCLA, Brigham Young and No. 10 Florida State.
    On the hardwood, Hawai'i averages 60.4 points per game while shooting a 39.3 percent field goal percentage. The Rainbow Wahine hold opponents to 69.9 points per game and 39.2 percent from the floor.
    Junior guard Keisha Kanekoa leads active players on the team in points averaging 10.4 per contest. Sophomore forward Breanna Arbuckle is the team's leading rebounder at 5.9 per game.
    
Doubling Down
    Aggie guard Crystal Boyd notched her second straight and seventh overall double-double of the season on Jan. 30 versus Nevada. The senior posted 16 points and 11 rebounds against the Wolf Pack.
    During a road win at Utah State Jan. 23, Boyd led NM State with a game-high 23 points and 11 boards. She is the only Aggie to record a double-double this season and ranks second in the WAC behind LA Tech's Shanavia Dowdell who has notched 14 this season.

Last Time against the Rainbow Wahine
LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The New Mexico State women's basketball team won its sixth consecutive game after defeating Hawai'i 73-51 in the Aggies' Western Athletic Conference home opener at the Pan American Center Saturday evening.
    The Aggies set a season high by knocking down 13 baskets from beyond the three-point arc on 29 attempts (44.8 percent). Junior guard Madison Spence led NM State with five buckets from long range. Classmate Danisha Corbett added four more threes. NM State also tied a season high mark totaling 19 assists and swiped 10 steals against the Rainbow Wahine.
    Junior guard Jasmine Lowe led four Aggies in double figures with 17 points. Spence's 15 points all came in the form of three-point makes. Corbett totaled 14 tallies and senior guard Crystal Boyd added 11 points for her 11th-straight game in double-digit scoring. All 11 healthy Aggies saw playing time on the floor and nine got on the scoreboard.
    NM State led by as many as 23 early in the second half after leading at the half 42-20. Hawaii cut the Aggie lead to 14 points midway through the second half, but the Rainbow Wahine could get no closer as NM State maintained the lead the rest of the way.
    With the win, the Aggies improve to 12-4 overall and remain undefeated in the WAC at 2-0. Hawai'i falls to 6-9 on the season and drops to 0-2 in the WAC. The Aggies face co-leader Fresno State in their next game. The Bulldogs are also 2-0 this season in conference play.
    Hawai'i opened the scoring in the game for its largest lead of the half at 2-0. NM State scored the next four points with buckets from Lowe and Boyd. UH went ahead again for the final time in the game at 5-4 after a 3-point hoop from Leilani Galdones with just over 17 minutes remaining.
    NM State used a 17-2 run over the next six minutes to build a 21-7 advantage. The Aggies closed the half on a 15-4 run to go up 42-20 at the half.
    The Aggies did not allow a Hawai'i player to score double digits - the second time NM State has accomplished that feat in the last four games after defending NM Highlands the same way Dec. 30.
    Junior guard Keisha Kanekoa led Hawai'i with nine points while senior guard Dita Liepkalne added eight.

Madison Spence Becomes 17th Member of Aggies' 1,000-point Club
    After scoring 14 points against Nevada Jan. 30, junior Madison Spence became just the 17th Aggie to eclipse the 1,000-point career mark all-time at NM State.
    She is just the seventh player in the program's 37-year history to accomplish the feat prior to her senior year.
    Spence boasts 1,020 points after playing in 85 games over three seasons in an Aggie uniform while never missing a start. This season, Spence has posted 264
points through 23 games to average 11.5 points per contest, just shy of her career average of 12.2.

Aggies' Magic Number 70
    This season the 70-point mark is a key indicator on how the Aggies will fare in a particular matchup.
    NM State is 9-2 when scoring at least 70 points this season. The only two blemishes came on the road at Cal Poly (90-86) Nov. 15 and at home against New Mexico (92-85) Dec. 2.
    Defensively, the Aggies are 12-3 this year when holding opponents to 70 points or less. NM State's losses in that scenario were all suffered at home. They include the recent home loss to Nevada 64-60 on Jan. 30, a 68-65 setback against Idaho on Jan. 20 and a 57-50 downfall against North Dakota on Nov. 23.

NM State Starts 2010 Superlatively

• The Aggies' recent six-game win streak was the longest for the program since the 1993-94 season when NM State strung together eight wins twice that year.
• NM State (15-8) is off to its best start since a 17-6 beginning in 2007-08.
• The Aggies have started 2-0 in conference in three of the last four seasons under head coach Darin Spence.
• The 61-60 victory over No. 21 Kansas on Jan. 3 was the Aggies' third win over a ranked team in program history and occurred on the exact five-year anniversary of an upset over No. 22 Houston on Jan. 3, 2005 - both under the direction of Spence.
• The 87-83 overtime win at Boise State on Jan. 6 was NM State's first-ever win on the Broncos' home court in nine tries.
• NM State eclipsed last year's win total before conference play, posting its 10th win of the year against Kansas to begin the new year.

Aggies Complete First Season Sweep of Broncos in Program History
    The Aggies pulled away midway through the second half behind the sharp shooting of junior guards Jasmine Lowe and Danisha Corbett in an 85-76 defeat of Boise State at the Pan American Center Feb. 6.
    Lowe led the Aggies with 23 points including 14 in the second half. Corbett scored 18 for NM State. Corbett knocked down a pair of threes on consecutive possessions in the second half to give the Aggies the lead for good at 66-61 with 7:38 remaining and secure the season sweep of the Broncos.
    NM State shot 46 percent from the field while holding Boise State below 39 percent. The Aggies forced 18 Bronco turnovers in the game, scoring 16 points off the miscues. But the Aggie bench made the biggest difference in the game, led by Corbett's 18 points, NM State outscored BSU's reserves 27-11.

Aggies Rout San Jose State 68-48 in 600th Career Game for Head Coach Darin Spence
    The Aggies scored the first 10 points of the game against San Jose State and never looked back, dominating the Spartans on the road 68-48 at the Event Center Feb. 3.
    The game marked the 600th game in NM State head coach Darin Spence's career. He claims a 408-192 record overall in 19 seasons as a head coach.
    Junior guard Jasmine Lowe led three Aggies in double figures with 17 points behind 15 first half tallies. Classmate Danisha Corbett came off the bench to post 13 points, draining four from long range. Senior guard Crystal Boyd rounded out the trio in double figures by pouring in 10 second-half points to score 12 in the game to go along with seven rebounds.
    The Aggies shot 41.1 percent from the field (25-of-56) and made 39.1 percent from behind the three-point line netting nine of 23 attempts. NM State held the Spartans to 31.7 percent (13-of-41) from the field and forced 21 Spartan turnovers.
    NM State came out shooting hot from the field to open the game, sinking four of their first six attempts from the field while holding the Spartan scoreless on four shots to build a 10-0 lead.
    Two northern California natives kicked things off for the Aggies near their home towns. In her first career start, freshman Camila Rosen, a Berkley, Calif. native, scored first for the visitors. Lowe, a native San Franciscan, hit two from downtown for six points early.
    SJSU made a 10-2 run in the second half to cut the Aggie lead to 55-39. But the Aggies pulled away down the stretch maintaining a double-digit lead through the remainder of regulation.

Spence Nets Career Point 1,000 in Aggie Loss
    Junior guard Madison Spence poured in 14 points to surpass the 1,000-point career mark in the waning moments of the New Mexico State women's basketball team's 64-60 loss to Nevada at the Pan American Center Jan. 30.
    Coming into the game, Spence needed just 11 points to reach 1,000 in her time in the Crimson and White. After Nevada took its first lead of the game, 56-55, with 1:23 remaining Spence sank a shot from the lane on NM State's next possession to reach the millennial mark with 67 ticks on the clock. Spence added the Aggies' only three of the half late to cut the Nevada lead to one. The Wolf Pack put the game away at the line by sinking free throws and corralling all of the offensive rebounds on any missed Nevada foul shots from the charity stripe in the final seconds.
    Spence became the 17th player at NM State to attain 1,000 points in her career and just the seventh Aggie to accomplish the feat prior to her senior year. The Las Cruces native was one of three Aggies in double figures in the game. Senior guard Crystal Boyd notched her seventh double-double of the year with 16 points and 10 boards. Junior guard Jasmine Lowe added a team-high 17 for NM State behind 13 first-half points.

Aggies Edge Utah State for Second Conference Road Win
    Junior guard Jasmine Lowe hit two free throws with nine seconds remaining to give the New Mexico State women's basketball team a 56-55 road victory over Utah State at the Spectrum Center on Jan. 23.        The home-standing Aggies used an 11-3 run in the late moments of the game to give Utah State its first and only lead of the half at 55-54 with only 12 seconds remaining in regulation. On the next possession, Lowe penetrated the lane and was fouled to give her two shots at the charity stripe. Lowe's makes from the line secured the NM State victory. Utah State's Alice Coddington drove the length of the floor in the final seconds but her layup attempt from the left side danced off of the rim.
    Lowe scored all nine of her points in the second half after missing her initial eight attempts in the first 20 minutes. NM State senior guard Crystal Boyd notched her sixth double-double of the season with a game-high 23 points and 11 boards.
    NMSU scored 23 points off of 23 USU turnovers but the home team bench outscored NM State's reserves 17-2.  Both teams made 18 shots from the field with NMSU making 29 percent (18-of-62) and Utah State hitting 32 percent (18-of-57).

NM State Sets Season Best Marks in Loss to Idaho
    NM State fell to Idaho 68-65 at the Pan American Center Jan. 20 despite posting a season high 22 assists and committing season lows in turnovers (12) and fouls (13) in the contest.
    Idaho put five players in double figures on the night and utilized a 9-0 run late in the second half to gain a 63-56 lead. The Aggies whittled the lead down to two at 67-65 with just under a minute remaining but could not overtake the Vandals after the initial UI rally.
    Junior guard Danisha Corbett led the Aggies with 19 points. Corbett knocked down five from long range, tying her career high from beyond the arc. Junior guard Jasmine Lowe added a dozen, including nine in the first half. Sophomore forward Tabytha Wampler posted eight points and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.

Lowe Claims WAC Player of the Week Honor
    Junior guard Jasmine Lowe was named the Verizon Wireless WAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week, the conference office announced, Monday, Jan. 11 after leading NM State to wins over Boise State and Hawai'i. The award marked the first career honor for Lowe.
    Lowe, a San Francisco native, averaged 21.5 points on 57 percent shooting, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals as the Aggies opened WAC play 2-0. She scored a game-high 26 points in NM State's first-ever win at Boise State, including 12 of the team's final 27 points. She followed it up with a game-high 17 points, a career-high-tying six rebounds, four assists and three steals in a win over Hawai'i.

NM State Knocks off No. 21 Kansas
New Mexico State senior guard Crystal Boyd connected on her second free throw at the line with 0.8 seconds remaining and then swatted away the final opponent inbound pass just past midcourt to seal a thrilling upset of No. 21 Kansas 61-60 in front of 1,388 fans at the Pan American Center Sunday afternoon.
    The upset marked the Aggies' first win over a ranked opponent in exactly five years - NM State knocked off No. 22 Houston on Jan. 3, 2005 - with both victories under the direction of NM State head coach Darin Spence. NM State now leads the all-time series 2-1 over KU.
    With the victory, NM State improves to 10-4 heading into conference play next week while No. 21 Kansas falls to 10-3 after their first road loss of the season.
    Fittingly it was Boyd who secured the win at both ends of the floor. The Little Rock, Ark., native scored a career-high 25 points, including 20 of NM State's 34 first-half points, to go along with team-high eight rebounds in the contest. The veteran came onto the floor with something to prove against the highly-touted Jayhawks.
    NM State scored the first four points of the second half and maintained the advantage over the first seven minutes after the break. In the final 20 minutes, Lowe took over helping manage the game at the point for the Aggies and scoring 14 of her 16 points in the half. Boyd picked up her fourth foul of the game at the 12:31 mark and went to the bench until the final four minutes of the game.

Aggies All-Time vs. Ranked Opponents
    Prior to the KU win, NM State last played a ranked squad in 2006 falling to No. 23 New Mexico 65-45. The Aggies are 3-11 all-time against teams in the top 25 since 1988. Head coach Darin Spence led the Aggies to two of their three program victories against ranked foes.

Spence Claims No. 400; Climbs NM State All-Time Win List
    NM State head coach Darin Spence earned his 400th career win in a victory against border-rival UTEP, 67-55, in front of a home crowd at the Pan American Center on Dec. 15. With the win, Spence attained the 400-win mark in his career against 187 losses over 19 seasons as a head coach. At the helm in Las Cruces he currently carries an 89-109 record over seven seasons.
    In the game prior to his milestone victory, Spence guided the Aggies to a 71-65 victory over North Dakota State on Dec. 12. With the victory, the NM State general became the second-winningest coach in school history, notching his 82nd win in his 188th game as head coach.

NM State Wins Thanksgiving Classic
    The New Mexico State women's basketball team had a successful weekend, Nov. 27-28, as it won the Hotel Encanto Thanksgiving Classic, by beating Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (73-64) and Michigan (72-67). The Aggies averaged 72.5 points per game over the weekend, while holding their opponents to 65.5 points a contest.
    Jasmine Lowe, Danisha Corbett, Madison Spence, Tabytha Wampler and Kaitlyn Soto all averaged over 10 points a game for the Aggies on the weekend.

At Home vs. on the Road
    The Aggies are currently 10-5 in the Pan American Center this season and 5-3 on the road in 2009-10. Here are some statistical comparisons between home games and road games.

Category            Home    Road
Scoring             70.3     70.9
Opp. Scoring         63.0     70.4
Rebounding         39.5     38.5
Opp. Rebounding         38.0     41.9
Field Goal %         41.4     39.4
Opp. Field Goal %         39.0     39.1
Free Throw %         72.5     67.2
Opp. Free Throw %         60.8     71.1
Turnovers/Game         17.4     18.8
Opp. Turnovers/Game     19.6     19.3

18 Home Games a School Record
The Aggies' 18 regular-season games scheduled at home this season is a school record.

    Top 3

• 2009-10: 18 (10-5 at home, 15-8 overall)
• 1979-80: 17 (10-7 at home, 22-12 overall)
• 2007-08: 16 (14-2 at home, 23-9 overall)

    Prior to the 2009-10 season, NM State played at least 15 regular season games at home in 10 of its 36 previous seasons.  The Aggies averaged 20.7 wins overall in those 10 seasons while winning at least 19 games in eight of them.
    The seven-straight home contests that NM State hosted from Nov. 20 - Dec. 15 tied the longest home stand in program history. The Aggies also played seven in a row at home in 1989-90, 1985-86, 1983-84, 1982-83 and 1976-77.