The New Mexico State women’s basketball team would remain in the state of Texas for their matchup against Sam Houston, after suffering a loss to Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, Texas. Despite this 47-62 loss, the Aggies would head to Huntsville, Texas to conclude their regular season and solidify their standings in the WAC Tournament. Sam Houston entered the game with a 12-15 record and in the bottom four seeds for the conference tournament. 

The first quarter of the game began with very little action, as it wasn’t until two minutes into the game that the first bucket was finally scored by Sam Houston, followed by a layup by NMSU’s Tayelin Grays for a tied 2-2 score. Grays would score the next two buckets for the Aggies, but the score would stay neck-and-neck throughout the first, entering the second quarter at 13-14 in favor of Sam Houston. The Bearkats kept their foot on the gas heading into the second quarter, out-scoring NM State throughout, bolstering their lead from one to seven points. Both teams would head to the locker room at halftime, with the Aggies down 25-32.

NMSU would show a bit more of the same coming into the third quarter, as both teams continued to keep it close. After the Bearkats would extend their lead 25-35, the Aggies would begin to fire back. NMSU’s Molly Kaiser would begin to take over the score for the Aggies, dropping a whopping 15 points and two assists in the third quarter alone, helping to bring the score back to single digits at 49-53 in favor of Sam Houston. 

Kaiser’s scoring flame continued to burn into the fourth quarter, with NMSU’s Sofia Inoussa joining in as well. Kaiser would record seven points in the fourth quarter, but Inoussa would steal the show with seven points and three assists. With this huge effort the Aggies pushed the team into the lead, and eventually cemented their victory over Sam Houston 70-64. Kaiser and Inoussa combined for 40 points and eight assists throughout the duration of the game, leading the charge in a huge conference win for the Aggies.

NM State concluded their regular season with an even 15-15 record, a five-game improvement from the previous season. NMSU’s women’s team will head into the WAC Tourney as the #7-ranked team, and will face the #10 Rio Grande Valley. The winner of this matchup in Las Vegas will move on to face the #2-ranked Southern Utah. The tournament begins on Monday, March 6, and will conclude on Saturday, March 11.