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NM State looks to set a tone in CUSA tournament.
Source: NMSU Athletics
By Louis Bolander
Photo: Courtesy
HUNSTVILLE, Ala. – The Aggies have ended the regular conference season and will go head-to-head for a third time this season against LA Tech in the quarterfinals of the 2025 CUSA Tournament. The winner of the two teams will move on to face the Liberty Flames in the semifinal round in this single elimination bracket.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Who: #4 NM State (17-14, 10-8 CUSA) vs #5 LA Tech (15-14, 8-10 CUSA)
Where: Propst Arena – Hunstville, Ala.
When: Thursday, March 13, 2025, at 10:30 p.m. MST
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Statistics: StatBroadcast
All-Time Series Record: LA Tech leads 16-8
Last Meeting: NMSU won 87-80 (March 6, 2025)
LAST TIME AGAINST LA TECH
Molly Kaiser capped the Aggies’ victory tying her career high in points, putting up 35 points on 14-20 shooting – while also recording four rebounds, four assists, and a steal. This was the 16th recorded 20+ point game of the season for Kaiser and the sixth 30+ point game this season. She also produced career-high in Free throw made and Free throw attempted, ties career-high field goals made.
Finishing with 18 points on the night, Lucia Yenes recorded a new season-high, surpassing her previous best of 16 points set against WKU on March 1. Similarly, Yenes recorded three steals on Thursday, her second-most in a single game this season behind a career-high five steals in last Saturday’s game against WKU. This becomes Yenes’ first time scoring double-digits in back-to-back games this season.
NM State forced the Lady Techsters into 20 turnovers, scoring 17 points off the giveaways. This is the 10th time the Aggie defense has forced an opponent into 20+ turnovers.
CUSA Player of the Year
Molly Kaiser has spent all five seasons with the Crimson & White, making her the longest-tenured Aggie on the 2024-25 roster. The Watauga, Texas, native has 1,865 points across her career and has moved into third all-time in scoring for the Aggies in program history. Scoring over 1,800 points, she’s also currently the active leader in career points among CUSA players. She now sits just 66 points shy of moving into second on the Aggies all-time scoring list.
Last month, Kaiser was named Conference USA Player of the Week for the fifth time this season after dropping 35 points against LA Tech. This marked the fifth CUSA weekly award for Kaiser, which is most by an Aggie in program history. This season, Kaiser has also hauled in two NCAA Starting Five accolades, which recognizes the nation’s top five performers each week. She has also recently been selected as the 2025 CUSA Player of the Year along with being selected for a spot on the CUSA’s All-Conference team.
Kaiser sits at 15th in the nation in points per game (20.7) and 13th in total points (643).
ONE LAST RIDE
This iteration of the Aggies revolves around fifth-year legend Molly Kaiser. The Watauga, Texas, native exercised her extra year of eligibility that she earned from the NCAA’s response to COVID-19, electing to spend her fifth and final campaign with the Crimson & White. In 2023-24, Kaiser led the Aggies in games played (31), games started (31), points (463), points per game (14.9), minutes per game (34.2), field goals made (165), free throws made (107) and free-throw percentage (86.3).
Last season, Kaiser drove and buried a patented elbow jumper shot to give her 1,000 career points, with every bucket coming as a member of the Crimson & White. She became the 25th member of the 1,000-point club, and the first since Gia Pack, who played for the Aggies from 2016-2020.
LAST TIME OUT…
With the win against Sam Houston, NM State finished with an 11-3 record inside the Pan American Center – the team’s best home record since the 2018-2019 season (11-2).
The NM State defense held the Bearkats to 0% from three-point range – the most attempts without a make for an opponent since 2/12/22 against UVU (0-11).
Aggies led for 38:41 of the games’ 40 minutes and contained a 14-4 fastbreak advantage over the Bearkats.
SOME CUSA POSTSEASON HISTORY
This is just the Aggies’ second time competing in the CUSA tournament.
Last year, NM State took on No. 3 FIU in the first round after finishing sixth in conference play. The Aggies defeated the Panthers, 63-58.
The Aggies later faced the Liberty Flames in the semi-final round and fell, 63-58.
UNDER ADAMS’ LEADERSHIP
Before finding her way to Las Cruces, Jody Adams had a successful career first at Murray State, then Wichita State.
While coaching the Racers, Adams was able to lead her team to an NCAA Tournament appearance in the 2007-08 season.
After leaving Murray State, she was able to lead the Shockers to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in Wichita, Kansas from 2013-2016.
As a student-athlete, the Tennessee native competed in the NCAA tournament herself under Pat Summit and helped the Lady Vols win the NCAA National Championship in 1991.
SCOUTING LA TECH
Brooke Stoehr leads the Bulldogs as she enters her fifth season as head coach. Stoehr now sits third all-time in program wins behind Leon Barmore and Sonja Hogg after the 2022-23 season with an overall record of 191-150, including a 120-91 mark in Ruston.
During the 2021-22 season, Stoehr led the squad to a 21-12 record, winning the Conference USA West Division crown and earning an automatic birth in the WNIT. The Bulldogs also reached the CUSA finals for the first time since joining the conference after beating UAB and completing an 11-point fourth-quarter comeback over Middle Tennessee in the tournament semifinals.
The leading scorer for this team is their outstanding Freshman, Paris Bradley, who currently averages 13.9 points per game. She also leads the team in FG percentage, assists, and steals.
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