Defense shuts down 2024 NCAA Tournament team as Anteaters shoot 31% from field.
Source: NMSU Athletics
Story and Photo by Matthew Knope for NMSU: Courtesy
One game, one win. NM State Women’s Basketball opened up the 2024-25 campaign with a defensive masterclass, shutting down UC Irvine in its own arena. The Anteaters – an NCAA Tournament representative from a season ago – hit just 16 of 51 shots as they scored just 49 points. Fanta Gassama led the way for the Crimson & White, posting an efficient 22 points and 16 rebounds. Free throws were crucial down the stretch as Jody Adams‘ bunch left with a 57-49 victory. The win gave NM State a 1-0 record for the first time since the 2021-22 season.
FIRST QUARTER
The 2024-25 season commenced with Molly Kaiser, Anna Csenyi, Sylena Peterson, Loes Rozing and Fanta Gassama as the starting five. Rozing followed up a Gassama mid-range attempt to claim the first NM State points of the season. Gassama and Kaiser each followed up with two-point buckets of their own as the Anteaters quickly found themselves trailing by four. Following the media timeout, Gassama racked up each of the next two Aggie field goals, granting her side a 14-9 advantage. The Spain native had already tallied eight points and three rebounds, immediately establishing her interior presence. The home crowd came alive late in the first as a layup and a free throw cut the deficit to two before a buzzer-beating triple gave them a one-point lead after the first 10 minutes.
SECOND QUARTER
Gassama posted eight more points in the second frame, all of which came in the first three and a half minutes. The second-year Aggie led a burst that put her side in front by seven for its largest lead of that point. Later, a Madi Gewirtz triple and Sylena Peterson floater swelled the margin to 13 points. On the ensuing possession, UC Irvine drove for a layup to bring about the halftime score of 30-19. For the quarter, the Anteaters posted just four points.
THIRD QUARTER
The second half opened with not one bang, but two. Loes Rozing and Anna Csenyi each buried a long ball early in the period, extending the lead to 17. Over the next seven minutes and 34 seconds, the visitors failed to make a field goal as the lead shrank to as little as three. Sylena Peterson followed up a pair of made free throws from Molly Kaiser as NM State headed into the final frame up 42-35.
FOURTH QUARTER
The first bucket of the final frame belonged to the Anteaters 90 seconds in. For the next six minutes and 45 seconds, the margin held between two and five points. In that span, Kaiser and Gassama nailed a field goal apiece before Anna Csenyi hit her second triple of the night. Kaiser followed suit with a clutch mid-range jumper of her own, expanding the Aggie lead back to seven at 51-44. Gassama’s 22nd and final point of the game wrapped up NM State’s success from the field, as the Crimson & White resorted to the charity stripe for the final minute of play. Molly Kaiser sank all four of her free throws down the stretch, staving off any chance of a home comeback. NM State won the season opener by a score of 57-49.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
• UC Irvine hit just 16 field goals, marking a total that would rank fifth lowest by an Aggie opponent last season.
• NM State sank 13 of 14 free throws, converting at an 92.9% clip. The last time the Aggies posted a single-game free-throw percentage that high on at least 10 attempts was 994 days ago, when they also went 13-for-14 versus Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 14, 2022.
• Fanta Gassama put up another career game after last year’s dominant CUSA Quarterfinals showing. The senior tallied 22 points and 16 rebounds, shooting 8-for-16 from the floor and sinking all six free-throw attempts.
• Molly Kaiser was the other Aggie to enter double-digit point territory on Monday. The fifth-year Aggie began her final season in the Crimson & White with 15 points and six rebounds, converting on six of seven free throws.
• Anna Csenyi made her official Aggie debut, notching two 3-pointers on three attempts to lead the team behind the stripe.
• Madi Gewirtz recorded the first action of her young career. The true freshman hit a 3-pointer in the second quarter as she finished with three points and one rebound.
• Emma Dasovich also began her collegiate campaign on Monday, logging one defensive rebound in slightly under four minutes of action.
• Imani Warren recorded two blocks on the same possession in the first quarter. Anna Csenyi notched the third and final block of the game for the Aggies.
• In 2023-24, NM State only won on five occasions when sinking four of fewer 3-pointers, as was the case on Monday.
• NM State won a contest in which they recorded fewer free-throw attempts than its opponent. Last season, the Crimson & White only did so seven times in 31 matchups.
• Last season, NM State was 0-16 when trailing or tied after the first quarter. This season, the Aggies are now 1-0.
FROM THE FLOOR
Head Coach Jody Adams, on the win: “I thought we were very aggressive in the gaps and attacking the ball. I like the way we attacked on the defensive end because it led to turnovers and easy points on the other end. I want us to grow off what we saw that was positive. We challenged [UC Irvine] to start the game, which was different from our scrimmage and our exhibition. We didn’t quite weather those storms last year, and it led to a lot of single-digit and overtime losses. Today, we did our work early and we were able to pull through it.”
Head Coach Jody Adams, on Fanta Gassama’s game: “She was aggressive. When she has that mentality and doesn’t overthink, she can be very productive offensively. What is a gift of hers, though, is her ability to rebound. She gets off her feet very quick and has great hands, which help her ability to get to the ball.”
Senior forward Fanta Gassama, on her performance: “When today started, I just had winning on the mind. I know they came into our house last year and won, so I just wanted revenge. I just did my job. I was attacking the glass and grabbing rebounds; that’s my job.”
UP NEXT
The Aggies will venture back to Las Cruces for their home-opener as they tip off a three-game homestand. NM State will welcome former WAC foe Utah Tech to the Pan American Center with the action slated to begin at 6:00 PM MT. The matchup between the Aggies and Trailblazers will be streamed live on ESPN+ and available to follow via nmstatestats.com.
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