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Molly Kaiser powers NM State with 19 points; including 13 in the fourth.
Source: NMSU Athletics
Story and Photo By Emilio Garcia for NMSU: Courtesy
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Aggies returned to the Pan American Center for a contest with the top-seeded Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee. Despite a valiant effort that pushed MTSU to overtime, NM State (10-11, 3-5 CUSA) fell to Middle Tennessee (14-6, 7-1 CUSA) 66-59. Molly Kaiser paced the Crimson & White with 19 points, while Jaila Harding knocked down four 3-pointers to tally her fourth double-digit performance in the past five contests.
Though preseason All-CUSA selection Anastasiia Boldyreva opened the game with a pair of quick baskets, the Aggies responded with a dominant 11-0 run over the next five minutes of the game – punctuated by three-pointers by Loes Rozing and Jaila Harding. Middle Tennessee got on the board in the last moments of the first quarter, making the score 11-8 in favor of NM State after one.
In the second frame, the Blue Raiders took their turn with an extended scoring streak in the middle of the quarter – taking the lead 17-13 with 4:10 remaining. Junior forward Lucia Yenes made her presence felt down the stretch, scoring four points to help the Crimson & White tie the contest at 19 all. Jaila Harding sunk her second triple of the half to put the Aggies on top 22-19, though Anastasiia Boldyreva’s layup sent the game to break with a score of 22-21 in favor of NM State.
At the half, the Aggies led the Blue Raiders in 3-point percentage (43-14%), rebounds (14-12) and second-chance points (5-2), while MTSU held the edge in paint points (16-4), fast break points (6-0) and blocks (4-0).
Fanta Gassama and Jaila Harding came out of the break scoring seven straight points to give the Aggies their largest lead of the contest – 29-21 with 6:57 to go in the third quarter. Neither team could find separation in the third, with Lucia Yenes tallying the final points of the frame on a three-point play – sending it to the fourth with a 39-31 NM State lead.
After tallying just four points in the opening 30 minutes of play, four-time CUSA Player of the Week Molly Kaiser took over in the fourth – scoring 13 consecutive point out of the Aggie’s 15 in the frame; including a perfect 6-for-6 from the field. A back-and-forth battle between Boldyreva and Kaiser kept the teams knotted in crunch time, with Kaiser’s first and only triple of the game making it a 52-52 score with 38 seconds left. With ten ticks remaining, the Watauga, Texas, native drove to the basket to convert on a tough layup, pushing the game into overtime tied 54-54.
Playing in their first overtime contest of the season, the Aggies were unable to keep pace with the Blue Raiders attack in the extra frame, with a final score of 66-59.
Numbers of Note:
- Molly Kaiser paced the Aggies once again, finishing with 19 points. This is her 20th game this season with 10 or more points, including 13 in a row.
- Jaila Harding (13 points) and Fanta Gassama (10 points) rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Crimson & White. Harding posted her third game with at least four 3-pointers, while Gassama played a season-low in minutes (27) due to foul trouble.
- Lucia Yenes put together her most complete performance of the season, putting up nine points (second-most in 2024-25) and five rebounds (ties season-high) in 27 minutes of action (highest on the year).
- The Aggies are now 0-1 on the season in overtime contests, and 2-5 when the opponent scores between 60-69 points.
- NM State falls to 10-2 when leading at the break, after beginning the season 10-0 in such games.
Up Next:
The Aggies will remain at home in the Pan American Center as they look to face Western Kentucky on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. MST.
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