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Kaiser reaches 1,500 career points in CUSA opening win.
Source: NMSU Athletics
Photo: Courtesy
HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The New Mexico State Women’s basketball team (8-6, 1-0 CUSA) battled against the Sam Houston State Bearkats (7-4, 0-1 CUSA) in the teams’ conference season opener. After four quarters at the Bernard G. Coliseum, the Aggies were able to finish the matchup with a victory 79-61 to collect their first win in league play of the season.
Tonight’s competitive win had several emotional scenes for NM State fans as Molly Kaiser picked up her 1,500th career point as an Aggie in her fifth season of play. She scored a total of 29 points tonight and drained 75% of her overall field goal attempts including going 2-for-2 from the perimeter to lead the way for the Aggies on the road.
Along with Kaiser’s outstanding performance, Fanta Gassama, who has been an unstoppable catalyst in the paint, also turned in a strong night. She collected her fourth double-double of the season as she managed to snag 10 boards and drop 13 points. She showed a dominant style of play on both sides of the ball, tallying two steals, two assists, and a block. Gassama closed out her individual work shooting 5-6 (83%) from the field.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair with the Aggies eventually working their way out to a five-point advantage following a layup from Jaila Harding. However, Sam Houston responded late in the period to tie the game at 15 points with 17 seconds left in the quarter. Gassama would then pull down a late rebound and draw a foul before draining a free throw to give the Aggies a one-point advantage entering the second quarter.
Kaiser began to impose her will in the second frame as she was responsible for each of the Aggies’ first nine points and helped the Aggies generate a 9-3 run to begin the quarter. With the help of Diarrah Sissoko who recorded five of her 11 points in the quarter and Lucia Yenes who managed four of her six points during the period, the Aggies would push the lead to nine with 1:54 to play in the half. This is ultimately where the margin would stay as NM State held a 36-27 advantage after 20 minutes of play.
Holding onto a nine-point advantage out of the halftime break, the Aggies once again turned to senior guard Molly Kaiser who finished the first half just one point shy of 1,500 points for her career. To open the third quarter, the Watauga, Texas, native scored all of the Aggies’ first eight points of the half – pushing her over the impressive career milestone while helping the Aggies extend their lead to 11 points with seven minutes remaining in the period.
Later, the Aggies would extend their lead to 15 points before closing the period on a dominant 11-2 run to take a 22-point advantage into the final quarter of play. During the run that closed the third quarter, the Aggies received contributions from both of their leading scorers as Kaiser and Gassama combined to score eight of the 11 points.
Sam Houston would show some life in the fourth quarter as it went on an early 7-0 run to bring the Aggie lead below 20 points, however, an 8-1 run highlighted by a pair of Tylie Jones layups would give the Aggies their largest lead of the game (26) with just 1:55 to play. This would eventually lead the Aggies to collecting their first conference win of the season.
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NUMBERS OF NOTE
- The 79 points marks the third-highest point total for the Aggies this season. This is also the most points scored by the Aggies in a conference game since they posted 80 in a win over Chicago State on Feb. 26, 2022.
- NM State used a season-high shooting percentage of 63.8% to reach this mark as they went 30-47 from the field. This also marks the second-most field goals made by the Aggies this season.
- The Aggies also finished 5-9 from beyond the arc to log their highest 3-point percentage of the season (55.6%) while attempting their fewest 3-pointers of the season. This was highlighted by Molly Kaiser who finished a perfect 2-2 from long range.
- The Aggies equaled their season high in blocked shots with four – led by the effort of Lucia Yenes who finished with two blocks to match her career high.
- NM State’s defense forced Sam Houston in 32 turnovers which equals the most by an Aggie opponent this season – tying Western New Mexico on Nov. 20, 2024.
- The Aggies also allowed Sam Houston to make just 15 field goals which is the second fewest by an opponent this season. This included just three 3-pointers which is also second fewest by an Aggie opponent this season.
- Molly Kaiser continued her stellar season as she logged recorded her eighth 20-plus point effort of the season and third in a row as she finished with 29 points on an efficient 12-16 from the floor. This marked her third-highest point output of the year.
- Kaiser also created for her teammates as she equaled her career high in assists with five.
- Sylena Peterson also did her part from the point guard position as she also matched her career high in assists with seven – a mark she has now reached three times.
- Noah Garcia finished with a career-high six made free throws on eight attempts.
- Imani Warren tallied a career-best three steals to lead the Aggies in this category.
