Aggies play Second top 25 opponent this season.
Source: NMSU Athletics
By Louis Bolander
Photo: Courtesy
MANHATTAN, Kansas – The Aggies continue their road trip to face the No. 13 nationally ranked Kansas State Wildcats. This will be the first time in program history that these teams clash against one another. NM State looks to put up a strong fight against K-State as the team is coming off a loss in Monday’s match at Tarleton State.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Who: NM State (6-4, 0-0 CUSA) at Kansas State (11-1, 0-0 Big 12)
Where: Bramlage Coliseum (11,010) – Manhattan, KS
When: Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024 at 5:30 PM MT
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Statistics: StatBroadcast
All-Time Series Record: Tied 0-0
Last Meeting: Never Met
THE PRODIGY
Molly Kaiser is a certified legend in the history of NM State Women’s Basketball. The Watauga, Texas, native has spent all five seasons with the Crimson & White, making her the longest-tenured Aggie on the 2024-25 roster. Kaiser has over 1,400 career points, highlighted by her single greatest performance to date earlier this season.
The 5-foot-8 guard notched 35 points on hyper-efficient shooting against Utah Tech on Nov. 7. She sank 14 of 21 field goals, three of five 3-pointers and four of five free throws en route to the highest individual output since Danesia Williamson on March 12, 2014. In addition to her offensive explosion, the Saginaw High School product raked in four steals for a career high. For the season, Kaiser ranks 15th in the nation with 20.4 points per game.
Last week, Kaiser was named Conference USA Player of the Week after a combined two-game series against rival New Mexico. She was also selected to NCAA’s Starting Lineup of the Week as she combined to score 55 points against the Lobos, including going 9-for-9 at the charity stripe in Sunday’s contest.
Including a 19-point effort on Monday against Tarleton, Kaiser has now posted 14 or more points in all but one contest this season.
FRESH FISH
Picking up her first Conference USA Freshman of the Week award last week, Madi Gewirtz now sits as the first and only player in Aggie program history to earn this achievement. In the rival week facing the Lobos, she tallied a combined 17 points, six steals, three rebounds and one assist. She also produced four steals last week as she set the team’s high in steals in a single game this season.
FANTA-STIC
Midway through last season, NM State bolstered its frontcourt with the addition of Fanta Gassama. The now-senior went on an impressive run at the end of 2023-24, averaging 9.0 rebounds and nearly 10.4 Pts per game over the final eight contests of the regular season. In the CUSA Quarterfinals, the Spain native was exceptional, collecting 20 points and 17 rebounds. Gassama was perfect from the floor, sinking all eight of her field goals and going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line as the Aggies prevailed 63-58 in an upset over No. 3 seed FIU.
This year, Gassama started off with a bang at UC Irvine. She paced both teams with 22 points as she hit eight of her 16 field goal attempts. Her presence was most felt on the glass, however, as the Mataró, Spain, native hauled in 16 rebounds. Three days later against Utah Tech, Gassama tallied her second double-double of the young campaign, notching 14 points and as many rebounds.
Including a 14-point, 13-rebound showing against UNM on Dec. 8, Gassama now has three double-doubles on the season and is the only Aggie to post a double-double so far this season.
VETERAN LEADERSHIP
The Aggies are led by 11 upperclassmen, including nine seniors. Molly Kaiser and Diarrah Sissoko are each in their fifth season of collegiate basketball, headlining a 15-person roster that has 50 combined seasons of experience, including 32 at NM State. Four Aggies are on at least their third season in the program: Molly Kaiser (five), Sylena Peterson (four), Sianny Sanchez-Oliver (four) and Lucía Yenes (three).
INTERNATIONAL AGGIES
There are seven Aggies with international backgrounds on the 2024-25 roster. Four of those seven hail from Spain (Fanta Gassama, Noah Garcia, Marta Guilera, Lucía Yenes). Hungary (Anna Csenyi), Netherlands (Loes Rozing) and Mali (Diarrah Sissoko) are also represented on this year’s squad. Four of six Aggie newcomers are form overseas, rounding out a roster that is 46.7% international.
239 of the Aggies’ 617 points this season have come courtesy of international members to account nearly 40% of the team’s points thus far.
GUESS WHO’S BACK… BACK AGAIN
There are two notable absences in the paint as Honorable Mention All-CUSA selection Ene Adams was joined by 6-foot-5 Femme Sikuzani Masudi as the two key departures from last year. However, nearly every rotational guard and wing has returned in action in 2024-25, with 75.66% of the 2023-24 point production still on the roster. Additionally, the returning Aggies accounted for 85.14% of all assists and 97.71% of 3-pointers made (128 of 131) a season ago.
ONE LAST RIDE
This iteration of the Aggies revolves around fifth-year Aggie 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.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
The team is led by Jeff Mittie, who is in his 33rd season of coaching and 11th season with the program. Mittie has numerous accolades including being named to the 2024 Naismith Women’s Coach of the Year Late Season List. He is also a two-time Kansas Basketball Coaches Association (KBCA) Women’s 4-Year College Coach of the Year, the 2010 Mountain West Coach of the Year, the 2002 Conference USA Coach of the Year, the 2001 WAC Coach of the Year and the 1994 and 1995 MIAA Coach of the Year. He has also led his programs to nine conference titles.
The Wildcats’ current leading scorer is center, Ayoka Lee who averages 16.4 points per game (164 points total). Lee’s lethal shooting ability is critical to the team’s scoring margin (37.2) that currently leads the nation. The opponent’s key shooter with depth comes from guard Taryn Sides, who has made 35 threes this season out of 63 attempts.
For complete coverage of NM State Women’s Basketball, follow us on Twitter (@NMStateWBB), Instagram (@NMStateWBB) and like us on Facebook (NM State Women’s Basketball). You can also follow along with Aggie Women’s Basketball via NMStateSports.com.
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