UTSA’s 3-Pointers Hand Aggies First Loss of Season

Kaiser’s 23 not enough as NM State suffers 75-61 defeat behind nine Roadrunner triples.

Source: NMSU Athletics
Story and Photo by Matthew Knope for NMSU: Courtesy

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – NM State recorded its first loss of the season as they fell 75-61 to UTSA on Thursday night in the Pan American Center. UTSA rolled in and dropped an efficient offensive showing, posting 75 points on 50.0% shooting from the 3-point line and a 12-of-13 night at the free-throw line. The Roadrunners improved to the same mark the Aggies fell to; 2-1 overall. Molly Kaiser led the way offensively for the Crimson & White with 23 points, but her side lost the rebounding battle by 17 en route to its first home defeat since March.

FIRST QUARTER

Fanta Gassama and Molly Kaiser each recorded multiple made field goals as their side pulled ahead by three with all nine points coming from the duo. UTSA responded with a 9-0 run that diminished what was the Aggies’ final lead of the contest. The visitors hit half of their six deep balls in addition to nine of 17 and four of five free throws. During that burst, NM State went cold, scoring just five points over nearly the next six minutes.

At the conclusion of the frame, the home side found themselves behind 25-16, dropping the quarter by their most of any so far in 2024-25 (-9). At that point, NM State had allowed 62 points in first quarters so far this campaign, but just 75 in all other periods combined. UTSA’s 25 points were the most by an Aggie opponent in any quarter this season and just the second with at least 20.

SECOND QUARTER

Fanta Gassama picked up her second personal foul with over six and a half minutes left in the half, forcing her to the bench. With Gassama on the sideline, the Aggies received contributions from Sylena Peterson who knocked down her second three-pointer of the game as she was left open on the wing in transition following a steal from Anna Csenyi. The Aggies then cut the lead to six as defensive ball pressure from Lucia Yenes forced a turnover then turned into a one-woman fastbreak to tally her first points of the game.

The Aggies’ in-your-face defense continued throughout the quarter as they managed four steals and three blocks during the period. Ultimately, 13 of the Aggies’ 17 points in the quarter came off of turnovers.

Later, the Aggies would use back-to-back buckets from Molly Kaiser to jumpstart a 10-2 scoring run to cut the lead to just one point with a little under three minutes remaining in the stanza. Unfortunately, UTSA would close the half with five unanswered points to leave the Aggies staring at a six-point deficit entering the locker room.

In the first half, the Aggies shot 48% (15-31) from the floor and were led by the efforts of Fanta Gassama who recorded nine points and six rebounds. Additionally, Sylena Peterson turned in eight points off the bench – doubling her season-high entering the night.

THIRD QUARTER

Following a series of misses for both sides, Anna Csenyi poured in the first points of the game as Gassama found the junior slicing through the lane about one minute into the quarter. A little over two minutes later, Kaiser would use a second effort underneath the basket to earn a pair of free throws which she knocked down to cut the lead to four points and move her into double figures on the night.

The Roadrunners would eventually respond with a quick 5-0 run with all five points coming from Nina De Leon Negron. This would push the lead back to nine with five minutes to play.

NM State answered back and cut the deficit back to four with a 5-0 run of its own across the ensuing two and a half minutes of action. UTSA then used the size of the 6-1 Idara Udo as she recorded four unanswered points for the Roadrunners.

Molly Kaiser would then dazzle on the final possession of the quarter as she used a screen to pick up the mismatch before flashing a crossover and step back to create an open jump shot that fell as the buzzer sounded. This would put Aggies within six points entering the final 10 minutes of action.

FOURTH QUARTER

Freshman Emma Dasovich would be the shining star for the Aggies in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter as she hit threes on consecutive possessions after being left unguarded twice at the top of key. Unfortunately, UTSA also produced nine points on a trio of threes to start the period to leave the Aggie deficit at nine points with 7:25 to play.

The two sides would then combine to score just seven points across the following five minutes of action. Of these, NM State came away with just three points to enter the final two minutes of play down by eight points. The Aggies continued to struggle down the stretch as they went scoreless across the closing two minutes to fall by 14 points.

NUMBERS OF NOTE

NM State allowed nine Roadrunner 3-pointers; a mark that opponents only reached twice last season.
The Aggies lost the rebounding battle by 17 (37-20). That is the worst program mark since the season opener at Colorado on Nov. 7, 2022.
Fanta Gassama fell one rebound shy of her third straight double-double to start the season. On the young campaign, the senior forward is averaging 15.7 points and 13.0 rebounds per contest. Despite coming up short, she has four such games in the past six matchups spanning back to the 2023-24 season.
The last Aggie Bigue Sarr accomplished the same feat between Feb. 3-10, 2022. Sarr also recorded five such showings in a six-game sample.
NM State trailed after three quarters and eventually fell in the contest. Last season, the Aggies were 1-15 when finding themselves tied or behind after 30 minutes
For the second straight game, Molly Kaiser recorded four steals while leading the team in scoring.
Emma Dasovich recorded the first made field goals of her career, draining two 3-pointers just 40 seconds apart to start the fourth quarter.

UP NEXT

The Aggies’ three-game homestand concludes with a bout against Western New Mexico on Wednesday. The Mustangs currently sit at 0-3 and will take on New Mexico in Albuquerque on Friday. The Crimson & White will welcome Western NM to the Pan American Center with the action slated to begin at 6:00 PM MT on Nov. 20. The matchup between the Aggies and Mustangs will be streamed live on ESPN+ and available to follow via nmstatestats.com.

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.

Article posted by:

Levi Gwaltney

Levi Gwaltney is the Editor In Chief of Las Cruces Digest. The Editor makes editorial and posting decisions regarding content published on this site. In most cases, the Editor makes little if any contribution to content published, and takes no credit for the content of republished posts. If available, the source or author of posts is provided at the top of the article.