Aggies drop season opener

On Monday night, college basketball returned for the 2026-27 season – along with it came the first game for NM State under Head Coach Adeniyi Amadou. An almost entirely rebuilt roster and coaching staff took to the Pan American Center floor for the first time together. A tight contest throughout, the Aggies ultimately fell 61-56.

While Lilyana Fontcha corralled the opening tip, the visiting Toreros were the first to put points on the board. However, an 8-0 run by the Crimson & White gave them an 8-3 lead with 5:53 remaining in the opening quarter. 

In all, four different Aggies tallied made baskets, while five recorded points in the first, as NMSU took a 16-9 lead into the second stanza.  

Scoring 16 points in the opening quarter, NM State’s Fontcha put in the Aggies’ first points of the second quarter less than two minutes in; however, the Aggies went over seven minutes without a made field goal until Raina Tomasicka drained a three with 1:03 remaining. This, along with a 7-0 run by the visitors in the early portion of the quarter, allowed USD to even the score at 18-18 with 6:51 remaining in the period. Trailing by one following a pair of free throws by USD’s Kylie Ray, Tomasicka notched her first triple of the night, sending the Aggies into halftime with a 28-26 advantage. 

The third quarter saw the most offensive production of the night from both teams, combining for 47 points in the frame, with Tomasicka scoring 12 points, going toe-to-toe with the Toreros’ Kiera Pemberton, who tallied 11 points in the third. Heading into the fourth quarter, NMSU trailed 53-48. 

Tomasicka, a junior guard, led all scorers with 24 points on Monday night, a new career high for the Jekabpils, Latvia, native. This became the most points in an NM State debut since at least 2014. 

“Of course it’s good to score the ball, but I would have been much happier with a win,” Tomasicka said. “Even if I scored zero points and we got the win, the team performance takes priority. There were good things we did this game, and some things we need to clean up.”

Back-to-back scores by Tomasicka and Stacy Chovino cut the deficit to one (53-52), though that was the closest the score got down the stretch. With just seven made baskets between the two squads in the fourth, the Aggies fell by a final score of 61-56. 

“We have to continue improving our discipline and reduce our turnovers, said NMSU head coach Adeniyi Amadou. “That was a huge key to the game, especially those first couple quarters. We finished with 17, far too many and much more than we’d like to have. I think we’re going to go back and watch the tape and clean things up. I look forward to practice tomorrow.”

Chovino made an impact all over the floor for the Aggies, posting six points, nine rebounds, one assist, one block and two steals in 31 minutes of action. New Mexico State had three players tally 10 or more points (Raina Tomasicka, Aimeé Michel and Lilyana Fontcha), doing so for the first time since February 21, 2026, against UTEP.

NMSU returns to the floor in Las Cruces on Friday, Nov. 6, as it hosts Southern Utah. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. MT, with the game streaming on ESPN+, and live stats available at nmstatesports.com/stats.