NM State Rallies Late, Holds Off WKU in Road Victory

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Making their first road trek of conference action, NM State (6-9, 2-1 CUSA) battled for the full 40 minutes, knocking off Western Kentucky (4-10, 0-3 CUSA) by a score of 70-67 at E.A. Diddle Arena. Lucía Yenes recorded 26 points in the win, her fourth game with 20-plus points this season, while Imani Warren added 18 points along with seven rebounds and three blocks. 

The home side got on the scoreboard first, though Imani Warren quickly tied the game with a layup. A sluggish start in the first phase saw the Aggies miss their next five shots of the quarter, though Emma Christiano kept possessions alive with a pair of offensive rebounds and a steal. Finishing 7-for-17 from the field (41.2%) compared to just 3-for-12 (25%) for the Lady Toppers, leading scorers Lucía Yenes and Warren combined for 10 points in a first quarter that saw the Aggies take a 15-9 advantage. 

However, WKU bounced back to begin the second frame, netting a pair of baskets in the opening minute to force an NM State timeout with the lead now 15-13. The Lady Toppers would take their first lead since 2-0, following their second 3-pointer of the night (16-15). 

After failing to record a 3-point attempt as a team in the first ten minutes of action, Anna Csenyi and Keira Hudson provided a spark off the bench, putting in back-to-back-to-back from long range, giving the Crimson & White a 24-18 edge halfway through the stanza. 

NM State struggled to find a rhythm heading into the break, trailing by a score of 32-28. After 20 minutes, the Aggies were ahead on the boards (20-10, 8-1 offensive), while holding slight leads in blocks (2-1) and points off turnovers (8-7). 

Morane Dossou notched her first made basket in the third quarter, showing great hustle to track down her own miss and convert it into a three-point play (34-32). The two squads would trade basket after basket, combining to shoot over 69% from the field in the third. WKU tallied the longest run in the frame, a 6-0 burst to take their largest lead of the night, 46-38, with 3:19 remaining. Timely scoring by Imani Warren, Lucía Yenes and Loes Rozing powered the Aggies through the end of the quarter, battling back to a one-point contest (51-50). 

Yenes and Warren notched layups to open the fourth, with Anna Csenyi rattling in her third 3-pointer of the game to give NM State a 57-53 lead with just under seven minutes remaining. Each team refused to quit, with the teams totaling six made field goals over the ensuing two minutes and change, with four lead changes in that stretch. Trailing 63-61, an NM State timeout revigorated the bunch, taking command with a 7-2 scoring stretch that effectively sealed the contest. 

Late theatrics by the Lady Toppers attempted to send the game into overtime, but the visiting Aggies were able to prevail 70-67, clinching their second straight conference victory and first on the road. 

NUMBERS OF NOTE

• Lucía Yenes posted a game-high 26 points on Thursday night, her fourth performance of 20-or-more points this season and first since scoring 22 in a home meeting with UC Irvine (Dec. 16). 12 made field goals sets a new career high for the senior forward, and ties Imani Warren for the most by an Aggie in a single game this season. 
• Imani Warren recorded 18 points in Bowling Green, her sixth consecutive game with 10 or more points and 11^thgame in double-figures this season. Adding strong defense, the Milwaukee, Wis., native posted seven rebounds, two blocks and a trio of steals – tying her career high and the most by any Aggies in a game this season. 
• Las Cruces native Emma Christiano played with nonstop hustle in Kentucky, pulling down four offensive rebounds – becoming just the third Aggie to tally the feat this season, and the lone guard (Morane Dossou, Iyana Beh). 
• Anna Csenyi buried three 3-pointers in the win, finishing with nine points off the bench. This continues her run of at least one triple in eight of the past nine games. 
• The Aggies dominated the rebounding battle, hauling in 41 to just 15 for the Lady Toppers. The plus-26 margin on the boards is the largest against Division I competition for the Crimson & White since at least 2015. 
• Tallying 17 offensive rebounds in the win, this became NM State’s second-highest total this season (19, Nov. 27). 
• Finishing 6-for-8 from the free-throw line, NM State posted their highest free-throw percentage (75.0%) since Nov. 16. 

For the fourth time in the last six games and the sixth time overall since Dec. 1, the Aggies tallied at least four made 3-pointers. 

QUOTABLES

Loes Rozing, on the team’s victory in Bowling Green: “I’m proud of our team for pulling out this win. It was definitely not pretty, and we still have a lot to work on. But it is always a hard environment to win at their place, and we got it done. We need to be more disciplined, execute the game plan, and limit turnovers.”

Lucia Yenes on securing a road victory in conference play: “This was an important win on the road but we still need to do better with the details late in close games. Overall I’m proud of the way we battled to get this win!”           

Head Coach Jody Adams, on the resilience of the Aggies: “Bowling Green is a tough place to pull out a road win, and I’m very proud of this team’s continued fight through the hard and ugly at times. We have taken early lessons and applied them today. 

I love this team’s growth mindset and togetherness!”

The Aggies look to record their longest winning streak of the season on Saturday, Jan. 10, taking on the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee. Tip-off is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. (MT) in Murfreesboro, with the game streaming live on ESPN+ and live stats available at nmstatesports.com/stats.