NM State Looks to Extend Two-Game Winning Streak to Three

STEPHENVILLE, Texas (KVIA) -- The Aggies head on the road to take on former conference opponent Tarleton State on Monday. Last time both teams met, NM State Women’s Basketball grabbed the win over the Texans in immense fashion, 67-44. As the two teams remain tied in an overall winning record, NM State looks to continue their two-game streak.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Who: NM State (6-3, 0-0 CUSA) vs Tarleton (5-5, 0-0 WAC)

Where: Wisdom Gym – Stephenville, TX.

When: Monday, Dec. 16, 2024 at 10:00 AM MT

Live Stream: ESPN+

Live Statistics: StatBroadcast

All-Time Series Record: Tied 2-2

Last Meeting: NM State 67 at Tarleton 44 (Feb. 27, 2024)

Neck and Neck

Brand new to Division 1 Athletics, Tarleton has only faced the Aggies four times in the history of their program. They are currently split in win-loss record and are even to the Crimson and White in competition.

AGENT 007

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 1,300 career points, highlighted by her single greatest performance to date earlier this month.

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 eighth in the nation with 25.0 points per game.

This week, Kaiser was named Conference Player of the Week after a combined two-game trip to rival matchup, the New Mexico Lobos. She was also selected to NCAA’s Starting Lineup of the Week while shooting a perfect 9-9 at the charity stripe in the Pan American against UNM.

FRESH FISH

Picking up her first Conference Freshman of the Week award, 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 17 points, six steals, three rebounds and one assist. Producing four steals on Sunday, she has 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 down low, 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. Her 9.0 rebounds per game currently rank 69th among all of NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball.

Gassama holds the only two double-doubles by an Aggie so far this season. Spanning back to last season, the second-year Aggie has four double-doubles; all of which have come in the past 10 games.

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.

180 of the Aggies’ 458 points this season have come courtesy of international members. Those seven student-athletes accumulated 104 of 173 rebounds (60.1%) and 70 of 154 made field goals (45.4%).

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 TEXANS

The team is led by Bill Brock, who enters his 40th year of coach, and just two with the program. Previously before Tarleton, Brock has moved around at the NAIA division to gain his head coaching experience.

The Texans won Brock’s first game at the helm in resounding fashion, defeating Howard Payne at home 106-38 on Nov. 6. In a tough road trip immediately following that, the Texans held tough and nearly came away with road victories at Texas Tech (70-63) and New Mexico (65-55). Brock’s first conference victory came on Dec. 2, with Tarleton State upending UTRGV 72-66. The Texans played their best basketball of the season when it mattered most at the end, going 4-1 over a five-game stretch from Feb. 29-March 13 to not only make the WAC Tournament, but win in the conference tournament in Las Vegas.

This season, the team is currently led by scorer, Arieona Rosborough, who averages 10.7 points per game (118 total). She is also currently averaging with the most minutes played for the Texans as has become the team’s most valuable asset.