NMSU dominates UTRGV and earn bid to NCAA Tournament
The New Mexico State women’s basketball team punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year on Saturday at Orleans Arena with a dominating 80-53 win over UT Rio Grande Valley in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game.
Senior Sasha Weber was named the tournament’s most valuable player with freshman Brooke Salas joining her on the all-tournament team.
The win marked another milestone for Aggies head coach Mark Trakh, becoming just the second team in program history to earn an NCAA Tournament bid in back-to-back years. Saturday’s win also moved NM State to 26-4 on the year, tying the 1987-88 (26-3) team for the most wins in program history.
Saturday’s championship game started similar to that of NM State’s semifinal game as the Aggies opened up with a 16-5 run, forcing UTRGV (19-13) to call a timeout in hopes of stopping NM State. However, a timeout would not stop New Mexico State as Weber and Salas combined for four-straight 3-pointers to take the 24-14 lead after 10 minutes of play.
