Aggies fall by 22 to ASU in first round of the Women’s NCAA Tournament
TEMPE, Ariz. – Another historic season came to an end on Friday afternoon for the New Mexico State women’s basketball team, as the 15th-seeded Aggies fell to No. 2-seed Arizona State, 74-52, at Wells Fargo Arena in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament.
“Proud of the kids,” head coach Mark Trakh said in his postgame post-conference opening statement. “Arizona State, my hat’s off to them. They are really good. I hope they go to the Final Four. Love their coach, love their style of play. They are aggressive. They are tough. They work hard on the boards. No, I’m really impressed with the way they played, especially in the first half. I was proud that the kids didn’t pack it in at halftime”
Arizona State (26-6) came as advertised in the opening minutes of the game as the Sun Devils jumped out to a 14-5 lead at the 4:49 media timeout, turning NM State (26-5) over four times for seven points.
That trend would continue the rest of the first half with NM State trailing ASU 45-24 at the break. The Aggies shot just 29.6-percent from the floor compared to ASU’s 61.3-percennt shooting.
New Mexico State also turned it over 15 times in the first half, which led to a 20-5 edge in points off turnovers for ASU.
“I thought Arizona State came out and really made a statement in the first half,” Trakh said. “They came out and they played and they were at a different speed and they got us on our heels early and I thought in the second half, our kids calmed down and it was a competitive second half. I think we lost the second half by one.”
NM State played much better in the second half as stated by Trakh, going toe-to-toe with the second-seeded Sun Devils. The Aggies finished the third frame 9-of-16 from the field, making one more field-goal than they did the entire first half.
The Aggies’ Brooke Salas, Shanice Davis and Mack combined to for eight of those nine made baskets in the third quarter for NM State. However, the Aggies still trailed 65-44.
Both teams had trouble scoring in the final 10 minutes of play, with Arizona State taking the fourth quarter, 9-8, before earning the win.
Katie Hempen finished with a game-high 20 points for ASU, shooting red-hot from the perimeter (6-of-6).
NM State was led by senior Sasha Weber, who finished with a team-high 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting – four of which came from three-point land. The Lacey, Wash., product finished her Aggie career with 1,511 points – good for seventh all-time at New Mexico State. She also wrapped up her career second in 3-pointers made (269) and ninth in blocks (81).
Mack was the only other Aggie in double-figures with 11 points while Salas and Davis each chipped with eight points apiece.
Davis wrapped up her career at NM State with 717 points and 223 assists.
The Aggies’ historic season ended with a 26-5 overall record, tying the 1987-88 team for the most wins in a season.
Despite the outcome, the New Mexico State women’s basketball program knows that it is on an upward trajectory that will only continue upward thanks to all the blood, sweat and tears the coaching staff and seniors have put in.
“Our goal is to eventually come to the NCAA Tournament and win a game,” said Trakh. “I think we just continue recruiting, continue working and like I said, we’ll have five seniors next year that will really give us a great culture of working hard.”
POSTGAME NOTES: The loss to ASU on Friday tied the all-time series between the Sun Devils and Aggies at 7-7…NM State’s only other true road loss this season came against another Pac-12 opponent in Arizona on Dec. 2, 2015, 68-64…NM State’s 21 turnovers was the third-highest this season, while its 52 points tied for the second-lowest points scored this season as well…Arizona State’s 52.6-percent shooting was the second-highest percentage the Aggies have given up this season…Vanderbilt shot a blistering .612 clip against NM State at the Fordham Holiday Classic.
