NMSU, UTEP Women Wrap Up Sonic Battle of I-10
The New Mexico State women’s basketball team (1-5) wraps up the Sonic Battle of I-10 against rival UTEP (5-0)tonight at 7 p.m. inside the Don Haskins Center. The Aggies will look to avenge a 76-72 overtime loss to the undefeated Miners two weeks ago in Las Cruces.
The game is the third contest in four days for the Aggies. NM State dropped a pair of games last weekend in its Hotel Encanto Thanksgiving Classic. The Aggies lost to North Dakota 63-46 on Saturday before Southern Utah edged the Crimson and White at the buzzer Sunday, 58-57.
The overtime win over the Aggies on Nov. 16 is the only hard-fought victory on UTEP’s record so far this season. The Miners defeated their other four opponents all by double digits this season, all in the Haskins Center. UTEP blew out Denver 80-49 on Saturday to give head coach Keitha Adams her best start as Miner head coach.
The game will be broadcast live on the Aggie Sports Network with Kyle Doperalski, heard locally on KSNM 570 AM. Live updates via Twitter are available by following @NMStateAggies. Live stats links can be found at NMStateSports.com.
SONIC® ® America’s Drive-In® Battle of I-10
The Aggies-Miners battle is the 78th contest all-time between the programs and the second basketball game this season to bear the name of the I-10 Rivalry’s new title sponsor, SONIC® America’s Drive-In® The two-year partnership struck last year between the neighboring universities and SONIC Drive-Ins in El Paso and Las Cruces encompasses matchups in football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball.
Aggies and Miners Continue Longest Series in School History
NM State’s ongoing series with UTEP is the most historic of any series in program history. Tuesday’s meeting with the Miners will be the 78th game between the two schools with the Aggies leading the series 46-31.
UTEP’s 76-72 overtime win on Nov. 16 in Las Cruces was the second game in the last three of the series to go into extra time, but just the fifth all-time. UTEP claims a 4-1 advantage in overtime games all-time. The Aggies lone OT win came last year in El Paso, 80-75.
Last year the teams split the season series as each team won on the opposing team’s court. UTEP opened 2011 by defeating the Aggies 74-67 on Jan. 2 inside the Pan Am in the latest battle snapping a four-game Aggie win streak in the series. Last November, NM State knocked off the Miners in overtime in El Paso, 80-75. The win marked the first time NM State recorded four consecutive wins in the series since 2002-03 when they also strung together four victories.
In 2010, the Aggies swept the Miners for the first time since the 2002-03 season. In 2008-09, NM State snapped a seven-game losing streak to UTEP with a 77-67 victory at home. UTEP has won 14 of the past 23 battles dating back to 2000.
The Miners and Aggies have met twice yearly in the past 37 years of NM State women’s basketball program history. In addition to their contest two weeks ago, the border rivals met an additional time on two occasions: in the regular seasons of 1974-75 as well as the 1984-85 L’eggs Classic to account for the previous 77 meetings.
Scouting the Miners
The UTEP Miners (5-0), of Conference USA, are undefeated this season with a 4-0 record at home in El Paso. The Miners’ lone road contest was a 76-72 overtime victory in Las Cruces Nov. 16. The Miners are one of 31 undefeated teams in Division I women’s basketball.
The Miners rank among the top 50 nationally in five statistical categories. UTEP is No. 18 nationally in 3-point FG defense, allowing just 21.1 percent. The Miners rank No. 24 in the country with six blocked shots per game. In overall FG defense, UTEP rates No. 35 in the nation at 32.8 percent. The Miners also rate nationally in scoring margin (No. 37 – 18.2) and scoring offense (No. 40 – 75.8).
Senior forward Gloria Brown’s 3.8 swats per game rank No. 7 nationally. Brown also rates No. 12 nationally in FG percentage at 62.8. Brown is just shy of averaging a double-double, leading UTEP with 13.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.
Three Miners have started each game this year, yet Brown is not one of them. The three UTEP players with five starts include sophomore forward Kayla Thornton who is second on the team with 9.2 ppg, junior forward Kristine Vitola at 8.0 ppg and junior guard Melisa Mendes at 7.4 ppg.
Last Time against the Miners
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (Nov. 16) – The New Mexico State women’s basketball team put together a 5-0 rally with 30 seconds to go in regulation to force overtime but fell to rival UTEP 76-72 in extra time at the Pan American Center Wednesday night.
New Mexico State never trailed in the first 34 minutes of regulation, breaking out of four ties to take the lead again. UTEP took its first lead with 5:54 remaining in the game and held on to it until the very last second of regulation. Down two after a missed UTEP free throw Aggie senior guard Kaitlyn Soto drove the length of the floor and dropped in a game-tying layup with 0:00.5 seconds showing on the clock to force the extra session.
Soto scored the first bucket in overtime to give the Aggies a 63-61 lead but UTEP went on a 9-0 run to take command with 3:03 left, up 70-63. The Aggies cut the lead to two, 74-72, after a pair of threes from senior Erica Sanchez and a layup from sophomore Jasmine Rutledge with 44 seconds left in overtime. But UTEP made a pair of free throws and defensive plays down the stretch to secure the victory.
Freshman guard Hannah Womack paced the Aggies with a career-high 23 points including four three-point shots and made 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Rutledge also posted a career high with 14 points to go with eight rebounds on the evening. Sanchez added 10 points including six tallies scored in overtime. Senior forward Tabytha Wampler led the Aggies on the boards with nine rebounds to go with seven points.
NM State shot 38.2 percent from the floor while UTEP made 45.5 percent of its shots. Both teams shot well from long range as the Aggies drilled 41.2 percent and the Miners dropped in 38.9 percent. NM State out-rebounded UTEP 41-35 in the game but the Miners dominated in the paint scoring 38 points in the lane compared to the Aggies’ 12 tallies. UTEP forced NM State into 12 turnovers after halftime but committed just five after the break.
The Aggies drop to 1-2 on the season after the loss while UTEP improves to 2-0 this year.
The exciting rivalry contest against the Miners marked the 500th home game the Aggies have played inside the Pan American Center and was the first game of a home-and-home series between the teams as part of the 2011-12 SONIC® ® America’s Drive-In® Battle of I-10.
NM State never trailed in the first half and opened the game with a three-point basket from Soto. UTEP tied it up with a trey on the other end inside a minute of the game.
The Aggies went ahead 7-3 at the 17:02 mark after baskets by Rutledge and Womack. The Miners kept within one score of the Aggies through the first media timeout at 14:52 as the Aggies led 9-8.
The Crimson and White began to pull away over the next 3:30 utilizing a 10-0 run to build its largest lead of the game at 19-10. UTEP answered with a 7-0 rally over the next three minutes to close to within two 19-17 at the 8:48 mark.
Womack hit her second three of the half to put NM State up 24-17 with just under six minutes to play before the half. A pair of free throws by senior Erica Sanchez helped the Aggies match their largest lead of the half of nine, 26-17, with 5:20 left in the half.
At the 2:40 mark, Womack drained her third trey of the half to put the Aggies up 29-21. A late bucket by senior Kelsie Rozendaal put the Aggies up 31-25 heading into the half.
NM State turned the ball over eight times in the half and forced nine Miner miscues leading to 10 Aggie points while UTEP converted just four tallies. The Aggies won the battle of the boards in the first 20, 20-17. The Aggies shot 35.7 percent from the floor to UTEP’s 34.5 percentage. NM State went 4-of-7 from long range, including three from Womack, while UTEP shot 3-of-7 behind the arc.
Wampler started the scoring in the second half to extend the Aggie lead to eight, 33-25. UTEP fought back early to tie the game at 33-33 after a pair of threes.
A three from Womack put NM State ahead again and a bucket by the guard a few minutes later made it 40-33 at the first media timeout of the half. The Miners battled back to tie the game a third time at 40-40 at the 13:31 mark.
NM State rallied to take the lead again as part of a 9-3 run to put NM State up 49-43 with just over nine minutes to go in the game. UTEP tied it for the fourth time at 49-49 at the 6:11 mark. Womack made two from the charity stripe as NM State regained the lead again.
But the Miners drained a three to take their first lead of the game at the 5:54 mark, 52-51. UTEP extended its lead to as many as eight, 60-52, with 1:52 left. But NM State roared back with a 9-1 run to close out regulation capped off by Soto’s last-second layup to force overtime.
Senior forward Gloria Brown led the Miners with 21 points and nine rebounds and freshman guard Chrishauna Parker added 11 tallies for UTEP.
Five Top Moments for Aggies in the Pan American Center
In the last matchup against the Miners, the NM State women’s program celebrated its 500th game played in the Aggies’ home arena since the late 1970’s. Here are five top moments from each of the past five decades that would be included on any NM State fan’s list:
?12/6/77 – NM State Hall of Famer Ann McReynolds posts first triple-double in the Pan Am with 20 points, an NM State record 29 rebounds and 11 blocks in a 71-64 win over UTEP. ?3/5/87 NM State defeats Utah 66-53 to claim program’s first league championship in the High Country Athletic Conference leading to its first NCAA Tournament appearance. ?1/8/95 All-time leading scorer Anita Maxwell posts 37 points against Long Beach State – the most points scored by an Aggie in the Pan American Center ?3/10/07 NM State sets attendance record of 5,905 against Boise State in the 2007 WAC Championship Game. ?11/16/11 NM State women’s program plays 500th home game inside the Pan American Center against UTEP. Aggie Aggregate
?Senior forward Tabytha Wampler has posted three double-doubles in the first five games this season to total 12 in her career. The trio of double dips ranks No. 10 nationally. She ranks second in double-doubles since the 2000 season behind former Aggie Sherell Neal’s 41 career double dips. ?NM State returns two starters from a 14-win team that advanced to the WAC quarterfinals last season. ?The Aggies lose the services of a pair of 1,000-point club members in departed seniors Madison Spence and Danisha Corbett. ?Last season, the Aggies were 11-4 when scoring over 65 points in a game. This year they are 0-2. ?When holding opponents under 65 points in 2011, NM State compiled a 10-3 record. This season they are 1-3. Trakh Signs Three Commitments for 2012-13 Season
New Mexico State women’s basketball head coach Mark Trakh announced three new additions to the Aggie family each signed a National Letter of Intent Wednesday, Nov. 9 to play basketball at NM State beginning in the fall of 2012.
Trakh and his staff signed Abby Scott, a 6-1 senior guard from Madras High School in Madras Ore.; Sasha Weber, a 6-0 senior guard from Timberline High School in Lacey, Wash.; and Shay Young, a 6-0 senior guard from Mount Miguel High School in San Diego on the first day of the early signing period.
Aggies Tabbed Sixth in WAC Preseason Polls; Wampler Earns All-WAC Honors
The WAC coaches and media picked the New Mexico State women’s basketball team to finish sixth in their respective preseason polls and both honored senior forward Tabytha Wampler with All-WAC preseason honors in a release by the conference Oct. 18.
The Aggies were also picked sixth in last season’s preseason polls. NM State finished 14-18 overall and 7-9 in the conference to place in a tie for fifth last season and entered the WAC Tournament as the sixth seed.
A senior co-captain, Wampler earned First Team Preseason All-WAC honors from the media and garnered Second Team recognition from the coaches.
Wampler enters her senior season after starting all 32 games last year. She returns as the Aggies’ leading scorer at 12.7 points per game and leading rebounder at 7.6 boards per game. Wampler posted seven double-doubles last season and ranked No. 31 nationally with an 85.1 free throw percentage.
The senior co-captain scored in double figures 25 times last season. Wampler led the team in rebounding 15 times and in scoring nine times in 2010-11 as a junior.
Last season departed seniors Madison Spence and Jasmine Lowe earned preseason second team honors from the media and coaches. Spence ended the season with All-WAC Second Team honors while Jasmine Rutledge claimed All-WAC Freshman team honors. Aggies Battle through Difficult Schedule this Year
The Aggies’ 2011-12 slate includes a dozen games against teams that played in postseason tournaments a season ago. NM State is set to host 16 games at the Pan American Center for the second straight season – matching the third-most amount of home contests in the NM State record books. It marks the 13th season that the Crimson and White play host to 15 or more opponents in the regular season. In those previous 12 seasons, NM State averaged 20 wins per year.
The Aggies’ upcoming non-conference ledger consists of nine home match-ups and six road contests. Prior to the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) schedule, NM State tips against four opponents with 2011 postseason appearances. The Aggies open the season at NCAA Tournament selection Houston (Nov. 11). NM State later hosts Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) opponents Arizona (Nov. 21), and UC Santa Barbara (Dec. 19). The Aggies travel to Utah (Dec. 21), another NCAA Tourney squad, in its final road trip of 2011.
Rivals UTEP and New Mexico are also on the Aggie docket for a pair of home-and-home contests. New Mexico State will look for its fifth consecutive Aggie Hotel Encanto Thanksgiving Classic title on Nov. 25-27. North Dakota and Southern Utah complete the lineup of the three-day holiday tournament.
NM State opens WAC play with five of its first seven games at home in 2012. The Aggies battle 2011 WNIT participant Utah State at home on Jan. 12. Two days later, Idaho comes to town after a Women’s Basketball Invitational appearance last season.
On Jan. 19, the Aggies make their first conference road trip to San Jose State before trekking to Hawai’i for a game on Jan. 21. WAC regular-season champion and NCAA participant Louisiana Tech invades Las Cruces to close out the month of play on Jan. 28. Defending WAC Tournament champion and NCAA qualifier Fresno State visits the Pan American Center on Feb. 2. WNIT participant Nevada completes the first half of the league schedule in Las Cruces on Feb. 4.
NM State faces three tough road contests to complete the season beginning with a trip to LA Tech (Feb. 25). The team wraps up the regular season with contests at Nevada (Mar. 1) and Fresno State (Mar. 3).
The 2012 WAC Tournament will be held at a neutral site in Las Vegas for the second year in a row. The Orleans Arena will play host to both the men’s and women’s conference basketball tournaments March 7-10.
Aggie Player Preseason Notes
?NM State is a youthful squad with 10 underclassmen on a roster of 18 and returns just two players that started more than six games for the Aggies last season. ?Jasmine Rutledge earned WAC All-Freshman team honors last year to join three teammates also bestowed the honor: Kaitlyn Soto (2009), Tabytha Wampler (2009) and Camila Rosen (2010). ?Wampler started all 32 games for the Aggies in 2011 at forward and returns as the leading scorer and rebounder from a year ago with 12.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. ?As a junior Wampler recorded seven double-doubles and ranked No. 31 in the nation with an 85.1 free-throw percentage after canning her first 23 shots from the charity stripe in WAC play. ?Rutledge started all 16 conference games in 2011 and ranked second on the team with 4.8 rpg. ?Soto started five games for the Aggies while playing in 30 contests last season. ?Erica Sanchez, Chrissy Fletcher and Dr Chenier return with game experience after seeing time in over 30 contests apiece last season, while Malia Magazzeni played in 24 games. ?Kelsie Rozendaal returns this season after sitting out last season due to injury. Rosen also sat out most of last season after suffering a knee injury 12 games into the schedule. ?Eight newcomers, including three international players, unite with the 10 veterans of this year’s squad. Several should compete for playing time in Coach Trakh’s first season in Las Cruces. Four Returning Aggies Earn Academic All-WAC Honors
The 2010-11 Academic All-WAC women’s basketball was announced in June. To be eligible, a student-athlete must have completed at least one academic year, have at least a 3.00 cumulative grade point average and have participated in at least 50 percent of the team’s contests. The following is a list of the five winter sport honorees from the women’s basketball squad: Christina Fletcher, So.; Malia Magazzeni, So.; Kaitlyn Soto, Jr.; Madison Spence, Sr. and Tabytha Wampler, Jr.
Trakh Becomes 10th Aggie Head Coach in Program History
New Mexico State athletic director Dr. McKinley Boston announced the hiring of Mark Trakh as the new head coach of the Aggie women’s basketball program on April 8, 2011.
Trakh (pronounced TRACK), 55, becomes the 10th head coach in NM State history and has nearly 30 years of head coaching experience, including 16 at the NCAA Division I level at both Southern California and Pepperdine.
This is a milestone season for Trakh. He will coach his 500th career collegiate game in game 24 this season, which should be at Utah State on Feb. 11. With 11 victories this season, Trakh will reach 300 collegiate career wins, which could come as early as Wed. Dec. 21.
Trakh served as the head coach at USC from 2004-09, where he compiled a 90-64 overall record. In his first two seasons, he guided the Women of Troy to their first NCAA appearances in seven years, as the team advanced to the second round in both 2005 and 2006. The Trojans finished in the top half of the Pac-10 all five years and were the conference tournament runner-up in 2009 and regular season runner-up in 2005.
Before accepting the position at USC, Trakh had a highly successful 11-year tenure as head coach at Pepperdine from 1993-2004. Under his direction, the Waves posted six consecutive 20-win seasons from 1997-2003, made six straight postseason appearances and claimed four West Coast Conference titles. Trakh was twice named the league’s coach of the year in both 1999 and 2002, and ended his tenure with a 199-123 overall record and a 99-55 mark in the WCC.
Prior to entering the collegiate ranks, Trakh had a Hall of Fame career as the head girls’ coach at Brea Olinda High School in Brea, Calif., from 1981-93. He helped lead the Ladycats to national prominence with a 354-45 overall record, highlighted by four state titles (1989, 1991, 1992 and 1993), six CIF Southern Section championships and 12 Orange League Crowns. In his final five campaigns, Brea Olinda posted an amazing 161-8 record and did not lose more than two games in any single season.
Trakh Fills Out Coaching Staff with Three Assistants
Assistant Coach Jamie Shadian
Shadian comes to the Mesilla Valley after two seasons as an assistant coach at Tennessee State University in Nashville. She joined the Tigers’ coaching staff in 2009 and focused her efforts on mentoring guard play, specifically the point guard at the Division I level. The Tigers’ 2011 senior point guard responded to the instruction last season to become the TSU assists record holder and place second in assists within the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).
Assistant Coach Tamara Inoue
Inoue joins the Aggie coaching staff after three seasons as an assistant coach at Santa Clara University. She joined the Broncos’ women’s basketball program in 2008. Inoue’s primary responsibilities at Santa Clara involved recruiting, film exchange, scouting and working with the Bronco guards. After six years of playing and coaching in Australia, Inoue joined the staff in Santa Clara. Inoue’s playing days in Australia were cut short due to injury. After rehabilitation in the United States, she returned to coach in Australia’s Victorian Basketball League (VBL).
Assistant Coach Aarika Hughes
Trakh is very familiar with Hughes after recruiting her to play for him at the University of Southern California. They spent three seasons together in Los Angeles from 2007-09. Hughes graduated in 2010 with a degree in psychology. Hughes spent much of the past year in her home state of Oregon coaching an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) squad named Team Concept, based in Portland. The 6-2 guard/forward finished her career with the fifth-best single-season 3-point field goal percentage of 40.9 when she drained 18-of-44 from beyond the arc in 2007-08 under Trakh.
Aggies Host 16 Games This Season
The Aggies’ 16 home games at the Pan American Center is the fourth time in five seasons NM State plays host to more than 15 contests. Along with this year’s ledger, here are the prior four season slates with 16-plus games in Las Cruces including a school-record 18 games last year in 2009-10.
? 2011-12: 16 (0-5 at home, 1-5 overall)
? 2010-11: 16 (7-9 at home, 14-18 overall)
? 2009-10: 18 (12-6 at home, 18-14 overall)
? 1979-80: 17 (10-7 at home, 22-12 overall)
? 2007-08: 16 (14-2 at home, 23-9 overall)
Prior to the 2010-11 season, NM State played at least 15 regular season games at home in 11 of its 37 previous seasons. The Aggies averaged 20 wins overall in those 11 seasons while winning at least 18 games in nine of them.
Source: NMSU Athletics
