NMSU Women narrowly fall 61-60 to UT Arlington

ARLINGTON, Texas (KVIA) -- NM State’s road struggles carried into Saturday, despite 25 points and three assists from Molly Kaiser. The Watauga native excelled in her homecoming, drawing seven fouls and hitting five of six foul shots and two of three 3-pointers. The loss marked the third straight defeat for NM State (6-7), all coming away from home. UT Arlington, meanwhile, won its third straight – all over CUSA opponents, improving to 4-8.  

First Quarter

UT Arlington quickly pulled ahead 8-2, before a pair of baskets helped the Aggies cut the margin to 9-7 at the first media timeout. Kaiser was exceptional in the first 10 minutes, scoring 10 points by sinking four of six field goal attempts, including a make from beyond the arc. The senior guard was the lone Aggie with multiple made field goals in the quarter. The two sides traded blows for the remainder of the period, heading into the second stanza with the home Lady Mavs out front 18-17. The Aggies entered Saturday with a 0-5 mark in games in which they were outscored in the first 10 minutes (now 0-6).

Second Quarter

In just 73 seconds, the Lady Mavs pulled back ahead by five, forcing a timeout from Jody Adams after a 6-0 fun. Kaiser poured in another five points to finish with 15 in the first half. Elsewhere, Loes Rozing poured in seven points and three rebounds. The junior knocked down her first 3-pointer of her Aggie career. NM State rode a 17-8 run to take a 35-31 lead at the break, having entered 6-2 when leading at the half.

Third Quarter

The two squads were evenly matched coming out of the locker room, as neither team built a five-point in the second half. The third quarter was a two-point game or closer for all but 52 seconds, as neither team could pull ahead. Kaiser and Rozing continued their solid offensive production in the second half. The two starters were the only Aggies to make a field goal in the third quarter as the team shot 4-13. The Aggies held on to a 45-43 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of action. NM State entered the day at 6-1 when holding a lead after three quarters.

Fourth Quarter

In a similar story to the Austin Peay matchup over a week prior, a fourth quarter lead slipped through the fingertips of the visitors. NM State took a rare three-point lead with 5:25 remaining after one of Kaiser’s seven drawn fouls resulted in a made free throw. A 5-0 UTA run in just over a minute The Aggies held possession with 36.5 seconds remaining as they faced a 57-55 deficit. The ball found its way to Rozing’s hands, where her shot rimmed out and led to a crucial Lady Mavs defensive rebound. The Aggies would intentionally foul, answer with a quick layup and intentionally foul again. UTA made all four free throws down the stretch, maintaining a four-point lead with less than 10 seconds left. A Jaila Harding 3-pointer with less than a second remaining brought forth the final score of 61-60, with not enough time left for the visitors to get another chance. 

Numbers of Note

• Loes Rozing poured in a career-high 12 points, doing so entirely in the first three quarters of play. The junior entered the contest having made 0 3-pointers all season and canned two from distance in the loss.
• For the first time this season, NM State lost a game in which it won the rebounding battle. The Aggies tallied 40 rebounds, their third-highest mark of the year, while holding UTA to 25 rebounds. 
• The contested balls cost the road team greatly on Saturday. NM State coughed up 18 turnovers for the second straight game and was blocked six times, while only producing 12 turnovers and 0 blocks of its own. 
• NM State’s 18 turnovers were the third-most this season. 15 of those came in the first three quarters - more than five of the first 12 entire games of 2023-24. 

Up Next

For the first time in program history, NM State is poised to play a conference game as a member of CUSA, and Jody Adams’ squad will face a very familiar foe. Heading just 40 miles south, the Aggies will stay on the road and take on UTEP on Jan. 6, 2024 at 2:00 PM MT. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and will be available to follow via StatBroadcast.