UTEP-New Mexico State set to square off for first time in 2022-23 season
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – UTEP and New Mexico State’s women’s basketball teams are set to square off for the first time of the 2022-23 season on Wednesday night.
UTEP (5-1) will be taking on a new-look New Mexico State (2-3) squad led by first-year head coach Jody Adams at the Don Haskins Center on Wednesday.
UTEP hopes to get back into the win column after they suffered their first loss of the season. UTEP lost to Sacramento State, 63-50, in their final game of the Holiday Beach Classic on Saturday.
That now leaves UTEP with a 5-1 record heading into their match with New Mexico State.
UTEP has been led by N’Yah Boyd and Jazion Jackson in the backcourt. Boyd averaging 14.5 points per game and Jackson putting up 10.3 points per game. Elina Arike has been the force to be reckoned with in the frontcourt. Arike is averaging 11.0 points per game along with 5.0 rebounds per game.
Defensively, the Miners have been in a groove when it comes to making life hard for opponents to score. UTEP has held all six opponents this season to fewer than 70 points. Three of those opponents have been limited to less than 60 points.
UTEP has won the last six meetings against New Mexico State. Last time UTEP suffered a loss to New Mexico State was back on Nov. 17, 2018 when the Aggies edged out the Miners 69-65 at the Don Haskins Center.
New Mexico State will be looking to snap that six game losing streak to UTEP and pick up another win over a rival in year one of the Jody Adams era.
In their second game of the regular season, New Mexico State edged out Rio Grande Rival, New Mexico, with a 73-64 win in overtime on Nov. 15 at the Pan American Center.
Since grabbing that win over New Mexico, the Aggies went onto suffer two straight losses while playing at the Denver Classic. NMSU lost to Yale (73-65) and Denver (60-51) over the weekend.
Now, New Mexico State is focused on getting back on the winning track and hoping to do it against one of their biggest rivals.
Taylor Donaldson is the leading scorer for the Aggies with 10.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game but did not play in either game last week. New Mexico State women’s basketball head coach Jody Adams said Donaldson will be back in the lineup for Wednesday’s game.
There are six players that average over 7.5 points per game for NM State. Fama Thiam with 9.8 points, Soufia Inoussa with 9.4 points per game, Molly Kaiser with 8.6 points per game, Sylena Peterson with 8.0 points per game, and Ashlee Strawbridge with 7.6 points per game.
New Mexico State and UTEP will face off with each other on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas. Tipoff is at 7:00 p.m. MT.