Written by: NMSU Athletic Dept.
Also See: bleedCrimson.net Weekly Coach Spence Interview :: 02/25/08
LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The New Mexico State women's basketball team reached win No. 20 of the season as they beat Nevada 70-49 at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, N.M. Thursday, Feb. 28.
This is the first time the Aggies have reached 20 wins since the 1995-96 season when they went 20-9. NMSU improves to 20-6 this season and 10-3 in the Western Athletic Conference while Nevada falls to 18-9 overall and 9-5 in the WAC. Head coach Darin Spence is extremely proud of how far his team has come.
"Getting win No. 20 shows that all the hard work has paid off and all the time our coaches and players have put in," coach Spence said. "I am really proud of all our kids and our staff."
Senior Irma Kmitaite-Smith was joined by fellow senior Sherell Neal to lead the Aggies with 17 points each. Kmitaite-Smith was hot from three-point land as she was 3-of-4 from behind the arc. She was also 2-for-3 from the free throw stripe.
"She brought her game tonight," Spence said. "She gives us a confident ball-handler who can also score points for us."
NMSU out shot the Wolf Pack in the game 42 to 29 percent, while the Aggies added 16 points off turnovers compared to Nevada's six.
The Aggies went on a 12-4 run after the half that was capped off by a Kmitaite-Smith three to give NMSU a 41-33 lead with 15:12 left in the game.
NMSU went on another run of 8-0 after the Wolf Pack had made a lay-up. The Aggies were up 49-35 with 12:29 left in the game. That was followed with another Kmitaite-Smith three to widen the lead to 52-36 after a Nevada free throw.
Consecutive lay-ups from Anikia Jawara, Neal and Tyshae Walton gave NMSU a 60-39 lead, before the Aggies kept their 10-0 run going to take a 64-39 lead with 5:39 left in the game. The Aggies held Nevada to 10 points up the 4:45 mark when a Wolf Pack player made a tough lay-up.
Jawara finished the night strong with 15 points and eight rebounds.
Neal got her 17th point of the game with a lay-up between two Nevada defenders to put NMSU up 68-41 with 2:44 left in the game.
The game was pretty much even in all aspects of the game going into the half Nevada out rebounded the Aggies by one 22-21. The Aggies came up with five points off turnovers, while the Wolf Pack had six. NMSU had six second chance points and the Wolf Pack had four, while the NMSU bench scored eight points and the Nevada bench scored seven.
Both Kmitaite-Smith and Neal led the way for the Aggies with seven points as both players hit a three. Neal also led her team in rebounds with six and Jawara pulled down five boards of her own.
The Aggies got the first lead of the game off an Jawara lay-up but Nevada put on a tough full court defense that trouble the NMSU offense. Nevada went on a 7-4 run to take a 9-6 lead with 14:08 left in the first half.
Hannah Spanich tied the game up with a three from the corner, which was followed by a three from Sherrell Neal to give NMSU a 12-9 lead. Kmitaite-Smith kept the run going with a steal, which she took coast-to-coast for a lay-up to stretch the lead to 14-9.
Nevada fought back and hit a three of their own to cut the lead to 14-12. After the Aggies made a free throw, the Wolf Pack hit two straight jump shots to take a 16-15 lead with 7:52 left in the half.
Kmitaite-Smith hit a three with 5:39 left in the half to get the lead back at 24-22. The lead didn'åt last long as a Wolf Pack shooter hit a three and took the score to 25-24. Spanich tied the game up again at 25 a piece with 3:19 left in the half.
Monique Bribiescas was fouled as she drove strong to the basket but she made the basket and the foul to give NMSU a 28-25 lead. Nevada hit a long two with 2:19 left in the half, then took the lead on a runner, with 1:10 left. The score was 29-28 in favor of the Wolf Pack before Jawara was fouled. She hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 29 with 54 seconds left in the first half which would end in that fashion.
The Aggies return action when they take on Fresno State at the Pan American Center, Saturday, March 1 with game time set for 7:05 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the radio at KSNM AM 570 with Jeanean Ford calling the play-by-play. Live stats, a recap and box score of the game will also be available for fans at www.nmstatesports.com.
