Women's Basketball Game Recaps

Aggies Advance To Semifinals With 55-40 Victory over Hawai'i; Face Boise State On Friday

swasson — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 01:59:35 -0500

Aggies Stun Hawai'i With Huge Second Half Comeback, 59-58

swasson — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 03:03:58 -0500

Written by: NMSU Athletic Dept.

Also See: 2008 WAC Basketball Championship Week Info

HONOLULU, HI – Freshman guard Danisha Corbett's layup with 11 seconds to play gave the Aggies their first lead of the game as the New Mexico State women's basketball team came back from a 14-point second half deficit to win a nail biter over Hawai'i, 59-58 at the Stan Sheriff Center Saturday night.

The Aggies, who enter the WAC Tournament as the No. 3 seed, finish the regular season with a 21-8 record and 11-5 WAC record. Hawai'i falls to 12-16 and 6-9 in WAC play this season.

The Wahine came out on fire in the first 20 minutes of the game, shooting 45.2 percent from the field and making 7-of-12 3-point attempts to give them a 14-point halftime lead. The Aggies only shot 27.3 percent in the opening half, were 0-4 from beyond the 3-point line and turned the ball over seven times.

NMSU Women's Basketball Team Picks Up Win No. 20

swasson — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 01:00:00 -0600

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."

Aggies Take Care Of Business At San Jose State

swasson — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 09:01:08 -0600

Written by: NMSU Athletic Dept.

SAN JOSE, CA – Four Aggies scored in doubles figures for the New Mexico State women's basketball team who forced a season-high 26 turnovers as NMSU defeated San Jose State 81-65 Thursday evening at the Events Center.

Senior forward Anikia Jawara scored a game-high 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and she made 7-of-10 foul shots. Classmate Sherell Neal added 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds while freshman guard Madison Spence hit three 3-pointers to help her to 15 points on the evening.

In her first start of the season senior guard Irma Kmitaite-Smith played a quality 30 minutes and scored 13 points to go along with a game-high five assists.

The Aggies improve to 19-6 on the year and 9-3 in the conference while the Spartans drop to 2-23 and 1-11 in the WAC.

Jawara’s Second Half Scoring Leads NMSU To Victory

swasson — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 01:00:00 -0600

Written by: NMSU Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Senior forward Anikia Jawara scored 16 second half points to help the New Mexico State women's basketball team stave off a 21-5 Louisiana Tech run to open the second half and pull out a 65-55 victory Thursday night at the Pan American Center.

The 10-point victory is the Aggies first ever win over Louisiana Tech in the regular season. NMSU now improves to 18-6 on the year and 8-3 in WAC play with its 10th-straight home victory while the Lady Techsters fall to 11-13 and 5-6 in the league.

New Mexico State was firing from all cylinders right off the opening tip and outscored the Lady Techsters 21-7 in the first 12 and a half minutes of the game. La. Tech shot just 19.4 percent in the opening half and the Aggies blocked eight shots to help them pull out to a 16-point halftime lead.

Aggie 15-Point Comeback Falls Just Short In Overtime

swasson — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 01:28:36 -0600

Written by: NMSU Athletic Dept.

BOISE, ID - Senior guard Irma Kmitaite-Smith and sophomore guard Hannah Spanich fueled a 15-point second half comeback for the New Mexico State women's basketball team against Boise State Saturday to send it into overtime, where the Aggies fell 83-82 at the Taco Bell Arena.

The Aggies used a 27-8 run from 9:42 to 3:25 left in the second half to erase the 15-point deficit and it gave NMSU a 69-66 lead. NMSU was down by two with 17 seconds to go when Spanich nailed a three to put the Aggies up by one. Boise State's Tasha Harris drove down and was fouled attempting a layup, but she only made one free throw to send it into overtime.

There the Aggies jumped out to an early five point lead, but the Broncos came back and with eight seconds to go Sierra Moeller made one free throw to give the Broncos the one-point victory.

NMSU Women's Basketball Wins With Largest Margin Of Victory This Season

swasson — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 01:00:00 -0600

Written by: NMSU Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The New Mexico State women’s basketball team came up with its largest margin of victory for the season as they beat Hawai’i 71-53, at the Pan American Center on Thursday.

The NMSU bench played exceptional as they outscored the UH bench 37-15. Senior Irma Kmitiate-Smith (Sirvintos, Lithuania) led all players with 17 points as she came off the bench going 5-of-8 from the field, 4-of-6 from 3-point land and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line. Head coach Darin Spence was happy with the way his team bounced back from a loss and how his senior shooter stepped up.

"I thought tonight was our biggest game of the year, because we were bouncing off a three-game road swing and a tough emotional loss," Spence said. "Irma did well tonight giving herself a chance to get shots off, and Monique also came off the bench and played really well."

Nevada’s Free Throw Shooting Does In NMSU In Overtime

swasson — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 01:05:12 -0600

Written by: NMSU Athletic Dept.

RENO, NV - Senior forward Sherell Neal had a game-high 21 points to lead the New Mexico State women's basketball team who lost at Nevada in overtime, 83-76, Saturday evening at the Lawlor Events Center.

Nevada shot 44 free throws in the game and made 35 of them to help them overcome a 14-point first half deficit. The Aggies fall to 14-5 on the year and 4-2 in the WAC while the Wolf Pack jump up to 14-5 and 5-1 in conference play.

"Our kids did a very good job today and we came in here and competed hard," Spence said. "I'm hurting for our kids right now, but I'm very proud of them. We got beat by a good team in their building in overtime and we'll move forward now."

Aggies Pull Away Down Stretch For Victory At Utah State

swasson — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 02:11:46 -0600

Written by: NMSU Athletic Dept.

LOGAN, UT – The New Mexico State women's basketball team overcame a sluggish first 25 minutes of the game and finished strong down the stretch to pick up a 71-58 victory over Utah State Thursday evening at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

With just over 15 minutes to play NMSU trailed by one, but the Aggies then used a 18-9 run to pull ahead and held USU to just one field goal in the final four minutes of play to seal the victory.

The Aggies victory gives them a series sweep over Utah State and NMSU now improves to 14-4 on the year and 4-1 in WAC play. USU falls to 6-12 and 2-4 in the conference this season.

Four Aggies scored in double figures with sophomore guard Hannah Spanich highlighting the game with her career-high of 15 points off of 4-of-6 shooting from the floor and a 7-of-8 performance at the free throw line.

Neal Scores 22 In Loss At Louisiana Tech

swasson — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 02:00:54 -0600

Written by: NMSU Athletic Dept.

RUSTON, LA - Senior forward Sherell Neal scored 22 points and had 12 rebounds for the New Mexico State women's basketball team who fell 57-50 at Louisiana Tech Saturday evening in the Thomas Assembly Center.

NMSU's five-game winning streak comes to an end with the loss and the Aggies are now 13-4 on the year and 3-1 in WAC play. La. Tech improves to 8-9 and 2-2 in conference play this season.

La. Tech was down by as many as 10 in the first half and by five in the second, but used an 11-0 run with under 10 minutes to play to pull ahead. The Aggies went cold on the offensive end of the court in the second half, only shooting 24.1 percent.

Head coach Darin Spence was very frustrated with his team's focus leading up to this game.

"We didn't prepare well in practice and I could just feel we weren't as focused this week," Spence said. "We didn't have the same sense of urgency tonight and we weren't able to make some easy shots."