In an intense battle, the NMSU women’s basketball team defeated UT Arlington 69-60 last night in a Western Athletic Conference game at the Pan Am Center.
After suffering a loss in a tough game against California Baptist last Saturday, the Aggies (14-14, 9-7) recovered and came with a purpose to win against their opposition.
The crowd went wild when Aggie point guard Molly Kaiser scored a shot in the first several seconds of the game, giving the Aggies a hot start. Kaiser scored both a career-high and team-high 27 points.
The Aggies were in control during the first quarter, but then the Lady Mavericks (13-15, 7-9) started to gain momentum after scoring a shot when Kaiser missed hers, which led to a grown from the crowd. The Lady Mavs made a comeback toward the end of the first quarter, ending it just two points behind the Aggies at 14-12.
The second quarter was comparable to the first quarter, but the Aggies were more dominant. Still, the Lady Mavs put up a good fight. During the last seconds of the second quarter, Aggie point guard Sylena Peterson made fans leap out of their seats when she scored a 3-pointer to end the first half with the Aggies up 30-17.
Momentum shifted into the Lady Mavs’ favor in the second half, particularly in the fourth quarter. The quarter began with the Aggies up 49-32, but the Lady Mavs kept on scoring more points, making the game more intense. The Aggies fought back, scoring more points of their own.
Fans were on the edge of their seats and cheering for the Aggies to win. It was such a close battle, but in the end the Lady Mavs accepted defeat when the buzzer sounded.
NMSU head coach Jody Adam sounded proud of her team after the game. “I thought it was gritty. I thought that we were resilient,” Adams said.
Kaiser, a junior at NMSU, said she felt great and happy that the team got another win on senior night because of how hard the team had been working. She explained that it was big for her to “execute and get the win for [the team].”
“I feel really good about my team’s performance. I feel like we came out here and we were the dogs from the start,” Kaiser said.
Kaiser said it did not matter if the other team won or not because they stuck to the game plan and executed it.
Regarding her own performance, Kaiser simply thanked her fellow teammates.
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