Aggie women claim win over UT Rio Grande Valley in Monday afternoon makeup game

LAS CRUCES – Maybe the Aggies should play on Mondays at noon more often.
 
In the early week matchup, NM State put together an impressive four quarters to come away with a 63-51 victory over the visiting UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros.
 
Graduate student Tayelin Grays was the Aggies leading scorer for the second time this season as she compiled career-highs in both points and rebounds, finishing with 18 points and 12 boards. Two other Aggies also got into double-digits as junior Soufia Inoussa recorded 10 points and four rebounds while Molly Kaiser scored 10 points for her fifth double-digit scoring effort of the season.
 
As a unit, the Aggies only turned the ball over 12 times to post their lowest total in eight outings. On the defensive end, NM State snagged 10 steals, marking the sixth time that Brooke Atkinson's team has recorded double-digit steal totals this season. That same defense also limited the Vaqueros to just two second-chance points in the win.
 
In total, the Aggies finished with better numbers on the box score in shooting percentage, three-point percentage, turnovers, points off turnovers, total rebounds, second-chance points, bench points, points in the paint, fast-break points and steals.
 
For the Vaqueros, their top scorer was Sara Bershers who finished with 13 points while adding a team-high six rebounds. UTRGV also finished with six other players who each made exactly two field goals.
 
FIRST QUARTER
· After leading the Aggies in scoring on Saturday against Grand Canyon, Mel Isbell picked up right where she left off as she hit a jumper in transition to get the scoring underway for both sides.
· The Vaqueros then rattled off five straight to take the lead before Tayelin Grays' strong quarter started with a jumper from the right baseline.
· Inoussa followed Grays with a two of her own prior to Grays knocking down just her fifth three-pointer of the season to cap off a 7-0 run and put the Aggies ahead 9-5 at the 6:21 mark in the opening period.
· Grays continued her scorching start as she connected on a pair of free throws while Isbell followed with a free throw herself to give the Aggies a five-point advantage with 5:22 to play.
· UTRGV responded with its second 5-0 run of the quarter to bring the score to a dead heat at 12.
· Later in the quarter, Molly Kaiser got on the board as a smooth crossover turned into a jumper over UTRGV's Sara Bershers from near the top of the key to put the Aggies up 16-14 with 1:00 to play
· Grays then scored on a possession in which the Aggies got two extra chances thanks to offensive rebounds, giving her nine points and five rebounds and helping give the Aggies a four-point lead after just one quarter of play.
 
SECOND QUARTER
· Just as she did in the first quarter, Isbell got the Aggies on the board in the second when she hit a left-handed floater from the left baseline to put the Aggies up 22-18 with less than a minute gone in the quarter.
· Taylor Donaldson then used an up-and-under move to get to the rim and put the Aggies up six with just under nine minutes left in the first half.
· UTRGV quickly responded as Bershers knocked down one of her four three-pointers in the game before the Aggies' Kaiser came up with a steal and a fast break layup to put the Aggies ahead 26-21.
· After a pair of UTRGV free throws, four different Aggies combined to help NM State go on a 7-0 run and extend its lead to 10 points, the largest of the first half.
· Grays poured in the final points of the run to bring her first-half total to 11 points to lead both sides.
· A UTRGV layup from Kacee Kyle marked the final points of the half and resulted in an eight-point lead for the home squad after two quarters with the score at 33-25.
 
THIRD QUARTER
· Carrying an eight-point advantage, the Aggies came out of the locker room flat and allowed the Vaqueros to score seven unanswered points and cut the lead to just one point with 7:19 remaining.
· The Aggies first field goal of the third quarter did not come until the 6:25 mark when Molly Kaiser used a nifty hesitation move to drive around Bershers and give the Aggies a 35-32 lead.
· Kaiser continued to dazzle as she used a crossover at the 5:03 mark to score her ninth and 10^th points of the contest and extend the Aggie lead to five points.
· Grays also returned to her ways from the first half as she increased her total to 13 points and helped get the Aggies to a 40-36 lead after the Vaqueros' Brooke Jessen knocked down a triple on the other end.
· UTRGV's Tiffany McGarity then followed the Grays bucket with a three of her own to reduce the lead to one point once again.
· The Aggies responded by way of an Isbell jumper and a pair of free throws from the hands of Deja Terrell and eventually the Aggies would hoist a 45-41 lead at the conclusion of three quarters.
 
FOURTH QUARTER
· As slowly as the Aggies started the third, the beginning of the fourth was just the opposite as NM State began the final period on a 11-0 run which included three-pointers from Grays, Terrell and Inoussa. The Aggies went up 14 points after the spurt, equaling their largest lead of the game.
· The other scorer during the stretch was Bigue Sarr who scored her first points of the afternoon at the 6:57 mark in the fourth.
· Coming out of a UTRGV-called timeout, the Vaqueros scored via a Iva Belosevic two-pointer.
· After a back-and-forth two minutes of play that saw the Aggies' lead diminished to single digits, Soufia Inoussa scored what felt like the dagger of the Monday matchup as she hit a jumper with 1:30 remaining to put the Aggies ahead, 59-48.
· In the final minute and a half of the tilt, Grays scored to lift her scoring total to a game-high and career-high 18 points.
· The Aggies finished with an 18-10 advantage in the fourth quarter and pulled away to earn the 12-point nod and stake claim to their third win in WAC play.
 
UP NEXT
· The Aggies will now return to hotel beds as they hit the road for a two-game stretch that includes away games against California Baptist (15-4, 6-2) and Seattle U (6-13, 1-7).
· The first test away from home will come in Riverside, Calif., when they take on the Lancers inside the CBU Events Center on Thursday, Feb. 3, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. (MT).