Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - New Mexico State women’s basketball head coach Mark Trakh announced Monday afternoon that former Aggie Cecilia Russell-Nava has returned to Las Cruces as an assistant coach. Trakh also announced the Erica Sanchez has moved into the Director of Player Development position.

"We are excited to add Cece (Cecilia) to our staff,” Trakh said. “She is well known, respected and loved by our fans in the Las Cruces community having played for the Aggies. She is experienced and is a tireless worker. Cecilia will be an excellent recruiter and floor coach."

"I am very excited for this opportunity to return to my alma mater,” Russell-Nava said. “Coach Trakh is a great coach and I look forward to working with him and his staff, who are not only amazing coaches but wonderful people. Las Cruces is an area I love and call home. I know under Mark's leadership, the WAC title will only be the beginning.”  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - New Mexico State Women’s Basketball head coach Mark Trakh announced Thursday the signing of guard Emily Hardin, power forward Kassandra Harris and point guard Shanice Davis to National Letters of Intent to play basketball for the Aggies beginning in 2014-15.

Hardin attended Monache High School in Calif. Hardin was a three-sport athlete competing in volleyball, basketball and track & field. In basketball, Hardin was a 4-year varsity winner and her teams combined for an overall 84-23 record and 51-1 in the East Yosemite League. Hardin’s teams won four straight East Yosemite League titles and two California Central Section DII Championships. During her senior year she averaged 19.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 5.9 steals and 3.0 blocks. Hardin was league MVP, an all-county first team selection by the Visalia Times Delta and was an all-section first team pick by the Fresno Bee. Hardin was inducted into the Monache High School Hall of Fame. She played her AAU Club Basketball with JBS Elite from Sacramento and coach Sean Chambers.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - New Mexico State women's basketball junior guard Danesia Williamson was named to the All-Western Athletic Conference first team, the league office announced Monday, March 10. The postseason awards were voted on by the WAC’s nine head coaches.

Williamson, a San Diego, Calif., native leads the team with an average of 20.5 points a game. She has played and started in 20 games this season and scored 30-plus points in four of those contests. She scored in double figures in all but one game this year and shot 37 percent from the floor during league play.

She posted a pair of career highs in scoring against Idaho and Seattle U late in conference play. She scored 33 against the Vandals and then reestablished a career high of 36 just two days later versus the Redhawks.

She ranks third in the conference in scoring through league games with 21.4 points a game and averages 4.9 assists, which is second in the WAC. She received WAC Player of the Week accolades twice this season and picked up a double-double in the overtime win against Utah Valley with 13 points and 11 assists.

Williamson is joined on the first-team list by Idaho’s Stacey Barr, Tyonna Outland of Bakersfield, Kaitlyn Peterson of Grand Canyon and Kacie Sowell from Seattle U.

The Aggies go into the 2014 edition of the WAC Tournament as the No. 5 seed and face No. 4 Texas Pan American in the quarterfinals round on Wednesday, March 12, at 3:30 p.m. (MT)

2013-14 All-WAC Postseason Awards

First Team All-WAC
Stacey Barr Idaho G 5-8 Jr. Melbourne, Australia (Maribyrnong)
Tyonna Outland Bakersfield F 5-8 RS-Jr. Compton, Calif. (Lynwood)
Kaitlyn Petersen Grand Canyon G 5-7 Jr. Mission Viejo, Calif. (Cal State Northridge)
Kacie Sowell Seattle U P 6-2 Sr. Ventura, Calif. (Buena)
Danesia Williamson New Mexico State G 5-6 Jr. San Diego, Calif. (University of San Diego)

Second Team All-WAC
Alyssa Charlston Idaho P 6-1 Sr. Sammamish, Wash. (Eastlake)
Kim Nezianya Kansas City F 6-0 RS-Sr. Carrollton, Texas (Newman Smith)
Eilise O’Connor Kansas City G 5-8 Sr. San Francisco, Calif. (St. Ignatius Prep)
Sylvia Shephard Seattle U G 5-10 Jr. Alta Loma, Calif. (Alta Loma)
Melissa Sweat Bakersfield G 5-11 Sr. Bakersfield, Calif. (Southern Oregon)

All-Defensive Team
Brittany Bush Texas-Pan American F 6-1 Jr. Moline, Ill. (Cowley County CC)
Deanna Daniels Grand Canyon F 5-10 Sr. Las Vegas, Nev. (Pima CC)
Ali Forde Idaho P 6-2 So. Woodinville, Wash. (Woodinville)
Tyonna Outland Bakersfield F 5-8 RS-Jr. Compton, Calif. (Lynwood)
Sylvia Shephard Seattle U G 5-10 Sr. Alta Loma, Calif. (Alta Loma)

All-Newcomer Team
Johnna Brown Grand Canyon F 6-0 Sr. Las Vegas, Nev. (Dixie State)
Shawnte’ Goff Texas-Pan American G 5-8 Fr. Copperas Cove, Texas (Copperas Cove)
Katie Kuklok Utah Valley G 5-10 So. Poway, Calif. (University of San Diego)
Rhaiah Spooner-Knight Utah Valley G 5-10 Fr. Hamilton, New Zealand (Sacred Heart)
Melissa Sweat Bakersfield G 5-11 Sr. Bakersfield, Calif. (Southern Oregon)

Player of the Year: Stacey Barr, Idaho
Freshman of the Year: Shawnte’ Goff, Texas-Pan American
Coach of the Year: Jon Newlee, Idaho

The New Mexico State men's and women's basketball teams will begin their quests for an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament next week at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Due to Grand Canyon University's ineligibility for postseason play due to making the transition from Division II to Division I just eight teams will make the trek to Las Vegas for the tournament.

The Aggie women finished the regular season with a 7-9 record in conference play tying for sixth place. The Aggies earned the 5-seed and will face 4-seed UT Pan American at 3:30 MDT in the second of four quarterfinals to be played on Wednesday. The Aggies and Broncs split the two regular season meetings with each winning on their respective home courts. The Broncs defeated the Aggies 66-61 in Edinburg on January 25th and the Aggies returned the favor winning 83-71 on February 20th.

With a victory the Aggies would face the winner of the game between top seeded Idaho and 8-seed Chicago State.

Aggie men finished with a 12-4 earning the 2-seed and will face 7-seed Seattle at 9:30 p.m. MDT in the final game of the day on Thursday. The Aggies swept the Redhawks winning 96-87 on January 9th and 92-77 on February 8th. With a win the Aggies would advance to the semifinals to face the winner of the 3 vs. 6 matchup between Chicago State and Bakersfield.

All games except the championship game will be streamed online via WAC.tv. Both the men's and women's championship games will be televised on ESPNU.

Bakersfield
2 Locked in

Idaho
1 Locked in

Chicago State
8 Locked in

Kansas City
3 If Kansas City beats Idaho, Grand Canyon beats UTPA and Chicago State beats Seattle U
4 If Kansas City beats Idaho, UTPA beats Grand Canyon and Chicago State beats Seattle U OR If Kansas City beats Idaho, Grand Canyon beats UTPA and Seattle U beats Chicago State
5 If Kansas City beats Idaho, UTPA beats Grand Canyon and Seattle U beats Chicago State OR If Kansas City loses to Idaho, UTPA beats Grand Canyon and Seattle U beats Chicago State
6 If Kansas City loses to Idaho and Chicago State beats Seattle U OR If Kansas City loses to Idaho, Grand Canyon beats UTPA and Seattle U beats Chicago State

New Mexico State
5 If Idaho beats Kansas City and Chicago State beats Seattle U OR If Idaho beats Kansas City, Grand Canyon beats UTPA and Seattle U beats Chicago State
6 If Kansas City beats Idaho OR If Seattle U beats Chicago State, UTPA beats Grand Canyon and Idaho beats Kansas City

Seattle U
3 If Seattle U beats Chicago State OR If Seattle U loses, Grand Canyon beats UTPA and Idaho beats Kansas City
4 If Seattle U loses to Chicago State, UTPA beats Grand Canyon and Idaho beats Kansas City OR If Seattle U loses to Chicago State, Grand Canyon beats UTPA and Kansas City beats Idaho
5 If Seattle U loses to Chicago State, UTPA beats Grand Canyon and Kansas City beats Idaho

Texas-Pan American
3 If UTPA beats Grand Canyon and Chicago State beats Seattle U
4 If UTPA beats Grand Canyon and Seattle U beats Chicago State OR If UTPA loses to Grand Canyon and Idaho beats Kansas City
5 If UTPA loses to Grand Canyon and Kansas City beats Idaho

Utah Valley
7 Locked in

Written By: WAC Media Relations

DENVER, CO - New Mexico State junior guard Danesia Williamson has been named Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 3-9. This is her first WAC Player of the Week honor of the season and the second of her career.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - New Mexico State sophomore guard Abby Scott was names Player of the Week by the Western Athletic Conference for her stellar performance on the court during the week of Jan. 13-19.

The Madras, Ore., native led the Aggies to a pair of wins at the Pan American Center, breaking a conference and school record along the way. She notched a career-high 36 points with 11 three-pointers, breaking the WAC and NM State record for three-pointers in a game and moving in to tie for second in the NCAA. Scott also had five rebounds and four assists in the Aggies 82-61 win over Chicago State, while sinking nearly half of NM State’s points in the game. She came back on Saturday for 25 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, helping the Aggies to a 106-77 win over Kansas City. She averaged 30.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and over three assists on the week while shooting 46.3 percent from three-point range.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Abby Scott, a sophomore guard for the New Mexico State women’s basketball team, had a record-setting night against Chicago State on Thursday, Jan. 16, helping the Aggies to an 82-61 win. The Madras, Ore., native scored 36 points and set a new school and Western Athletic Conference record for most 3-point field goals made in a single game.

Scott was 11-for-20 from 3-point range, which surpasses Hall of Fame member Mari Sanchez’s 10 made 3-pointers from back in 2002 against Louisiana-Lafayette and sets her atop the NM State record book. Scott scored 36 points, which was the first 30-point game from an Aggie since Danisha Corbett in Jan. 2011. She is now tied for third in the Aggie record book for most points in a game. The 11 3-pointers also break the WAC record for most in a single game.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - New Mexico State head women’s basketball coach Mark Trakh announced that freshman guard Vanessa Garner has made the decision to leave the team for personal reasons and junior forward September Offutt has been dismissed from the team after unfortunately being classified as academically ineligible.

“We are very sad to see Vanessa go. As a freshman, she started every game, played nearly 30 minutes and averaged 10 points, so she was a big contributor. The reason for her leaving is beyond the coaching staff’s control. We wish her all the best in the world and we are going to do everything we can to find her a school closer to her home in California,” Trakh said.

Garner started the season with five games scoring in double figures. She led the Aggies in scoring through most of non-conference play and scored a career-high 26 points against Loyola Marymount on Nov. 16. Offutt started nine games for NM State and led the team with 7.3 rebounds a game. She also averaged 9.1 points per contest.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The New Mexico State Athletics Department, in conjunction with US Bank, is proud to announce this year’s inductees into the US Bank/NM State Athletics Hall of Fame.

The class of 2014 will include former women’s basketball star Melanie Maynes-Alfaro, former men’s golfer and men’s golf head coach Scott Lieberwirth and the ‘Voice of the Aggies’ Jack Nixon. The Hall of Fame ceremony will take place Feb. 1 at halftime when the Aggies take on Utah Valley in the Pan American Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.  Continue Reading This Post >>