LAS CRUCES – The New Mexico State women’s basketball team finished the game plus-40 in the rebounding column as they sailed past the Warriors of SAGU American Indian College, 110-40 on Tuesday afternoon.
After capturing the lead at the 7:53 mark in the opening quarter, the Aggies only distanced themselves to finish with the second-largest margin of victory in program history.
Bigue Sarr was more than dominant in the paint as she finished with a career-high 30 points on 15-of-16 from the field and pulled down 10 rebounds to finish with her third double-double of the season. Sylena Peterson and Fama Thiam also turned in career highs as both guards posted 19 points in the contest.
Shania Harper also jumped off the box score as she emerged from the game just two points shy of a double-double finishing with eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
FIRST QUARTER
With the Aggies missing two of their top-four leading scorers, Bigue Sarr came out with the intent to score the ball as she scored 10 of the Aggies’ first 22 points to open the quarter. Sarr’s paint presence set the tone for the rest of the game as the Aggies outscored the Warriors 62-20 in the painted zone on the afternoon. Soufia Inoussa also played a big part in building an early lead as she notched seven early points as part of a 17-0 Aggie run to help build a 22-5 advantage at the 3:55 mark of the first quarter. Five points from Kayla Watkins near the end of the period helped the Aggies to their highest first-quarter total this season as they entered the second quarter with a 31-8 lead.
SECOND QUARTER
The Aggies kept their foot on the gas in the second quarter as three-pointers from Jade Bradley and Janessa Johnson highlighted a 13-point run for the Aggies to extend the lead to 48-14 with 4:11 left to play in the first half. After posting 12 points in the first quarter, Sarr added another 10 to her scoring line in the second quarter, including four straight to give NM State a 36-point lead with 1:41 remaining in the period. A Kayla Watkins steal that turned into a Fama Thiam layup on the other end boosted the Aggies to a 59-20 lead to close the half.
THIRD QUARTER
American Indian College showed some fight out of the break as they scored the first points of the second half and then traded baskets with the Aggies for the first three minutes of the third quarter to trail 26-62 at the 6:42 mark. NM State got back in the driver seat as they scored 12 unanswered points with six points coming from the hands of Sylena Peterson. Peterson also scored the final five points of the period to finish with 11 third-quarter points and give the Aggies a 89-21 lead entering the fourth.
FOURTH QUARTER
Peterson continued to scorch the net as she opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer from the right wing off an assist from Moe Shida. The ensuing four points came from Fama Thiam as she knocked down a free throw before burying a three-pointer to start an 11-point scoring streak for the Aggies. Janessa Johnson also scored five of her eight total points during the run, giving the Aggies a 95-32 advantage with 6:21 remaining. NM State then quickly reached the century mark as Shania Harper scored following an offensive board to push the score to 100-36. Back-to-back three-pointers from Thiam eventually helped the Aggies reach 110 total points. Tuesday marked the first time NM State tallied 100-plus points since they did so on Nov. 26, 2018 when they defeated Northern New Mexico, 101-51. This also marks the highest point total for the Aggies since they knocked off Western New Mexico, 115-37, on Dec. 12, 1987.
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