The Chicago State women's basketball team looks for its first WAC home win as it hosts New Mexico State at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday. Here's how to watch, follow and attend Tuesday's matinee:
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WHAT'S HAPPENING Chicago State women's basketball searches for its first home WAC win as it hosts New Mexico State for the first time in 2022, a game that was initially slated for New Year's Day but postponed due to health and safety protocols.
ALL-TIME New Mexico State has won all 18 of its matchups against the Cougars, starting in 2014. Last season, the squads faced off twice in Chicago, with the Aggies winning, 73-40, and 71-47.
LAST TIME OUT The Cougars fell to Lamar at home on Saturday, a game in which CSU outscored the Cardinals, 38-34, in the first, third and fourth quarters, but Lamar's 21-9 second quarter proved too much. Aaliyah Collins led the Cougars with 23 points, and Allysah Booth knocked down three treys, but the Cougars lost their second consecutive game.
SIZING UP THE AGGIES The Aggies are in their sixth season under head coach Brooke Atkinson, who guided the program to five consecutive WAC titles from 2015-19 and was named WAC Coach of the Year in 2017-18. Oklahoma State transfer Bigue Sarr leads a frontcourt-heavy New Mexico State team that went 9-12 last season.
CLIMBING THE RANKS As just a freshman, former Washington State Player of the Year Aaliyah Collons has taken the conference — and nation — by storm. She leads the Cougars (and ranks fourth in the WAC) with 16.1 points per game, and her 2.7 steals per game rank second in the league, an average that ranks 20th in NCAA Division I. On Tuesday, Jan. 18, Collins earned the first USBWA Freshman of the Week honor for a WAC student-athlete and the first for a mid-major player since Nov. 2019. Collins has also been named WAC Freshman of the Week four times this season, the most ever for a Chicago State basketball player, men's or women's.
About Chicago State
Chicago State University Athletics is comprised of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. Melvin Bland was the first CSU student-athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Fred Evans became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. CSU's women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational and CSU's men's basketball team won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament title and made an appearance in the CollegeInside.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The Men's Outdoor Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay team were 2019 Honorable Mention All-Americans and WAC Champions. Their feat marked the first time the Chicago State's men's track & field program was represented at the national meet.Â
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