LAS CRUCES, N.M. — The Chicago State women's basketball team (4-21, 3-13 WAC) dropped its matchup with New Mexico State, 80-71, Saturday at the Pan American Center.
Aaliyah Collins led the Cougars with 20 points on 10-of-10 free-throw shooting, while Janiah Newell and Christina Britter both scored 12 points. Laura Segues added seven points.
Collins and Newell scored the Cougars' first two buckets in the first quarter, but a hot offensive start for New Mexico State had the Aggies up, 5-4, at the 6:00 mark. For the remainder of the quarter, the teams remained tight, as Allysah Boothe nailed a trey and Haidara dropped in a contested layup. With 2:00 to go in the quarter, the teams were knotted up at 11 apiece. Collins and Haklicka both scored down the stretch as the Aggies left the first on top, 17-15.
In the second frame, a pair of Britter turnaround jumpers kept the Cougars within a point of the Aggies, who continued to score behind Fama Thiam and Adrianna Henderson. Three minutes in, the Cougars trailed, 24-21.
Quentarra Mitchell then drilled a bucket to pull to within a point before the Aggies rattled off five straight points to leak ahead, 28-23. The Cougars rallied to tie it at 30 with 1:30 to halftime, and the teams remained tied to halftime, 34-34.
In the second half, the Aggies took control. After a Nafatoumata bucket, New Mexico State went on a 12-0 run to go ahead, 46-38. Britter ended the run with 3:19 left in the third, drilling a jumper, but the Aggies quickly responded with a spurt to end the third on top, 56-47.
In the fourth, a methodical New Mexico State offense stayed efficient, ballooning the lead to 69-55 by the 4:10 mark and putting it away down the stretch, 80-71.
Next up for the Cougars is a two-game homestead to close the regular season: California Baptist at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday and Seattle U at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, both at the Jones Convocation Center.
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. In 1991, the Chicago State women's tennis team became the first all-black college team to amass an unbeaten season at the NCAA level. 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, also making 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. Chicago State volleyball recorded a historic season in 2021, with Yanlis Feliz becoming CSU's first volleyball All-American and head coach Tony Trifonov earning selection as WAC Coach of the Year.
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