WBB Preview: Aggies Head To The Pit For New Mexico Bout

Utah State is taking its eight-game losing streak to about as harsh an environment as it can find as it heads to the Pit in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The Aggies are just 1-15 overall in the Pit, but they aren’t unique in their struggles there. The Lobos are 8-3 at home this year and 60-17 dating back to the 2020-21 season.

New Mexico is 14-7 (6-4) and on a two-game winning streak that broke up a three-game skid. The Lobos are at fifth place in the conference and are looking to use the Aggies to start making a push to climb even higher. Last year, fifth place earned a bye in the Mountain West tournament, but this year (with the addition of Grand Canyon), the fifth seed plays the 12th seed on the first day of the tournament while the fourth seed awaits the winner of that game. The Lobos didn’t play on day one last year and they have no plans to do so this year.

New Mexico turned over some talent from last year but retooled and promoted from within to keep things rolling. Destinee Hooks, Joana Magalhaes, Nayli Padillia and Alysa Hargrove returned while players like Cacia Antonio and Laila Abdurraqib added valuable reinforcements.

Players To Know

Destinee Hooks: Hooks was an honorable mention when last year’s award season rolled around and is well on her way to making the all-conference team this year. She got off to a good start by being named to the preseason all-conference team then proceeding to drop 20-plus in two of her first three games.

She’s scored double digits in all but one game, a seven-point game in a rout over Wyoming in which she played just 18 minutes, and she now has three 20-point games with a season-high of 24 against Texas Tech. 

She can score at all three levels and is moving her game slightly outward. She’s taking fewer shots this season, down from 12.9 to 12.0 and more of them are from three, up from 4.1 to 4.6. She’s also getting to the line more often than last year and is a 68.5 percent shooter from the stripe. 

Playing off superstar Viane Cumber last season, Hooks managed 15 and 12 against the Aggies in New Mexico’s sweep over Utah State. 

Alysa Hargrove: Hargrove excels in her job as a facilitator of Mike Bradbury’s system. She leads the team in dimes and steals and performs other duties as necessary, which is displayed by her season highs of 16 points, five rebounds, assists, seven steals and three blocks.

Unfortunately for the Aggies, there’s probably not a better indicator of her ceiling than what she’s done shading the Aggies.

She torched them twice last year. In Logan, she had 20 points, eight rebounds, nine assists, four steals and a block. She was 8 of 9 from the floor, 2 of 3 from deep and 2 of 2 from the line.

Her second game, she had six points, nine rebounds, eight assists and two steals. 

Her inconsistent scoring this year has led to a seven-point average, but she’s a crafty and capable scorer looking for an excuse to get back on track. Another 20-point near miss on a triple-double with an almost immaculate shooting performance would be the exact type of thing the senior guard would love to have right about now.

Nayli Padilla: Padilla was a contributor as a freshman last year and has turned into a standout in year two.

She cashed in an average of 3.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists last year and has grown into a crucial figure in Bradbury’s squad.

She’s only started in eight of her 25 games, but in nearly doubling her minutes from 13.1 to 26.1, she spends more time on the court than anyone else on the team. 

This year, she is averaging 8.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists with 1.5 steals. She shoots 34.3 percent from deep and is one of the bigger threats from deep along with Abdurraqib, who shoots 42.6 percent, and Hooks. 

She’s coming off a quiet night against UNLV with three points, no rebounds, and just one assist.