NM State Aggies vs Utah Valley Wolverines Women’s Basketball 12-16-23

Isn’t this poster gorgeous?  Unlike the last couple of hijacked Aggie Women’s Basketball posts (11-18-23 and 12-5-23), this post will mostly focus on their game and not the New Mexico Bowl (but with a couple of diversions). 

 

The Aggie Men played basketball Friday night in a rematch with the Lobos in Las Cruces.  After losing by 44 points two weeks ago in Albuquerque and a close win over NAIA Northern New Mexico earlier in the week, the Aggies played much better this time.  They hung with the 10-1 Lobos for the entire game.  The Aggies had a slim lead late before losing it to a Lobo three-pointer and then having a turnover with 4 seconds left, which sealed it.  UNM won 73-72, but hopefully the Aggies have learned how to play as a team much better for the rest of the season.

 

An officer at work gave tickets to the game to a co-worker.  Taylor was going to ask if I wanted to go before he remembered that I work at night.  He was excited about the game before I told him about the previous blowout.  I hope he found someone to go with and went anyway.  It was a great game.  Admittedly, I was busy and only really listened to the end of it.

Boy did I whiff on this one.  After kind of waffling on getting a Bowl game t-shirt earlier in the week, I’d decided I might get one before the Saturday game.  I’d neglected to consider the possibility that the Merchandise kiosk wasn’t even going to be open for it.  Oops.  Really though, none of the designs I glanced at stood out, which was the real reason I didn’t get one.  However, I saw this picture from the Aggie tailgate.  If I see one of those shirts available, I’ll probably get it. 

 

The Pan-Am Center was actually being run by skeleton crew today.  There was no Band or Cheerleaders.  I’m not even sure who was in charge.  The staff were all up in Albuquerque.  No wonder the idea of holding a football watch party afterward was laughable.  Duke Keith, who called the Men’s game last night, was here to do the TV coverage today.  (I think I saw his partner and all-time Aggie great, Anita Skipper, in the crowd.)   

 

I was worried the crowd was going to be super-light as well.  It was pretty empty when I came in.  There was a section of young girls in white face paint and wearing green wigs and striped outfits next to me.  It turned out they were a dance group.  (Whew!  I was afraid the ban on mimes at sporting events had been lifted.)  They were having a good time.  Their parents came in later (and sat in front of me where I could smell them and their concession food).  This did bolster the crowd to a tally of 351.

 

Utah Valley was warming up on court when I came in.  They are a generally good-looking team.  A couple of them were quite attractive.  Unfortunately, they all ran off the court before the Anthem.  Sigh, I almost switched sides.  They were a spirited group.  They formed an enthusiastic rally circle after introductions and were cheering loudly for each other all through the game.   

 

In spite of the small crowd, the Aggies were all smiles when they came down from the stands to the court.  Coach Adams came in wearing an ugly Christmas sweater.  It was quiet enough that when the refs met with the team captains I could hear them.  They all agreed that nobody really wanted to be here and that we all had better things to do. 

 

I noticed three of the suites were occupied this afternoon.  They didn’t have the TV’s on in there, so I didn’t bother trying to think up a way to get in there to watch the bowl game.  (I don’t have cable or any other place to watch it.)  Hey, I did get a shirt.  A staffer tossed a shirt into the crowd before the game.  However, he was aiming for a couple of guys behind me.  I caught it and handed it to them.    

Posting another Tylie Jones pic.  She's wearing a boot right now.

First Quarter

Jaila Harding started off the scoring with a free throw.  She missed the second one.  Ene Adams got the rebound.  Molly Kaiser passed to Sylena Peterson for a layup.  The Aggies were looking sharp to start.  UTV fouled again on the next trip.  It was a physical game, though not contentious. 

 

Jaila hit a 3 to make it 6-2 Aggies with 8’ left in the quarter.  The coach was very animated during the game.  She got mad at Loes Rozing loud enough that everyone heard it.  The coach pulled her off the court for a quick lecture on the sideline. 

 

6’ Ene made a layup and was fouled.  She missed the free throw, but there was Jaila again with the rebound and a jumper, 10-6 Aggies.  A few players from the Men’s team came in and sat in the Student Section.  Maybe they came from practice.  (I don’t know who they are to identify them.) 

 

After the Media timeout (and boy were those breaks long without Dance Cam and the other activities), Sianny Sanchez-Oliver found Ene under the basket with a nice pass, 14-6.  The Aggies got called for a blocking foul on defense.  Coach Adams was hopping mad.  I thought she was about to put herself into the game.  The Aggies ended up committing four fouls in a row without scoring. 

 

UTV made a bit of run to get the score closer.  I noticed Femme Sikuzani Masudi was back playing after taking the last game off.  She was limping and wearing a big leg brace.  Later in the game, she took it off on court and played without it. 

 

1’ left in the quarter, there was a stoppage as the shot clocks suddenly went out.  Ah, this is what we all wanted—a 10-minute delay.  The refs called the coaches over after the delay and I thought they were about to call the game, but suddenly the shot clocks came back on.  I had mixed feelings.  It took three false starts, but the game finally restarted.  

 

Molly made a great move getting to the basket.  It was a little too good and she was called for a travel.  In the final seconds, Kaylee Byon, the shortest player on the court, drove the lane for a layup for the Wolverines.  It was 18-12 Aggies after 10 minutes.

 

Second Quarter

There was another long delay or it just felt like it.  Before play resumed, Ally Criddle and Kaylee hugged on court like kids.  It’s always nice to see some genuine camaraderie between teammates.  After a nervous start by both teams, Molly started the Aggie scoring with a jumper.  On a fastbreak, Sylena found Ene under the basket.  Sabou Gueye made a pretty reverse layup.  The Aggies went up 24-14.

 

What briefly followed was a series of wild shots and turnovers for both teams, and even girls falling on top of each other.  It wasn’t sloppy; it was comedy.  After a few minutes, we went back to playing basketball.  Molly hit a jumper and was fouled and converted on a free throw.  She followed that up with a 3.  31-16 Aggies.  Femme made a shot from under the basket.  Molly faked out a defender bad enough, that the girl fell to the floor.  In the closing seconds, Sylena made a steal and was fouled on the layup and made the free throws.  The half ended with the Aggies taking a commanding 35-17 lead.

 

Halftime

The Venom Dancers performed.  First there was a troop of little girls.  They were pretty impressive.  The teen girls came out and their makeup and costumes made more sense, as their dance theme was Beetlejuice.  At one point, they made a kicking chorus line.  The parents were all around me, making videos, and going crazy.  Afterward, the girls walked by and got another round of applause.  They were all totally gassed.

 

Third Quarter

The families and the dancers left.  There was still a somewhat respectable crowd left.  Jaila hit a 3 to start.  Sylena made a kind of lucky reverse layup to make it 40-17.  I know it was lucky, because she was smiling afterward.  Halle Nelson, a rather striking blonde on the Wolverines, made an angry layup that somehow went in.  Molly may have taken a hit during the shot.  She seemed a little shaken up after. 

 

Coach Adams was not toning it down with big lead.  She was yelling loud enough for everyone to hear.  6’ left in the quarter, Lucia Yenes got her first points with a jumper and she followed that up with another.  44-23 going into the Media timeout. 

 

3’ Wolverine Kylee Mabry made a steal, but Femme stole it back on the other end, which led to a layup by Molly.  Femme even got an assist with a great backdoor pass to Lucia for a layup.  Lucia finished up with a 3 in the last 3 seconds of the quarter, 54-31 Aggies.

 

Fourth Quarter

By this point, the football pregame show was on the radio, which I had brought with me.  Also, this game was no longer in doubt.  Lucia hit a jumper to make it 58-31.  Halle made a 3 for UTV.  Sha’Kyia Parker came in to the game and made a 3 heading into the Media timeout, 62-37.

 

Injured girls on the Aggie bench were doing a synchronized dance to the music.  They were having a good time.  Jaila was also having a good time, as she added another a pair of 3’s and jumper to her total.  Aggies win 70-39.

 

I don’t remember Utah Valley being this bad in WAC games.  I’m too lazy to look my previous posts.  Whatever.  This wasn’t a conference game.  Liana Kaitu’u led for the Wolverines with 11 points.  For the Aggies, Jaila Harding led with 17 points.  Lucia Yenes and Molly Kaiser had 11 points, and Femme Sikuzani Masudi had 10.  Sylena Peterson had 8 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds.  Ene Adams had 8 points and 7 rebounds. 

 

The biggest reason for the Aggies’ victory was that the Wolverines couldn’t shoot.  The stats back up what I was seeing.  The shooting was 53%, to 28%, three-pointers 46% to 12%, and free throws were 73% to 40%.  The Aggies also led in points off turnovers 28 to 13.  This was an impressive effort by the team.  On the way out, I ran into Sylena in the concourse.  I called her by name and said the team had a great game.  She smiled and gave me a high-five. 

 

I went over to Dominos to get a Chicken Bacon Ranch sandwich that I’d been wanting for a month.  I ran into the coach who does the color commentary for the broadcasts.  I don’t know his name, but I said “Hi.”  He was more interested in getting dinner than talking.  I was kind of hoping they might be showing the game on the TV’s at Dominos, but they were only showing Internet videos interspersed with Pfizer ads every minute.  It was a little uncomfortable (if not horrifying).     

 

The New Mexico Bowl: NMSU Aggies vs. Fresno State Bulldogs

I got home to eat (the sandwich was great) and listen to the game on the radio.  Okay, I’ve been putting this part off.  The Aggies lost 37-10.  It wasn’t even really that close.

 

From the pregame interviews, the team was concerned about Fresno State’s offense, but it was their defense that strangled them.  I think the Aggies’ plan was to hold the ball on long offensive drives to keep the Bulldog offense off the field, but they kept going 3-and-out.  The Aggie offense has been badly shutout for entire halves during the season.  The offensive plan seems like: Diego Pavia à ??? à touchdown.  The emphasis was on the defense coming up big and preventing touchdowns.  Against Liberty and Fresno State, teams they couldn’t completely stop, they needed more thought on offense than to just hold the ball and grind it out.      

The Aggies were 3-point favorites.  Fresno State was a powerful team at the start of the season, but an injury to their quarterback, Mikey Keene, had relegated them to a lesser bowl game.  Keene was back playing at the end of the season and had a great game.  The Aggies were playing the Bulldogs at the wrong time.  They were playing the team that was going to be headed to a New Years’ bowl game, not the one that finished the regular season.    

 

There was a great crowd for the game at 30,800.  We assume they were mostly Aggie fans.  Hopefully they had a decent time even with the loss.  This was a great season regardless.  NMSU beat Auburn and made it to the C-USA Conference Championship game in their first year.  They played 15 games and finished with 10 wins.  The poster is still looks magnificent on my wall and I might still get a t-shirt.  

NM State Aggies vs WNM Mustangs Women’s Basketball 12-12-23

Sylena Peterson flexes.

I almost didn’t go today.  I was depressed for no specific reason.  An overcast sky seemed to make everything dreary.  If my ennui had peaked earlier, I’d might have called work and canceled the day off.  I was finally caught up at work from taking four days off last month.  Probably the only reason I went was a promoted cool giveaway poster for the upcoming Aggie bowl game.  I’ll put up a picture of it in another post.  I’m embarrassed to admit this, but it was worth going just to get it. 

 

Since this was a double header with the Aggie Men and Women, I sort of decided I’d hit the grill after the Women’s game, so I’d be going for dinner, too.  (The grill is only open for Men’s games.)  Both games were with NAIA directional New Mexico colleges.  These would not be marquee matchups.  I did see my broker today (maybe that’s why I was depressed).  He said that NM State was legislatively obligated to play these schools every year.  He said he also had season tickets, but hadn’t used them yet.    

 

I ran into Marketing Director Nicole Sack up front.  I immediately asked the question I wanted to ask somebody in charge last game.  Since the Saturday Women’s game had been moved up to accommodate the bowl game, would they be doing a watch party at the Pan-Am Center on the video boards after the basketball game?  She darn near laughed at me.  I didn’t bother with the fund-raising ideas I had for the watch party.  So much for that.

 

I did pick up a poster, which were all gone after the Women’s game.  The merch kiosk had bowl game t-shirts on sale.  I really don’t need any more t-shirts, but . . . I’ll think about it again on Saturday.  If Aggie Football loses, those t-shirts might not be there two weeks from now for the next basketball game.  If they win, there’ll be a winning t-shirt there.  It’s a gamble either way.

 

The game was scheduled for 5:00pm.  When the Anthem started, I think there were like 25 people in the stands.  The attendance was later listed at 432.  Most of those fans arrived later.  The Western New Mexico Mustangs coach ran his team off the court before the Anthem.  The team and assistants looked like they were running for free ice cream.  The Cheerleaders looked a bit freaked out performing in front of nearly empty stands.  I could hear myself clapping at times, which never happens normally.  WNM looked like a fairly tall, spirited group of girls.  Our Coach Adams was wearing an Aggie Artic camo hoodie for tonight’s fashion report. 

 

First Quarter

The Aggies started the game off with a travel call.  On defense, Coach Adams was all over the team right at the start.  The other coach was just as animated.  8’ left in the quarter, Sianny Sanchez-Oliver fought over the ball twice with a much larger, Diamond Moore.  Good to see some fight in the Aggies.  The team committed another travel right after, but Sylena Peterson stole the ball back and hit a jumper, 6-3 Aggies.

 

In the crowd, a guy came in wearing a sharp crimson bowler.  They should sell those at the kiosk.  A lady came in with him wearing a rhinestone-studded Aggie jacket that looked like something Coach Adams had probably worn.  The Aggies were using their whole bench that was available.  Imani Warren, who I hadn’t seen before, came in.  5’ Sy made another jumper to make it 8-4.  The Mustangs took a timeout. 

 

4’ Sabou Gueye made a steal.  Lucia Yenes then found Ene Adams inside for a bucket, 10-6 Aggies.  Ene scored again with an offensive rebound and a layup.  2’ left, Sha’Kaia Parker was another new face that came in.  The Aggies started trapping and got a turnover.  The Band, who was at half-strength because most of the students were on break, started chanting, “Double digits!” at the Mustangs. 

 

1’ Sabou lost the handle on a pass, but managed to get back ahold of it and Euro-step her way to the basket for a layup.  Ene made another layup and drew a foul.  She missed the free throw, but Sabou got the rebound and the bucket.  With under a minute left, Ene made an “Ole” move for two under the basket.  Jade Goynes for WNM hit a last second jumper to make it 21-12 after 10 minutes. 

 

Second Quarter

The Aggies began with another travel.  (I’ll stop harping on it when they stop doing it.)  Sabou began the Aggie scoring with a steal and a layup, 23-12 Aggies.  Sabou got another steal and passed to Molly Kaiser for a jumper.  27-12 Aggies and timeout WNM.

 

Sylena had a turnover.  WNM missed their layup and Nxerro Maluw (no, I’m not sure how to pronounce that) went hard into the goal.  She came up okay.  5’ Aggie trapping forced a WNM travel and a turnover.  Ene and Nxerro nearly exchanged blows in the lane.  Thankfully, that didn’t happen.  However, Sabou committed her third foul and came out.        

     

4’ left in the quarter, Ene and Nxerro tangled again.  Ene came away with free throws, but missed both.  Jaila Harding got the rebound and a layup, 35-14.  3’ Molly followed that by going coast-to-coast, 37-14.  Next trip, Molly went into the goal.  She was okay and made her free throws, 41-16. 

 

Imani traveled making a spin move to the basket.  She then committed a foul.  The coach left her in.  She was coaching Imani on court during the free throws.  Imani was fouled afterward and made a free throw.  The half ended, 42-18 Aggies.

 

Halftime

A kid’s hip hop dance troop performed.  They were cute and worked it.  The parents in the crowd were very excited.  The crowd had filled in by this time.  I walked up the steps to the bathroom and ran into that guy that wanted to buy my truck at the last game.  Still not for sale.

 

Third Quarter

Coach Adams took an early timeout right after the quarter started.  I have no idea why.  Nxerro dropped in a 3 to make it 42-21.  Santa was in the house.  I noticed him by the north end seats talking to the kids there.  What a guy!  He wasn’t formally announced until after the game.  He was up front getting pictures with kids and not-kids.  (No, not me.  I sort of wanted to, but didn’t.) 

 

Coach Adams was at the end of the bench talking to Jaila.  She was spending a lot of time individually coaching in this game.  7’ Sydney Wright hit a 3 for the Mustangs, 34-26.  Molly found Ene under the basket, 46-26.  Sianny made a steal.  Sabou would be fouled on the possession and made her free throws, 48-26. 

 

5’ Molly made an unexpected 3, 51-28 Aggies.  Sabou committed her fourth foul and came out.  I noticed a Men’s team member watching the game up by the concourse.  I don’t know who.  He was in the shadows and I also don’t know anybody on the team.  Molly dropped in another 3.  She was feeling it.  54-29 and timeout WNM. 

 

Broadcaster Jack Nixon arrived.  I checked the time.  It was still going to be a while till the Men’s pregame.  4’ Lucia missed a 3.  Molly grabbed the rebound and passed it back to Lucia cutting to the basket for the layup and a foul.  She missed the free throw, but the Aggies got two offensive rebounds before Sylena was fouled and made two free throws, 58-29. 

 

3’ Sy made a nice pass to Lucia, who made a nice move to the basket for a bucket, 60-31.  Ene made a scoop shot and a free throw with a foul, 63-31.  Molly took a charge on defense.  She was playing like it was a close game.  Molly then had a steal by picking up a player’s dribble and made a jumper, 65-31.  1’ WNM missed two free throws, but Jade got the rebound and stuck it back in.  Diamond out-jumped two taller Aggie players for a rebound on defense.  Jaila finished the quarter with a 3, 68-35 Aggies.

 

Fourth Quarter

The reserves mostly took over for the final 10 minutes.  8’ Imani hit a 3, got a steal, was fouled on the layup, and converted her two free throws, 75-38.  Sianny and Nxerro collided on court and both went to the floor.  They were okay.  These girls must be living right to be avoiding injury in this game. 

 

Nxerro made a big block on Imani.  5’ Mustang Brooke Rodgers dropped in a 3, 77-45.  Parker had a layup for her first points as an Aggie.  4’ Lucia grabbed a rebound, which she’d been doing quite a bit during the game, and hit a 3.  2’ Joslyn Montez entered the game for WNM.  PA Ed announced her as being from Las Cruces and she got a big cheer from the crowd.  She was easily the smallest player on court.  Parker hit a 3 and then fought to the basket for a layup.  The Aggies won 89-54.

 

The Aggie ladies took care of business, but the Mustangs played hard all the way through.  Nxerro Maluw led for WNM with 12 points.  For the Aggies, Molly Kaiser was huge with 22 points.  Ene Adams scored 15 and Lucia Yenes had 13 points with 9 rebounds.  The Aggies had 10 steals.  Sabou Gueye had 3 of them. 

 

Like I said, the students were out, so there were no ushers in the arena.  I was sitting in a prime seat, but I could have moved elsewhere and stayed for the Men’s game.  I just didn’t feel like it.  I could listen on the radio anyway.  I did want dinner before going.  The grill was open to get a burger.  I finally got a good look at the menu and nearly changed my mind.  They also have chicken fingers, chili cheese fries, Papa John’s pizza slices, and full pizzas for $20.  I stuck with the burger, put it in my coat pocket, and left for home.

 

(The burger was good, especially given it was only $6.  After what had happened with the pretzel last time, I probably shouldn’t have trusted them.  I’ve had the pizza before.  It’s kind of cold, since they deliver it from the restaurant and just keep it warm at the concessions.  I’m interested in trying the fries and chicken fingers.)

 

I talked to dad at home and he mentioned UTEP Volleyball.  They were playing in the championship game in the national tournament they were in tonight.  They lost in the championship to Wichita State in straight sets, but the Miners had a great run.  They played six games, all at home, in front of capacity crowds.  I wonder if they accepted the invitation to the tournament because they play in Memorial Gym, which they don’t share with the basketball teams, and wouldn’t have to travel.  This may be why the Aggies didn’t play in it. 

 

(I had a Men’s game program that I was going to use for a picture, but I lost it at the game.  I tried to get another, but they’d run out like with those Bowl posters.)  I listened to the Aggie Men’s game against Northern New Mexico.  There were just under 4,000 at the game and they watched the Aggies finish the first half down by 1 to the NAIA team.  At the half, they had the Teddy Bear toss.  Santa and Frozen characters were on the floor with the Grinch, as fans tossed their teddy bears on court.  The Grinch tried to steal them, but was stopped by Santa. 

 

About halfway through the second half, the Aggies finally got the lead and the crowd got into it.  NNM tied it late.  The Aggies lost the lead, but retook it and finally won 76-71.  It was even closer than that score indicates.  In the postgame, Coach Hooten had admiration for NNM and apologized for his players’ efforts.  Between injuries and eligibility issues, he hasn’t had much to work with this season.  He pledged to make a donation to the university to make up for it.  (Pave the parking lot and make Coach Kill happy.)  The Coach also flirted with Jack’s analyst, Anita Skipper, at the end of the interview.  You sly dog.

 

Okay, Saturday is the big bowl game and I plan on being at the Women’s game before it.  I guess I won’t be watching the football game, but I’ll listen on the radio.    

NM State Aggies vs UC Irvine Anteaters Women’s Basketball 12-5-23 Part 2

Continued from Part 1.  The first part ran really long with all that other Aggie Sports news.

Halftime

Okay, here it was!  The event we were all really here for: the Corgi Race.  Ron had gone to this race last season without me.  I remembering hounding him about it (shoot me for that pun), though I didn’t actually write much about it.  There were 21 Corgis entered into the race.  Dad questioned how there could be that many Corgis in town that wanted to race.  I’m sure they have a club.  The crowd was giddy and the Volleyball girls were loving it.

In the first heat, three of the dogs ran over to each other to meet one another.  In the second, two of the dogs failed to launch.  In the third, one dog sat, as two of the other dogs had a drag race to the finish.  The three winners (well, they’re all winners) came back for the final.  It was close as they were the three dogs that seemed to best grasp what was expected of them.  Sebastian won the race and was the champion.  His human attendant got a prize package and the dog got a belly rub. 

 

A presumed booster went over and talked to the Volleyball girls.  Once again, I was jealous.  (How much money do I need to donate in order to get so familiar and chummy with the girls?)  He got a selfie with them.  The staff photographer also got a picture of them.  They’re stars.

 

Third Quarter

A guy walked past the family sitting in front of me carrying a Corgi.  He stopped to let the kids pet the dog.  I didn’t get any petting out of it.  The evening was officially a disaster. 

UC-Irvine scored on a jumper.  Sabou Gueye was fouled and converted on her free throws to re-tie it at 30.  Sianny Sanchez-Oliver made a steal under the basket for the Aggies.  The team took three shots, but never connected.  6’ Molly Kaiser would put in another jumper on the next trip to make it 32-30.  That was her 10-th point. 

 

Anteater Clara Djoko tied the score on a fast break layup.  She was easy to spot on court wearing a bright pair of turquoise shoes.  Ene Adams picked up her third foul.  Sylena Peterson drew a charge, but then committed her third foul.  Shirel Nahum made a give-and-go layup to put UCI up 32-34 with 4’ left.  Ene committed her fourth foul going into the Media timeout.  At this point, I was getting concerned about the fouls.

 

Sebastian came back out with his agent to play the Fry Game.  Of course, the dog guessed right to win a Whataburger prize package.  I’m sure he’ll enjoy it.  The Aggies and the Anteaters went to a half court press.  Aggie Femme Sikuzani Masudi was fouled under the basket.  The ref stopped play and sent her to the sidelines to the trainers.  Femme might have been bleeding a bit, but she made her throws, 34 all with 3’ left.

 

Sianny committed her fourth foul.  Femme tied the score at 37 with a shot in the lane with under a minute left.  UCI had a turnover on their inbounds.  Nevaeh Parkinson, UCI’s big, blocked the Aggie big, Femme.  The Aggies took three last second shots, but none of them fell.  37-37

 

Fourth Quarter

UCI began the final quarter with a jumper.  They successfully trapped, got the ball back, and hit another to go up 37-41.  Deja Lee then drilled a 3 with 7’ left and the Anteaters were up 32-47.  Sabou committed a turnover with a travel call.  UCI turned that into another jumper, 37-46, 6’ left. 

 

Sianny started a comeback with a steal and a pass to Jaila Harding for a layup.  Sabou was fouled and converted on two free throws, 41-46, 5’ left.  Sabou picked up her fourth foul on defense, but came back with a sweet move and a jumper, 43-48, 4’ left.  Femme came up with a steal and Molly turned it into a 3, 46-48.  Timeout UCI.

 

On the Flex Cam in the break, a lady pumped a baby in the air.  The mother was furious.  Out of the break, the Anteaters got the ball to Nevaeh under the basket, 46-50, 3’ left.  Femme was fouled again and again dropped her throws, 49-50. 

 

Sabou made a big steal, but committed a charge and fouled out.  She went to the bench and held her head down in her hands.  Nevaeh had her fourth foul on defense and Femme made two more free throws.  Aggies up 51-50 with 2’ left.  Coach Adams took a timeout. 

 

UCI travelled on their next possession, but the Aggies turned it right back over.  Sylena was called for blocking the breakaway.  Three players went down under the UCI basket on the play.  Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba went face down on the floor and took a couple of minutes to get up.  She did finish the layup and put UCI up 51-52.  Shirel actually came in to take Baba’s free throw.  During the break, I noticed the oddity on the scoreboard of all the Anteater players that were in had 7 points each. 

 

Back to play, Femme went down hard attacking and again put in two free throws.  She was absolute nails.  Who says big players can’t make free throws?  We were tied at 53 with 1’ left.  UCI went back up with a jumper.  On offense, Loes Rozing made a lazy pass and Nikki Tom picked it off and had an easy layup.  Next, Sianny dribbled off her foot for another turnover.  UCI missed a 3, but got the rebound.  The Aggies started intentionally fouling with under a minute left, 53-59.

 

At this point, the crowd began deserting.  There was an arrival.  Broadcaster Jack Nixon checked in at the press table.  Maybe he was in the neighborhood and decided to drop in.  Molly did make a couple of free throws for the last of the Aggie scoring.  She was blocked on a near last second 3 attempt.  UCI wins 61-55. 

 

Coach Adams brought the team out to center court and chewed them out in a quick and efficient fashion.  Somewhat dejected, the team did go around courtside to greet the fans there.  The coach was angry because this was a winnable game that was basically given away.  It was a pretty good game to watch for fans at least, even with the disappointing outcome. 

 

Anteater Shirel Nahum led everyone with 16 points.  Like I said earlier, she made most of her points in the first half and wasn’t in a lot in the second half.  Diaba Konate scored 11 points.  Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba had 9 rebounds.  UCI basically led in the stats.    

 

For the Aggies, Molly Kaiser had 15 points.  Sabou Gueye had 10 points and 4 steals.  Femme Sikuzani Masudi scored 13 and was 7 of 7 on free throws.  Tonight was her Aggie debut and it was a strong one.  I was really baffled why Lucia Yenes wasn’t used more.  She’d scored 20 in the previous game, but didn’t take a shot in play tonight, except for a couple of free throws.  Maybe she was hurt.

 

My team didn’t win and I didn’t get to pet any of the adorable dogs in the arena.  I also didn’t get the opportunity to talk to AD Mario Moccia or Marketing Director Nicole Sack.  Mario was circulating around, but wasn’t close by.  I wanted to mention that the Women’s game next Saturday was crossed up with Aggie Football’s bowl game and ask if the basketball game time could be moved up and we maybe have a watch party on the Pan-Am’s video board afterward.  [Pre-post Edit: They have moved the game time.]  

 

I had an odd moment going out to my truck.  A guy walking by with his daughter offered to buy it for cash.  If you can believe, this is at least the fifth time this has happened to me.  Everyone wants my truck.  I just had the vehicle serviced this morning and bought a new battery last month, heck no!  

NM State Aggies vs UC Irvine Anteaters Women’s Basketball 12-5-23 Part 1

Tylie Jones is happy to welcome you to the game tonight.  Unfortunately, she wasn't playing.

Once again, I’m going to have a hi-jack this Aggie Women’s Basketball post with news of other Aggie Sports, but it’s pretty big news.  After Aggie Football’s stunning win over Auburn, they faced the surprising Jacksonville State Gamecocks for the Aggies’ final home game.  A recent convert to D1 FBS football, Jax State had the same record as the Aggies, but weren’t eligible for the C-USA Championship game with Liberty, otherwise this game would have carried a lot more weight. 

 

The Aggies dominated the first half, but failed to put the game away in the second.  In a roller coaster of turnovers, the Gamecocks tied it late.  However, with time running out, the Aggie offense quickly worked downfield for a 52-yard winning field goal by Ethan Albertson, 20-17 Aggies.  My poor heart almost couldn’t take the stress.  I was glad I wasn’t at the game.  There was a video going around of a skunk running through the stands late in the game, who was dubbed, “the Rally Skunk.”

 

This led to the Aggies’ rematch with undefeated Liberty in Virginia.  Let’s just say it was not a great day for either defense.  It was tied at 21 at the half, after Liberty failed on an onside kick and the Aggies converted on the short field before time expired. 

 

The third quarter featured four touchdowns with the score still tied.  Unfortunately, the Aggies lost their quarterback, Diego Pavia.  He apparently started the game with a sore elbow.  His final pass went for a 75-yard touchdown, but that was it for him.  True freshman, Blaze Berlowitz, came in for him.  His appearance was so sudden, his teammates were surprised to see him in the huddle.  No problem.  Blaze’s first series in resulted in a touchdown pass.  He’d have a contested interception in the endzone in the next series.  Blaze did a good job, but needed to do a spectacular one as Liberty’s offense couldn’t be stopped.  The Flames put up two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to win 49-35.  Holy cow!            

 

Let’s go bowling!  The Aggies will face Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl next week.  They are expecting a big Aggie fan turnout for the game.  Liberty will be playing Oregon on New Year’s Day.  That is a coup for C-USA.  (While Liberty is 13-0, they are still criticized for playing a very soft schedule.  The Aggies may have been their best opponent.)  Jax State also made a bowl game.  That was a possibility if there weren’t enough qualified teams to fill out the bowl schedule (43 games?).  But forget all of this, the big news in the region is that the Sun Bowl will be hosting Notre Dame versus Oregon State.  That was a quick sellout. 

 

On the Basketball side, after their gritty win over Northern Colorado, the Aggie Men went on the road and lost all four, including two overtime losses (one to Fresno State, the future Football opponent).  They were destroyed by the Lobos at the Pit, 106-62.   The Women won a pair on the road, but were likewise burned in Albuquerque, 67-52.  The Lobos shutdown Molly Kaiser, but encouragingly Lucia Yenes scored 20 in the game. 

 

(Sidebar: UTEP Volleyball is playing in a national Volleyball tournament and have advanced to the round of 8.  They’ve been playing games at Memorial Gym in El Paso and had one of their largest crowds ever at one game.  I don’t know if the Aggies were invited to the tournament, but I’m guessing they turned it down for funding issues.)

 

I had a decent day.  I got the Archie Christmas comics I’d ordered in the mail, like I mentioned earlier.  They look good and I’ll have a ***review*** of them in the future.  I had my truck serviced for $40.  I went to the Carl’s Jr. next door to the garage and paid $10 for a hamburger and fries.  The burger was pretty good, but I’m still wondering which was the better deal.         

 

I called work to remind someone about something and mentioned I was going to the game and that there was going to be the Corgi race at halftime.  He was excited about that and almost wanted to go.  I’d tried talking dad into going to see it.  After the game, he told me he wished he’d gone, since there was nothing on TV.

 

The crowd was only 478, so a couple more people might have been appreciated.  For some reason the east side of the Pan-Am Center was taped off.  I thought maybe there was going to be a large group coming, but they were left vacant.  I picked up a pretzel and a tea at the concessions.  The pretzel turned out to be inedible.  I took it back and they gave me another.  That one was 3/4 edible.  I think I’ll eat before I go for the rest of the season.  That was a $10 meal as well.  I didn’t do well there.

 

Dad asked me earlier what conference tonight’s opponent, UC Irvine, played in.  (It’s the Big West.)  I took a look at the Men’s team’s schedule.  They played UAE, Qatar, Iran, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines in the summer and won all of the games and mostly by a wide margin.  What a World Tour!  (And they beat the Aggie Men earlier this season.) 

 

The Anteater Girls team stayed on the floor for the Anthem (not ours, though).  Well, that was slightly awkward, but not as awkward as the next event on the itinerary.  During the introductions, they introduced the UCI head coach, Tamara Inoue, and two of her assistant coaches.  They were all former Aggie players.  They got a warm round of applause.  Our coach, Jody Adams, was styling as usual with a white Aggie sport coat and black pants.  Barbara “Mother” Hubbard graced us at the game.  The coach gave her a custom Aggie varsity jacket before the game. 

First Quarter

Molly started the scoring with an early jumper.  She was not going to be shutdown tonight.  Sabou Gueye had a steal and a layup.  Ene Adams scored from down low to make it 6-2 Aggies with 7’ left in the quarter.  Unfortunately, Ene didn’t play much after that and those were her only points. 

 

UCI briefly went to a full court press.  6’5” Femme Sikuzani Masudi, who is another “big” like Ene but who I hadn’t seen before this season, was stuffed on a shot.  Back the other way, Nikki Tom hit a 3 for the Anteaters to make it 8-9 UCI with 5’ left.  On the Aggie end, Sylena Peterson tried to hit Molly for an Alley Oop, but couldn’t make the connection.  Sy came back with a jumper to make it 10-11 with 4’ left going into the Media timeout.

 

Molly snatched a rebound on the UCI end, but lost it on a bad pass.  She’d stuff a breakaway pass and got the ball to Jaila Harding for a 3, 13-13, 2’ left.  Shirel Nahum answers with a 3 for the Anteaters.  Femme fired a standing jumper to make it 15-16.  Molly had steal late and passed to Sy, but missed a 3.  The quarter finished, 15-16 UCI.

 

Second Quarter

The Corgis in the crowd were shown on camera.  I’d already seen one in the concourse when I came in and another going to the bathroom between quarters.  I didn’t get any petting in, however. 

 

I noticed some of Aggie Volleyball had come in.  Some of them were having churros.  I guess I should have gotten one of those instead.  I saw AD Mario Moccia go over and bother the team.  (I don’t suppose I could do that?)  I wonder if he was apologizing for not letting them play in that tournament that UTEP is in.  (The Aggies finished second in conference and went to the C-USA championship game.  UTEP didn’t.) 

 

Loes Rozing made a nifty spin move in the lane to tie the score at 17 early in the second quarter.  Lucia had been subbed into the game earlier and picked up two fouls and came out.  She’d taken no shots.  There were a pair a charge fouls on successive plays on both teams.  Sy had taken one of those fouls.  She came back with a jumper to put the Aggies up 19-17 with 7’ left.  Then Sylena immediately picked up her second foul.

 

Femme was then called for a charge.  It’s like some of those Volleyball refs who call double touches all the time.  Sabou Euro-stepped a layup to make it 21-19 Aggies and then broke up a fast break on the other end.  The Aggies fast-broke (?) back and missed.  UCI immediately tried another fast break, but ended up trying to pass the ball to Coach Adams on the sidelines.  Thankfully, a Media timeout allowed everyone to catch their breath and regain their senses. 

 

The Corgis got on Dance Cam.  They were magnificent.  The PA (not Ed, I need to get this person’s name sometime) was having a great time calling out to the crowd.  The Volleyball girls got on camera.  (They had no moves.  Stick to sports, ladies.) 

 

The Aggies came back with a pair of turnovers on travelling calls.  (Travels are also like double touches.  Certain Refs call it more.  That said, ladies, stop shuffling your feet.)  Shirel sank two free throws to put UCI up 21-24 with 2’ left.  She’d racked up 11 points.  Molly banked one before the shot clock expired, 23-24.  Lucia was back in and got a rebound and was fouled.  She put in a free throw to tie it at 24.  Unfortunately, that was her only point of the night with no field goal shots taken.   

 

Shirel took an odd shot from her knees after scrambling for a turnover.  I didn’t think much of it at the time, but I wonder if she got hurt from that, as she wasn’t playing much in the second half though she was leading in scoring.  Molly and Jaila made jumpers that put the Aggies up, but Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba made a last second shot to tie it at 28 for the half.

 

On to Part 2.  

Comics Review: Archie Milestones #22 Jughead Christmas Special

Okay, this is a really good Archie digest.  As Archie is “The Official Comic Book of Christmas,” you’d expect a Christmas issue to be entertaining, but starring Jughead, you’ve got gold.  Heck, I marked half the book for comment.  However, I have to question how many more of these Archie Christmas digests I’m going to be getting.  I’d already read a couple of stories in here.  There’s only so much classic material.

 

(Though this didn’t stop me from ordering more Archie Christmas books online yesterday.  So much for not buying more.  I never usually order stuff online, but I really kind of wanted the new Archie Christmas floppy comic.  They’re not going to come until next month, so I don’t know when I’ll be covering them.)

 

It’s going to be prohibitive to cover everything good in this book.  I’m going to just hit a few highlights.  Great Archie artist, Rex Lindsey, stories start and end the book.  There’s four stories featuring Hot Dog.  There’s a couple of trips to the North Pole.  There is romance and even something of an explanation why Jughead avoids girls.  (It’s not good sense.  It’s something else.)    

 

I think this was my favorite of the stories I hadn’t read before.  It features Fernando Ruiz’s very appealing artwork.  Whenever you see Jughead dressed up, it’s fun.

 

Jughead’s dog, Hot Dog, has a couple of heartwarming moments.

Jughead makes a disastrous trip to the North Pole.

 

His sister, Jellybean, makes a better impression on St. Nick.

What would Archie be without some physical comedy? 

I love this panel by Pat Kennedy.

There’s a story where a female elf wrecks Santa’s operation.  All of the boys want video games, but she decides that they won’t pay attention to their girlfriends if they get them.  Here’s her solution. 

 

A lot of these Christmas themes seem to be arriving in two’s.  There’s a couple of stories about the dangers of mistletoe.  In both of these stories, somehow Jughead is suddenly irresistible.     

 

Okay, I’ll get to discussing the mystery of Jughead.  It was carefully set up in a previous story with an innocuous remark by Veronica. 

 

And here we have the reveal.  “I can’t kiss you because I’ll poke your eye out, kid.”  Who knew?  That is just so Christmas.  I think we’ve all learned something here. 

 

Seriously though, it’s hard to critically review a comic book that I really enjoyed.  It’s much easier to rip on bad material.  Of course there are some clunkers, but overall, it’s a lot of Christmas-y fun.  I hope the other stuff I ordered is this good.