LAS CRUCES, N.M. ? After falling in the Western Athletic Conference Championship game the past two seasons, the New Mexico State women’s basketball team has been looking for an advantage to get them over the hump to earn the school’s first WAC Championship and gain its third ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Aggies early preseason answer to reaching their elusive goal was to start its preparation for the 2007-08 season before almost every other school in the country.
NMSU recently got back from Vancouver, British Columbia where they took part in a four-day, three-game exhibition tour against some of the best teams Canada has to offer. The Aggies along with Air Force, Arkansas, Oklahoma, UC Santa Barbara and Wichita State are the only known Division I schools that made a foreign tour over the Labor Day weekend.
Going into the trip head coach Darin Spence was looking for an opportunity for kids to grow together and see how his teams’ competitiveness would be.
“Facing the good competition that we saw will help us tremendously,” Spence said. “It’s already given us a chance to see how our lineups will fit together with our depth and more importantly it shows our team that we have a really good opportunity to have a great season.”
On Saturday, Sept. 1, the Aggies defeated the University College of Fraser Valley, 70-55. UCFV, who has consistently been a national power in Canada, won the Bronze medal in the Canadian Colleges Athletics Association Championships last season and are 88-7 under current head coach Al Tuchscherer.
Senior Anikia Jawara had 11 points and seven rebounds in the win while junior Danielle Stevens scored 10 points and had seven rebounds of her own. Freshman Madison Spence scored seven points and dished out six assists and sophomore Hannah Spanich contributed with 11 points.
Later Saturday evening, NMSU matched up against defending Canadian Interuniversity Sport National Champion Simon Fraser. Senior All-WAC performer Sherell Neal led the Aggies in the 76-63 loss to the Clan with 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Although NMSU struggled a bit on the offensive end against SFU, the Aggies were able to force the Clan to commit 23 turnovers that resulted in 20 points for the Aggies. New Mexico State out-rebounded Simon Fraser (thanks to 23 offensive rebounds), who also won the CIS National Title in 2002.
Sunday evening was the Aggies final game of the exhibition tour, where NMSU dominated Trinity Western University in a 30-point, 79-49 victory. Jawara led all of the 11 Aggies who scored with her 13 points and she was one of four players that scored in double-figures.
Playing in FIBA (Federal International Basketball Association) rules where there are four 10-minute quarters instead of two 20-minute half’s like in NCAA rules, the Aggies pounced on TWU in the second quarter, outscoring the Spartans 22-8.
After all its games, NMSU headed back to Las Cruces early Labor Day morning so that the student-athletes would be back for classes on Tuesday.
While its time in Vancouver was short, New Mexico State was able to accomplish a lot both on and off the court.
“Overall this was a great trip for us and we got the opportunity to see what we can be,” Spence said. “The kids had a great time up here and all of our players were able to get some quality playing time.
“This weekend showed our team that our depth is better and this weekend reinforced the fact that they all have to be on the same page. They have to all be hungry and be focused on having a good year and I think that the message got to them.”
In its limited time off the court, NMSU was able to do some of the touristy activities Vancouver has to offer. The Aggies went to see several of the magnificent suspension bridges in Vancouver and were able to walk across one of the bridges in a park up in the trees that was 300 feet in the air over a gorge.
“The girls got to do a little fear conquering of their heights and that was a good thing because they had to do it together,” Spence said. “They walked on a long bridge that sways over a river and then on these other ones that kept climbing and going from tree-to-tree, all where you were 50 feet up in the air. It was fun to see them interact together.”
The team bonding didn’t start this past weekend however, as all but four players on the team were in Las Cruces over the summer taking classes, working out and playing pick-up games together. The returning players were able to get a feel for the games of the new Aggies and vice versa.
Team chemistry plays an important role in so many ways. The one area where Spence would like it to improve would be on the offensive end, as the Aggies, who have always been solid defensively under their defensive-minded coach, went through stretches last season where the team grappled with getting the ball in the basket.
Spence saw great signs of improvement offensively this weekend as the Aggies had great ball movement and were able to have success on the fast break. NMSU averaged over 70 points per game and defensively the Aggies forced an astonishing 27.3 turnovers per game.
Five seniors, three juniors and one sophomore return to New Mexico State in addition to the newcomers on this year’s squad. Spence’s talented recruiting class will come together with the returning experience to sport one of the most exciting and deepest rosters in Aggie women’s basketball history.
Since returning from their trip, the Aggie players have been eager to get back out on the court; a welcomed sign to the coaches that this could be a special team and a special season. NMSU will continue to progress from its head-start when the Aggies begin practices in early October.
Spence and the Aggies are hopeful that the extra time they put in this fall and over the summer leads to a WAC Championship and a berth in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.