Up and Running

Improved Aggie women's basketball team off to strong start

By: Anthony Esparza

After winning six games a year ago, the revamped New Mexico State women’s basketball team is 5-3 heading into the finals week break.

Among the Aggies’ five victories is a come-from-behind 69-68 victory over previously unbeaten UTEP at the Pan American Center. Considering NMSU played 22 games before earning its fifth win last season, the quick turnaround may come as a surprise to some.  
However, the culture of the program started to change with the hiring of Mark Trakh combined with the leadership qualities displayed by the more seasoned players on the team during his first year at the helm.   

“Tabytha Wampler, Kaitlyn Soto, Kelsie Rozendaal and Erica Sanchez changed the culture. They changed it right off the bat,” Trakh said. “They were working hard, they were receptive and they were coachable. We would have liked to have won them a few more games.”

Wampler, Soto and Sanchez were seniors last season and are no longer on the team, but Rosendall returned for a redshirt senior campaign. The 5-11 forward from Weatherford, Texas is averaging 10.3 points this year and is shooting 90 percent from the free-throw line.

In addition to the production of the experienced Rosendall, a handful of newcomers have already established themselves as key components of the team.

Stefanie Gilbreath was recruited by Trakh back in 2007 during his tenure at Southern California. However, her career as a Lady Trojan was plagued by a reoccurring ACL injury, which forced her to miss three consecutive seasons at USC.

Now reunited with the coach who first recruited her out of high school five years ago, the 6-1 redshirt senior from Katy, Texas is having a breakout season for the Aggies thus far. In addition to averaging 13.8 points per game, Gilbreath has taken on a leadership role on the squad.

“In the first couple of games I had to get used to having to be like a vocal, on-the-court leader,” Gilbreath said. “It was something I was used to, but I hadn’t had to do it in so long. I just had to make sure I was critiquing what they (the team) were doing, what they needed to do and still stay positive and help them get through everything.”

Fellow newcomer Danesia Williamson is also off to a standout start for NMSU. Williamson— a sophomore guard who transferred from the University of San Diego—leads the team in scoring, averaging 14 points per game.  Williamson has also proven she can score clutch baskets in late-game situations.

Against Loyola Marymount, Williamson scored with under 30 seconds remaining to tie the game and send it into overtime. She also made a pair of key free-throws in the Aggies’ win over UTEP.  Most recently, Williamson made a layup with two seconds left in the game to give NMSU a two-point win at Southern Utah.

Gilbreath and Williamson are part of a talented NMSU backcourt, which has proven to be the strength of the team to this point. The team’s noticeable weakness is in the post, where the Aggies do not have a true center or much size in general.

Nonetheless, the Aggies are noticeably improved and battle-tested this season. Four of their five wins have been decided by three points or fewer.

“We had a lot of those games last year that we didn’t win, that were close,” Trakh said. “Based on last year, we’re still owed like four or five more close games…But it’s good and the kids are used to playing in those close games and they really believe they can win.”

 One game that was not close was the first matchup against New Mexico at The Pit in Albuquerque. The Aggies fell to the Lobos by a final score of 60-37. However, the Aggies will have another opportunity to take down their instate rivals Dec.18 when the Lobos visit Las Cruces.

NMSU has two games remaining before starting Western Athletic Conference play Dec. 29 against Texas-Arlington at the Pan Am Center.