Defensively, The Aggies and Cougars tied with 41 boards each. Eight of those rebounds came from freshman Tyler Ellis, who also got six points. NM State impressed with 30 points in the paint and 17 of CSU turnovers.
The teams traded points and the lead for the first several minutes. The Aggies went up by four (17-13) off a three by Weber and from that point, the Aggies controlled the floor. CSU got within one off a couple of free throws, but freshman Brianna Freeman and Weber hit layups to increase the advantage. A layup by Williamson put the Aggies up 31-20 with just over four minutes left in the half.
Chicago State cut the lead to seven before time ran out on the half with two layups in the final minute to end the half with an Aggie lead of 38-31.
NM State started the second half with a three by Weber in the first five seconds, and increased the lead to as much as 15 in the first five minutes of the half with three’s by Scott and Weber and a layup by Ellis.
The Aggies dominated the basket for the next couple minutes until CSU sank three free shots to make it an 18-point game. Scott drove in for a layup, but CSU went on an 12-4 run on the Aggies. Redshirt sophomore Elena Holguin hit a layup in the final 15 seconds of the game, giving NM State the 74-64 win over Chicago State.