Western Michigan University Athletics

KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Western Michigan women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the 2018-19 campaign, falling by a score of 66-54 against New Mexico State University on Sunday, Nov. 11 at University Arena. 

The Broncos, now 1-1 overall, had a 12-point lead in the first quarter slip away as the Aggies outscored WMU 59-35 the rest of the way. New Mexico State was selected to finish first in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) preseason coaches' poll.

For the second-straight game, Leighah-Amori Wool led the Broncos in scoring, improving upon her career-high performance set versus Purdue Fort Wayne on Thursday, Nov. 8. Wool notched her first career double-double with a career-high 19 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 7-for-14 from the field and 3-of-7 from three-point range.

Maddie Watters tallied 16 points in her second collegiate appearance, shooting 5-8 from beyond the arc. 

WMU shot 18-49 from the field and 9-25 from three-point range. New Mexico State outscored the Broncos in the paint 26-14. WMU turnovers were costly, as the visiting Aggies scored 20 points off turnovers. 

The Brown & Gold scored a game-high 19 points in the first frame. After going down 7-1 early, the Broncos responded on an 8-0 run, led by two three-pointers from Kamrin Reed and Wool. WMU nailed four three-point field goals in the first quarter, including two from Watters to take a 19-7 advantage into the second quarter. 

NM State began to cut into the Bronco lead in the second, outscoring the home team 13-9 while both teams played well defensively. The Broncos held on to a 28-20 lead heading into the break. 

WMU maintained a lead throughout the third quarter prior to the Aggies making a comeback in the fourth. NM State gained the lead for the first time since the midway point of the first quarter with a layup by Gia Pack with 7:18 remaining in the game to take a 49-48 advantage. Pack, who was forced to have limited minutes to do early foul trouble, returned strongly with 11 second-half points to help guide the Aggies to a win as they held on to their lead for the final minutes. 

NM State shot 65.2 percent from the field in the second half while limiting the Broncos to a 35.7 percent mark while forcing 10 turnovers. 

Reed scored in double-digits for a second consecutive game with 10 points. Meredith Miller and Nina Farkic also added seven rebounds each. 

Next up, Western Michigan hosts the University of Michigan on Thursday, Nov. 15. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at University Arena. 

Youth teams of 10 or more can purchase group tickets for $4 for the Michigan game. Tickets can be purchased at the Bronco Ticket Office, online at wmubroncos.com/tickets or by calling 1-888-4-WMU-Tix.