New Mexico State Hooper Scores On Wrong Basket Down 1 With 20 Seconds Left

Las Cruces, N.M. — With the clock winding down to 20.9 seconds and New Mexico State trailing 61‑60, senior guard Emma Christiano seized an inbounds pass, sprinted toward the near basket and, in a split‑second lapse, deposited the ball in her own hoop. The play was initially broadcast as a game‑winning lead for the Aggies; ESPN+ play‑by‑play announcer Adam Young shouted “Christiano… Aggies lead!” before analyst Anita Maxwell Skipper corrected him with a curt “Wrong basket. Wrong basket.” The official play‑by‑play logged the score as a “team makes 81‑foot shot,” crediting the two points to Southern Utah rather than an individual Aggie, a quirk that left Christiano’s own stat line without a recorded field goal.

Stacy Chovino, who had just tipped the inbound pass that set up the chaos, responded instantly. After a missed shot on the ensuing possession, Chovino grabbed her own rebound and hit a short jumper with 1.4 seconds remaining, sealing a 64‑63 victory. Chovino finished with a game‑high 25 points and eight rebounds, accounting for the Aggies’ final four points. The win also avenged a 69‑59 loss to Southern Utah from December 2025.

The same Friday saw another bewildering own‑basket in the first quarter of the Arkansas‑Northwestern State matchup. Lady Demons guard Karma Wynn, under pressure near her own rim, caught a bounce pass and, without hesitation, laid the ball into the opposite hoop.

Two wrong baskets on the same day are rare enough to make the sports‑news circuit, but the incidents also expose a deeper issue: situational awareness under pressure. Both errors occurred during inbound plays—a moment when the ball is live, the court is crowded, and players must quickly reorient. Moreover, the way official scorers recorded the plays—labeling them as team shots without attributing an individual—highlights a data‑capture gap that can affect player analytics and future scouting.

For the Aggies, the comeback win thrust them to 1‑1 on the season and injected confidence into a squad still finding its identity. For Christiano, the mishap remains a statistical footnote; the box score lists no made field goal for her, leaving a curious anomaly for future analysts. The day’s twin blunders serve as a reminder that even at the Division I level, a momentary spatial error can swing a game, but resilient teammates can still script a win.