By Dalton Ries, GoThunderWolves.com Insider
PUEBLO, Colo. (GoThunderWolves.com - Feb. 1, 2013) - CSU-Pueblo women's head coach Kip Drown recorded his RMAC-leading 419th career win Friday night as the CSU-Pueblo Thunderwolves beat the New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls 61-36.
The win puts Drown in the lead for all time wins amongst RMAC coaches, one in front of Adams State coach Kelly Kruger, but more importantly, allowed the ThunderWolves to remain in second place in the RMAC standings.
The win was not pretty for the Thunderwolves, who committed 13 turnovers in a first half that saw both teams struggle shooting the ball, the Pack shot just 8-for-27 (29 percent) while the visiting Cowgirls shot an atrocious 6-for-33 (18 percent) from the field.
"We did a good job keeping the dribble on the perimeter, which was our main goal going in," Drown said. "They didn't shoot it well from the perimeter, and when you don't shoot it well from the perimeter, our defense works."
"The turnovers were the real problem in the first half," he added. "We were just rushing things and that resulted in us making mistakes. We addressed it at halftime and the second half was better."
The Thunderwolves took a 29-15 lead into halftime despite the sloppy first half. Junior transfer Jenay Locke (Jr., Gilbert, Ariz.) also contributed with three assists and three points. The Cowgirls' leading scorer, junior guard Alyssa Lopez, was held in check with just two points in the first half.
Senior post Laurel Kearsley (Sr., Victor, Idaho) came out in the second half with a renewed energy and determination, going 2-for-2 from three-point territory, finishing with 16 points and eight rebounds.
"I thought we played well," Kearsley said. "We came out from the start and took it too them right away. Coach told us the turnovers were not acceptable and we knew we had to clean it up and we did."
The Thunderwolves defense held the Cowgirls to just 1-for-16 on three-pointers as the lead was extended to 49-19 with nine minutes left in the game. Senior Erica Hicks (Sr., Lakewood, Colo.) went 2-for-6 from three and pitched in with 10 points while junior Caiti Forrester (Jr., Boulder City, Nev.) also put in a solid performance with eight rebounds and nine points.
The Cowgirls continued to struggle from the field as the ThunderWolves put the game out of reach early. The Cowgirls finished the game going just 14-for-60 (23 percent) from the field. Senior forward Ashley Zaragoza went 4-for-4 from the field with eight points and four rebounds to lead the Cowgirls.
The win brings the Thunderwolves to 11-3 in RMAC play two games behind Colorado Mesa for first place. The Thunderwolves will face Western New Mexico Saturday at 5 p.m. in Massari Arena.
