SPEARFISH, S.D. (January 24, 2015) ~ Dee Arrieta (Jr., Pueblo West, Colo.) scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Colorado State University-Pueblo women's basketball team to a resounding, 75-51, victory over Black Hills State University Saturday. The win moves the ThunderWolves into a third-place tie with the Yellow Jackets in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings.
The win improves the Pack's record to 10-7 overall and 8-5 in RMAC contests. CSU-Pueblo picks up back-to-back road wins for the first time since Feb. 21 and 22 of last season when it defeated the same two teams it knocked off this weekend, Chadron State and Black Hills State. The Yellow Jackets fall to 10-7 on the season, including an 8-5 mark in league play.
After forcing a season-high 27 turnovers Friday in the win at Chadron State, the ThunderWolves' offense was the story Saturday. CSU-Pueblo registered a season-high 51.9 field-goal percentage (28-of-54), including a 50.0 percent mark (12-of-24) from beyond the 3-point arc. Conversely, Black Hills State shot just 34.5 percent (20-of-58) from the field and 26.9 percent (7-of-26) from 3-point range.
The Pack owned the advantage in assists (14-10), blocks (4-2) and steals (11-6), while the Yellow Jackets outrebounded the ThunderWolves by three (34-31).
Arrieta scored her career and game-high 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including a career-high 6-of-11 mark from 3-point land.
Angie Moore (So., Katy, Texas) and Ashley Piper (Jr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa) also finished in double figures for the Pack, registering 13 and 12 points, respectively. Piper added a game-high nine rebounds.
Ana Gurau (Jr., Longmont, Colo.) played an efficient game at the point-guard position, tallying a contest-best six assists, while turning the ball over just once.
Katie Nehf (Sr., Broomfield, Colo.) was a force in the middle defensively for the ThunderWolves, blocking a game-high three shots.
For Black Hills State, Bailey Kusser had a team-high 12 points. Courtney Patterson added 11 points and a team-best eight rebounds.
The Yellow Jackets led 8-4 after the first 2:55 of the first half, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Moore and Shannon Patterson (Fr., Pueblo, Colo.) gave the Pack a 10-8 advantage at the 15:20 mark.
CSU-Pueblo extended its lead to as many 11 points after a layup by Gurau with 5:40 remaining until halftime.
Black Hills State trimmed the deficit to five, at 29-24, at the 2:41 mark, but the ThunderWolves scored seven out of the final nine points of the stanza to take a 36-26 advantage into the break.
The Pack opened the final 20 minutes of the contest on a 7-0 scoring run to open up a 43-26 lead with 4:17 elapsed in the period.
The Yellow Jackets battled back to pull within three on two separate occasions, including at 45-42 with 10 minutes remaining in the game.
The three-point deficit was as close as the home team got as CSU-Pueblo closed the game on a 30-9 scoring run to run away with the contest and earn the 75-51 victory.
The ThunderWolves return home Friday and Saturday, welcoming New Mexico Highlands and Western New Mexico. Both contests are scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m. at Massari Arena.
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Colorado State University – Pueblo competes in 22 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
