PUEBLO, Colo. (February 20, 2015) – In a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference showdown, the Colorado State University-Pueblo women's basketball team fell 59-51 in a grit-and-grind battle against Black Hills State University at Massari Arena.
The loss moves the seventh-ranked South Central region ThunderWolves to 14-9 on the season and 12-7 in the RMAC. The Pack trail Colorado Christian University (13-7 RMAC) by a half game for third place in the conference standings. The Yellow Jackets improve to 14-10 overall and 12-8 in league play.
The ThunderWolves shot 33.3 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from beyond the 3-point arch, while the Yellow Jackets shot 40.9 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from three, making seven of their 13 attempts. CSU-Pueblo outrebounded Black Hills State, 30-27, and outscored the visitors in the paint, 18-10.
Katie Nehf (Sr., C, Broomfield, Colo.) had a team-high 12 points for the Pack, while adding a contest-best two blocks. Ana Gurau (Jr., PG, Longmont, Colo.) also scored in double figures with 10 points, while Ashley Piper (Jr., F, Cedar Rapids, Iowa,) finished a rebound and point shy of a double-double, tallying nine points and nine rebounds.
The Yellow Jackets' Logan Cowan scored a game-high 16 points, while also pulling down a team-leading eight rebounds.
The Yellow Jackets opened the game on an 8-0 run and did not trail the entire first half. The Pack went 0-for-5 to begin the game before a Nehf layup at the 16:21 mark ended the scoring drought.
The ThunderWolves trailed by as many as nine points, at 17-8, mid-way through the first half, but used an 11-2 run to tie the game, at 19-19. Gurau capped the scoring run with a 3-point shot to even the score with 4:21 left in the opening stanza.
Black Hills State closed the half on a 10-4 spurt to take a 29-23 advantage into the intermission.
CSU-Pueblo opened the second-half much differently than the first half, making four of its first five shots. Nehf played a big role in the quick start, accounting for three lay-ups, one of which gave the ThunderWolves their first lead of the game, at 36-35, with 5:30 elapsed in the period.
From there it was a see-saw game as there were six lead changes and three ties in the last 14 minutes. In the final nine minutes, they continued to trade blows, until the Yellow Jackets stung the Pack with their second 8-0 run of the game to seize control and go on top, 56-49, with 32 seconds left in regulation.
CSU-Pueblo went the last 5:05 of the game without making a shot from the floor. Gurau tallied the final two points of the contest for the Pack from the free throw line, but it was not enough as Black Hills State escaped with the 59-51 victory.
The ThunderWolves take to the floor for their final home regular-season game of the season, playing host to Chadron State College, Saturday. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. inside Massari Arena. Prior to the contest, CSU-Pueblo seniors Nehf and Emily Dungey (Lake Oswego, Ore.) will be honored as part of Senior Night activities.
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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.
