LAS VEGAS, N.M. (Jan. 14, 2022) – A dominant second half from the Colorado State University Pueblo women's basketball team (11-3, 7-1) propelled the ThunderWolves to an 80-59 victory over New Mexico Highlands University (3-9, 0-7) Friday night.
 
The Friday contest kicked off with fiery play from both sides. Alisha Davis logged the first three points of the game with an and-one bucket underneath and was soon followed up by deep triples from Tomia Johnson and Ro Dominguez.
 
From there, neither offense relented in the first quarter. No run was accumulated more than a 6-0 spurt from the Pack to start the game. The ThunderWolves sank four 3-pointers in the opening quarter to give them a modest 29-20 advantage after the opening quarter. Davis mustered up 13 points to lead all scorers through the first.
 
The second quarter took a different turn. The Cowgirls came out firing and did not concede. Back-and-forth play narrowed the Pack lead to 34-32 with 3:24 to go in the half. Jazzy Hughes prevented the Cowgirls from tying it up and took the ball to the hoop to halt a mild run from Highlands.
 
The ThunderWolves were able to keep the Cowgirls at bay and headed into the locker room with a narrow 41-39 lead. JaNaiya Davis was a defensive menace in the opening half and nabbed four steals to prevent any rhythm from being gained by the New Mexico Highlands offense.
 
The third quarter saw the dominant play from the Pack that has carried them through the RMAC season. The ThunderWolves' offense woke up after a Hughes jumper underneath the basket. CSU Pueblo went on a 7-1 spurt to expand the lead once more.
 
Johnson extended the lead to 10 points after a 3-pointer at the end of the period. 
 
After the Pack outscored the Cowgirls 18-10 in the third, the ThunderWolves did not take their foot off the pedal and continued to unload offensively.
 
The Pack burst to an 11-0 run midway through the fourth quarter and put the Cowgirls into a 70-55 deficit with over three minutes to go. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Morgan Dial put the game on ice and the nails in the coffin to secure an 80-59 RMAC victory.
 
Alisha Davis finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks to lead the ThunderWolves. The junior forward and JaNaiya Davis each tallied four steals to wreak havoc in the Cowgirls' backcourt.
 
JaNaiya Davis added on 15 points and six to rebounds to go with the steals. Johnson dropped 13 points after splashing home three 3-pointers in the contest. Johnson was one of six Pack players to tally two or more steals.
 
Hughes rounded out the scoring efforts with 10 points off 5-9 shooting from the field. 
 
The superb second half allowed the ThunderWolves to move to 11-3 on the season and 7-1 in RMAC play. CSU Pueblo will have a quick turnaround and face UCCS (4-9, 2-5) Saturday night at 5:30 p.m.