PUEBLO, Colo. (Jan. 28, 2022) – The Colorado State University Pueblo women's basketball team (15-5, 11-3) was able to stave off any heroic comeback and clinched a 70-59 upset victory over No. 5/12 Colorado School of Mines (16-2, 11-1) Friday evening.
 
The victory over Mines is the second win over a ranked team for the Pack during the 2021-22 season. Entering the contest, Mines was ranked fifth in the D2SIDA Poll and No. 12 in the WBCA Coaches' Poll.
 
The ThunderWolves and Orediggers started the game off slowly with neither team able to score a point in the opening 3:43. Mines broke the stalemate just before the fourth minute ticked off the clock.
 
Despite the slow start, back-to-back 3-pointers by Jazzy Hughes and Tomia Johnson allowed the Pack to enjoy an 8-0 run. CSU Pueblo was able to finish the first quarter on top 11-10 in a physical period.
 
Early in the second quarter, the Pack looked to extend their lead on the Orediggers. Morgan Dial kicked off a strong 11-0 ThunderWolves run with a layup that would eventually be capped off by a Kansas Watts bucket. The six-minute run allowed the Pack to take a 12-point lead with time dwindling down in the opening half.
 
CSU Pueblo held a convincing 33-19 lead over the Orediggers headed into the halftime break thanks to the run.
 
The nine points scored by Mines in the second quarter are the fewest scored by the team in a period this season.
 
The third quarter saw the Orediggers offense come back alive. In just seconds, Mines dwindled the Pack lead back down to nine points. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Johnson and Alisha Davis halted a potential Orediggers run and grew the lead back to 15 points.
 
The run continued for the Pack, as Jazzy Hughes knocked down a layup and JaNaiya Davis splashed a 3-pointer from deep to grab the Pack's first 20-point lead of the game with 4:00 to go in the third. 
 
The Orediggers refused to yield to the Pack and gnawed the lead back down to 50-39 headed into the fourth and final quarter. 
 
With Mines trying to make a run, the Pack looked for insurance late. 8:36 remained and Alisha Davis kicked off another run for the ThunderWolves. Dial knocked home a 3-pointer one minute later to cap off the 8-0 run.
 
CSU Pueblo continued its persistence to put the top-10 team away, but the Orediggers refused to yield and put the deficit to only five points with just over a minute to go. Clutch free throws from Hughes, Kansas Watts and JaNaiya Davis down the stretch allowed the Pack to grow the lead back to 10 points late. 
 
A Ro Dominguez block on the perimeter iced the game for the Pack and sealed the 70-59 upset victory.
 
The stifling defense from CSU Pueblo limited the Orediggers' field goal percentage to just 29% on the night in front of a rambunctious ThunderWolves fan base. The Pack racked up 20 points off the 15 Mines turnovers and added 30 points off fast breaks.
 
Alisha Davis recorded another impressive night as she led the ThunderWolves' scorers with 17 points off 7-10 shooting from the floor and added on eight rebounds to her line. 
 
Hughes tacked on 14 points off a perfect 3-3 shooting from the floor and an immaculate 6-6 performance from the free throw line. The forward tallied four assists and five rebounds off the bench to help round out her performance for CSU Pueblo.
 
JaNaiya Davis led the Pack with a career-high 14 rebounds and a season-high seven assists to go with her nine points. 
 
CSU Pueblo now has two wins over top-10 teams on the 2021-22 season thanks to the double-digit victory over Colorado School of Mines.
 
The Pack look to keep the ball rolling Saturday night as CSU Pueblo takes on a hungry Regis team (9-9, 5-7) at 5:30 p.m.