PUEBLO, Colo. (November 18, 2022) - The Colorado State University Pueblo women's basketball team notched its first win of the 2022-23 campaign on Friday Night, with a commanding 83-69 victory over Alaska-Fairbanks on the opening evening of the 38th Annual Al Kaly Shrine Classic inside Massari Arena. 
 
Ro Dominguez highlighted the effort with a 27 point performance, followed by Charisse Fairley who poured in 17 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double. Morgan Dial came off the bench and scored 13 points. The trio continued to be a theme the whole evening. 
 
In the first quarter the Pack came out hot with a bucket by Fairley just 10 seconds into the game. Buckets were traded however until JaNaiya Davis was able to put in back-to-back layups to increase the lead to six with 5:38 remaining in the first. The Nanooks were able to hang tight with a hot ThunderWolves offense until Landri Hudson hit a 3-pointer with 3:55 remaining, to extend the Pack lead to nine. 
 
The Nanooks defense however proved to be resilient as they kept the Pack to just one point over the last 3:55 of the quarter. The ThunderWolves led 20-14 after the first quarter.
 
Fairbanks came out hot in the second quarter, cutting into the Pack lead, until Dial sank a three-pointer, 1:06 into the quarter. Dial was able to drop in another bucket extending the lead to nine, when Fairbanks went on a long run, taking the lead with 2:33 remaining in the second quarter. 
 
Dominguez stayed hot with a huge basket from beyond the arc to tie the game with 1:30 remaining in the half, but the Nanooks offense stayed stingy, as the Pack faced a 2-point deficit going into the half. 
 
Halftime adjustments proved key for CSU Pueblo, as they outscored the opponent by 16 points in the second half, starting off the half in a big way. Fairley and Dominguez hit back-to-back three-point buckets to take a two-point lead less than a minute into the second half. The duo went for another pair of baskets to extend the lead to six, until Dial was able to hit yet another three-point shot to put the lead at 13, with 3:44 remaining in the third. 
 
The Pack offense proved to be too much for Fairbanks to handle, as the team continued to trade baskets to close out the third quarter. The ThunderWolves with a built a comfortable 66-55 lead, on the back of six made three-pointers in the quarter. 
 
Dominguez and Fairley continued to lead the Pack, with a pair of buckets in the first minute of the fourth quarter. Defense, paired with an explosive offense that saw 13 made three-pointers in the contest, remained to be the story to close out the fourth quarter. Holding Fairbanks just two points over the final 4:42 of the game. CSU Pueblo came out on top, 83-69. 
 
Of the 13 made three-pointers, Dominguez recorded five, followed by Fairley and Dial just behind with three apiece. The trio was able to combine for 57 points and 11 rebounds. Turnovers were another key factor in the dominating performance by CSU Pueblo, forcing the Nanooks to commit 25 to just 12 for the Pack. 
 
CSU Pueblo (1-2) will look to sweep the weekend as they take on MidAmerica Nazarene University on Saturday at 5 p.m. inside Massari Arena.