GOLDEN, Colo. (March 4, 2022) – For the first time since 2018, the Colorado State University Pueblo women's basketball advanced to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Finals after the ThunderWolves defeated Colorado School of Mines 61-54. The Pack will meetsixth-seed Metropolitan State University Denver Saturday at 6 p.m. in Golden.
 
The ThunderWolves opened up the game with enthusiasm on both ends of the floor. Although the Orediggers broke the ice first with two points, the ThunderWolves enjoyed a 6-0 run over one minute of play.
 
The Mines team eventually took a 9-8 lead, but the Pack would not be deterred and enjoyed a 6-1 run kickstarted by a wide-open Alisha Davis 3-pointer. The run helped lead the Pack into the second quarter ahead 14-11.
 
The second quarter felt the momentum shift in favor of the Pack, as a Davis layup followed by a Jazzy Hughes 3-point splash allowed the ThunderWolves to enjoy a 7-0 run that led to a 10-point lead early in the quarter.
 
The Orediggers closed the gap down to four points after a modest run of their own, but a Davis layup followed by strong defensive stands put the Pack back in the driver's seat for the half.
 
After trading shots for much of the second half of the quarter, the Pack looked to widen the gap before the break. With 45 seconds to go in the quarter, Tomia Johnson nailed a 3-pointer and sent the game into halftime with the ThunderWolves ahead 29-21.
 
The Pack headed into halftime after a half that featured 10 steals and six more deflections.
 
The third quarter saw the Orediggers offense wake up and jump to a 7-0 run to begin the frame. 
 
After struggling a bit from the field, the Pack found their range once again and saw JaNaiya Davis sink a 3-pointer to reenergize the CSU Pueblo offense. Kansas Watts followed up a couple of possessions later with a steal and coast-to-coast layup to regain an eight-point lead for the ThunderWolves.
 
The Pack and Orediggers traded points for the remainder of the half and saw Amaya Lewis get the last say with five seconds to go off a layup. CSU Pueblo led 45-36 headed into the fourth.
 
In the fourth, Mines once again made a hard run to kick it off. The Orediggers got the Pack lead back down to three points before an Amaya Lewis jumper halted the 6-0 run.  With 4:39, CSU Pueblo expanded its lead back to nine points after Watts made a block and took care of a layup on the other end.
 
Mines took one more run at the ThunderWolves and dwindled the Pack lead back down to three points with 48 seconds to go.
 
The Orediggers needed stops but the Pack were unwilling to yield. Clutch free throws from Johnson and Alisha Davis carried the Pack through tough defense by the Orediggers and sealed the ThunderWolves' date with the RMAC Tournament finals.
 
The Alisha Davis free throws clinched the 61-54 win for CSU Pueblo and sent the Pack into the finals for the first time since 2018. 
 
Alisha Davis finished with a team-high 15 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and three steals to help lead the ThunderWolves to victory.
 
Lewis came off the bench and dropped 13 points off 6-8 shooting while she pulled down seven rebounds. Watts supplied energy throughout the game and finished with 11 points, six rebounds and a block. Helping round out the all-around efforts was Johnson with eight points and JaNaiya Davis who scored five to go with six rebounds and four steals. 
 
CSU Pueblo will play in the RMAC Tournament Finals Saturday night at 6 p.m. against the sixth-seeded Metropolitan State University Denver team in Golden.