PUEBLO, Colo. – The Colorado State University Pueblo women's basketball team will look to begin a new winning streak this coming Friday, Jan. 27 as the ThunderWolves travel to Denver, Colo., for a 5 p.m. Rocky Mountain Conference match-up against Regis University.
The Pack comes into Friday's action sporting a 10-9 overall record and are sixth in the RMAC standings with a 7-6 league mark heading into the month of the regular season. The Pack is one ahead of MSU Denver (6-6) in the league standings and one game in back of Westminster (8-6). Meanwhile, Regis enters the game tied for second in the league with a 10-2 record and the Rangers have won nine straight games since a loss at home in mid-December to Westminster.
At the end of the regular season, the top eight teams in the league standings qualify for the RMAC Tournament.
CSU Pueblo has won two of its last three games with the lone loss being a 56-49 setback at home last Saturday against Black Hills State, who is tied for second in the league standings with Regis. In fact, the Pack are 6-5 in the league since suffering a 76-71 loss at Colorado Christian on Dec. 3.
Friday's game at Regis will mark the eighth road game this season for CSU Pueblo as the Pack are 2-5 away from home this season, including a 2-4 mark on the road in RMAC play. The Pack, though have lost three straight road games in RMAC play since earning a double overtime win at South Dakota Mines (77-75) on Dec. 16.
ABOUT CSU PUEBLO
CSU Pueblo comes into this week's action having two players averaging in double figures on the season as graduate student forward/guard
Charisse Fairley (Colorado Springs, Colo./Fresno State) leads the way in scoring and is second in rebounding as she is averaging 12.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game and is shooting 41 percent from the field, 34 percent from the 3-point line and 76 percent at the free throw line. Fairley has scored in double figures in 14 games and has posted two double-doubles on the year. Over her last four games, she is averaging 11.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.
In addition to Fairley, sophomore guard
Landri Hudson (Aurora, Colo./Wyoming) is also averaging in double figures as she comes into the week averaging 10.4 points per game and is shooting 45 percent from the field, a team-best 40 percent from the 3-point line and is third in steals with 22. Hudson has reached double figures in scoring in two straight games and eight games overall and is coming off a 12 point, five assist effort in the loss to Black Hills State.
One other regular in the Pack line-up is averaging over 8.0 points per game this season as graduate student guard
JaNaiya Davis (Hewitt, Texas/Midway) is averaging 8.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and is fourth in the RMAC in steals at 2.5 per game. Davis is shooting 39 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line and has scored in double figures in seven times, including tallying 14 points and nine rebounds last time out against Black Hills State. Davis is just seven points shy of becoming the fifth CSU Pueblo women's basketball player to score 1,400 career points and she is currently the No. 2 active leader among Division II players in career steals (289) and is third among active Division II players in career assists with 494. Davis holds the school's career mark for steals and is second in both career assists and games played.
As a team, CSU Pueblo is one of the top 3-point shooting teams in Division II as the Pack is eighth nationally in both 3-pointers made per game (9.4) and 3-pointers attempted per game (27.8). Additionally, the Pack are tied for second in the league in 3-point field goal percentage at 33.8 percent and is fourth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (28.9 percent) and is second in the league in free throw shooting at 71.7 percent.
On offense, CSU Pueblo is averaging 63.8 points per game, but has been held under 60 points in five of its last six games. The Pack are shooting 38 percent from the field, while defensively, the Pack is allowing 64.9 points per game and their foes are shooting 40 percent from the field and are getting outrebounded by 10.6 boards per game. In RMAC play, CSU Pueblo is averaging 63.7 points per game and is allowing 65.3 points per game and are making 9.0 treys per game.
CSU Pueblo is coached by
Tommie Johnson, who is in his fourth season as the Pack's women's basketball coach. In his three-plus season directing the Pack women's program, Johnson, who spent 10 seasons as an assistant men's basketball coach from 2008-16, has compiled a 44-50 overall record and is 34-39 in RMAC games.
ABOUT REGIS
Regis comes into Friday's game one of the hottest teams in Division II women's basketball as the Rangers have won nine straight games and 10 of its last 11 overall with the lone loss being a 66-65 home loss to Westminster on Dec. 9. The Rangers are one of 14 Division II women's team that have won at least nine consecutive games. Thomas More (Ky.) has the longest active win streak in Division II at 37 games, while Ashland is second with 20 consecutive wins.
The Rangers win streak has pushed them into a tie for second place in the league standings with Black Hills State. Regis is 13-5 overall and 10-2 in the RMAC heading into the final month of the regular season. Regis' latest wins in this stretch were a 92-66 home win last Friday over Colorado Christian and a 71-58 win on Saturday at Chadron State.
While the Rangers have won nine straight games overall, they have also won five straight games at home and are sporting a 7-3 record at home on the season.
Regis' success this season can be attributed to rebounding and shooting the ball as the Rangers lead the RMAC in rebounds per game at 41.9 and are third in the league in field goal percentage at 41.7 percent. In addition, they are also third in the league in scoring as they average 71.9 points per game and have a rebound margin of +6.8. Regis is also third in the league in 3-point field goal attempts (22.1) and is third in the league in free throw attempts (19.78).
On the season, Regis is averaging 71.9 points per game and is allowing 65.3 points per game and they are shooting 42 percent from the field, 30 percent from the 3-point line and 69 percent from the free throw line. Defensively, they are allowing their foes to shoot 39 percent from the field and 29 percent from the 3-point line.
Leading the way offensively for the Rangers is junior guard Erin Fry. Fry is averaging 15.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and leads the league in assists at 5.0 per game and is shooting 46 percent from the field, 42 percent from the 3-point line and 70 percent from the free throw line. She has scored in double figures in 17 games and had a triple-double of 15 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists against Texas-Permian Basin.
In addition to Fry, senior guard Ryan Josey is averaging 11.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game and is shooting 38 percent from the field and 72 percent from the free throw line. She has reached double figures in two straight games and 10 times overall on the season.
The Rangers' other two double-digit scorers are senior guard/forward Sam Deem and graduate student forward Erin Stroberg. Deem and Stroberg are each averaging 10.6 points per game and are averaging a combined 15.3 boards per game as Deem is averaging 7.0 rebounds per game and Stroberg is averaging 8.3 boards per game and has had four double-doubles, including a 21 rebound game against Fort Lewis.
Regis is coached by Molly Marrin, who is in her eighth season with the Rangers in 2022-23. She has posted a 118-92 record at Regis and is just the third coach in school history to win 100 career games. Marrin, who graduated from Regis in 2003, played at Regis for four years and was a First-Team All-RMAC selection and was also a two-time selection to the RMAC All-Tournament Team.
Friday's game will mark the first of two meetings this season between the two schools as the two teams will close out the regular season in Pueblo on Feb. 25. CSU Puebloholds a 15-7 edge all-time in the series and the Pack have won two straight games in the series, including a 72-57 win last season at Regis. The Pack holds an 8-2 lead at home in the series and are 7-5 in Denver in the series.
