PUEBLO, Colo. – The Colorado State University Pueblo women's basketball team enters this weekend's final two games of the 2022-23 regular season against UCCS and Regis needing just one win to secure a spot in the 2023 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament that begins with quarterfinal action on Feb. 28.
The ThunderWolves will open its final homestand of the season on Friday, Feb. 24 with a 5:30 p.m. game against UCCS, before Regis University on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 5:30 p.m. Prior to the beginning of Saturday's game, the Pack will honor its five seniors in a pregame ceremony.
CSU Pueblo's five seniors this season are guard
JaNaiya Davis (Hewitt, Texas/Midway), guard
Morgan Dial (Denver City, Texas/Western Texas College), guard/forward
Charisse Fairley (Colorado Springs, Colo./Fresno State), guard
Amaya Lewis (Hobbs, N.M./New Mexico JC) and guard
Jalen Long (Moreno Valley, Calf./Eastern Arizona College).
The Pack comes into the final weekend of the regular season sporting a 13-13 overall record and is eighth in the RMAC standings with a 10-10 record. The Pack are one game in front of UCCS, who 9-11 in the league this season and plays at New Mexico Highlands on Saturday to conclude the regular season and is one game behind seventh place Colorado Mesa, who is 11-9 in the league. Seven of the eight spots in the RMAC Tournament have already been determined with the only spot left is eighth, so a win by the Pack on Friday, will give CSU Pueblo that No. 8 seed in the tournament, but a loss and the eighth seed will be determined by the results of Saturday's games.
CSU Pueblo has been hot lately as they have won three of their last four games with the lone setback being a 74-43 loss last Saturday at Colorado Mesa and that loss came one night after the Pack rallied from a 17 points down in the third quarter to post a come-from-behind 72-66 win last Friday at Westminster. The Pack's other two wins came at home as they earned back-to-back victories over Colorado Christian (76-57) and Chadron State (62-50). Prior to the win over Colorado Christian, the Pack had dropped four straight games, including a 75-63 setback in Denver against Regis on Jan. 27.
This weekend's two home games will mark the 14th and 15th home contests of the season for the Pack as they are sporting a 10-3 record on its home court, including a 7-2 record in RMAC play. The Pack have won four of its last five home games with the only loss coming against Black Hills State (56-49) on Jan. 21.
ABOUT CSU PUEBLO
CSU Pueblo comes into this week's action having one player averaging in double figures and two others averaging between 9.4 and 9.8 points per game. The team's leading scorer on the season is Fairley, who is averaging 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and is shooting 39 percent from the field, 33 percent from the 3-point line and 80 percent at the free throw line. Fairley has scored in double figures in 16 games and is second on the team in blocks with 14.
In addition to Fairley, the other two Pack players averaging just under 10 points per game are sophomore guard
Landri Hudson (Aurora, Colo./University of Wyoming) and Davis. Hudson is averaging 9.8 points and 3.0 rebounds per game and is shooting 44 percent from the field, 41 percent from the 3-point line and 70 percent at the free throw line and has reached double-digits in scoring in five of her last nine games, while Davis is averaging 9.4 points, a team-leading 6.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.4 steals per game. She is shooting 43 percent from the field and 78 percent at the free throw line.
Davis is currently the school's all-time leader in steals (304), assists (517) and games played (128) and is fourth in career scoring with 1,475 points and second in career field goals made (552). Davis is second among active Division II players in career steals and is third among active Division II players in assists. She has scored in double figures in four of her last five games.
As a team, CSU Pueblo continues to be one of the top 3-point shooting teams in Division II women's basketball as the Pack leads the league and is 11th nationally in three-pointers made per game (8.9) and they lead the league and are 12th nationally in 3-point field goal attempts per game (27.0). The Pack have made 10 or more treys in a game 13 times and they are 11-2 on the season when making 10 or more 3-pointers in a game.
Additionally, the Pack is shooting 32.9 percent from the 3-point line, which is fourth-best in the RMAC. In RMAC play, the Pack is shooting 32.9 percent from the 3-point line and is making 8.5 treys per game. The Pack have also been strong at take care of the basketball as they are third in the league in turnovers per game as they are averaging 14.2 per game and are also third in the league in turnover margin (+3.9) as the Pack are forcing 18 turnovers per game. The Pack have forced 20 or more turnovers in five of its last six games and 11 times overall on the year.
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 47-54 overall record and is 37-43 in RMAC games. Since the beginning of the 2021-22 season, Johnson has led the Pack to a 29-15 record in RMAC play.
ABOUT UCCS
UCCS comes into Friday's action having lost four of its last six games overall, but enters the game fresh off a 60-51 home win last Friday against Western Colorado. The Mountain Lions' other win in this stretch came at home against South Dakota Mines (53-52) on Feb. 11. Since the beginning of the 2023 calendar year, UCCS has posted a 7-7 record.
The Mountain Lions, who are 10-16 overall and 9-11 in the RMAC, have struggled away from home this season as UCCS has posted a 2-10 record away from home, including a 2-7 mark in road RMAC games. UCCS has lost four of its last road games with the only win being a 58-57 nailbiter at Chadron State on Jan. 20.
UCCS is one of the better rebounding teams in the league as they are fifth in the RMAC in rebounds per game at 38.4 and are second in the league in offensive rebounds per game as they average a little over 14 per game. The Mountain Lions are also good at taking care of the basketball as they are fourth in the league in turnover margin at +0.8 and they force a little over 17 turnovers per game and commit just 16 per game.
Offensively, UCCS averages 60.8 points per game and allow just 63.4 points per games. They are shooting 38 percent from the field, but just 25 percent from the 3-point line and 60 percent at the free throw line. Defensively, UCCS' opponents are shooting 39 percent from the field, 30 percent from the 3-point line and 71 percent from the free throw line.
Leading the way offensively for UCCS is sophomore forward Maison White, who is averaging 13.4 points and 8.8 rebounds per game and is shooting 52 percent from the field. She is second in the league in rebounding and leads the league in offensive rebounds per game at 3.5 and her 13 double-doubles is tops in the league and 14th in Division II.
White is the lone Mountain Lion player averaging in double figures on the season as sophomore guard Gracie Haneborg is averaging 7.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game and is shooting 44 percent from the field and is second in steals with 31, while redshirt sophomore guard/forward Jessica Nation is averaging 7.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game and is shooting 36 percent from the field and 74 percent from the free throw line.
UCCS is coached by Lynn Plett, who is in his seventh season with the Mountain Lions and has compiled a 86-102 overall record at UCCS and has a 317-369 record in his 25th season as a collegiate head coach.
Friday's game will mark the first meeting this season between the two schools that are 40 minutes apart on I-25. CSU Pueblo holds a 15-10 lead in the series and has won five straight games against the Mountain Lions, including a 53-34 win last season at UCCS. The Pack leads the series, 10-3 at home and holds a 7-5 edge in the series at UCCS.
ABOUT REGIS
Regis comes into this weekend's action sitting in a tie for first place with Colorado School of Mines in the league standings as both teams are 17-3 on the year. With two wins this weekend, the Rangers would clinch at least a share of the regular season title and earn the No. 1 seed in the RMAC Tournament. The Rangers are sporting a 20-6 overall record and have won four straight and 16 of its last 17 games overall with the lone loss being a 78-71 setback at Westminster on Feb. 4. Since that loss, Regis has won four straight games by an average margin of nearly 15.5 points.
Two of Regis' three losses in league play came at the hands of Westminster, while its other loss was a 71-64 setback at Black Hills State to open RMAC play. In fact, since picking up a 75-63 win over the Pack in Denver on Jan. 27, Regis has posted a 6-1 record.
The Rangers are 8-3 away from home this season and have won of its last eight road games with the lone setback being that 78-71 loss at Westminster on Feb. 4. Regis is 7-2 on the road in RMAC play this 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 41.9 percent. In addition, they are also third in the league in scoring as they average 72.2 points per game and have an RMAC-leading rebound margin of +6.6. Regis is also third in the league in 3-point field goal attempts (21.7) and is third in the league in free throw attempts (20.2).
On the season, Regis is averaging 72.2 points per game and is allowing 64.8 points per game and they are shooting 42 percent from the field, 30 percent from the 3-point line and 71 percent from the free throw line. Defensively, they are allowing their foes to shoot 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from the 3-point line.
Leading the way offensively for the Rangers is junior guard Erin Fry. Fry is averaging 15.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game and leads the league in assists at 5.0 per game and is shooting 47 percent from the field, 39 percent from the 3-point line and 70 percent from the free throw line. She has an assist/turnover ratio of 2.0 and has recorded the only triple-double this season in the league.
In addition to Fry, senior guard Ryan Josey is averaging 12.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game and is shooting 38 percent from the field and 78 percent from the free throw line. Josey leads the team in steals with 48 and is second in made treys with 42 and making nearly two treys per game on the season.
The Rangers' other two double-digit scorers are senior guard/forward Sam Deem and graduate student forward Erin Stroberg. Deem is averaging 12.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 45 percent from the field, 33 percent from the 3-point line and 82 percent from the free throw line. She has recorded a team-best 21 blocks and is averaging 0.8 blocks per game on the year, while Stroberg is averaging 10.0 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, which is third-best in the league and she is shooting 56 percent from the field.
Regis is coached by Molly Marrin, who is in her eighth season with the Rangers in 2022-23. She has posted a 125-93 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.
Saturday's game will mark the second of two meetings this season between the two schools as Regis picked up a 75-63 win in Denver on Jan. 27. CSU Pueblo holds a 15-8 edge all-time in the series and the Pack have won two of the last three games in the series. The Pack holds an 8-2 lead at home in the series and are 7-6 in Denver in the series.
