PUEBLO, Colo. – The Colorado State University Pueblo women's basketball team looks to extend their win streak this weekend as the ThunderWolves continue on the road in crucial Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games at South Dakota Mines on Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Black Hills State at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

The Pack have been playing really solid as of late, winning three straight games and six out of their last eight games overall to stay in the hunt in league play. The Pack sit tied for eighth place in the daunting conference that is the RMAC, with the top eight teams qualifying for the RMAC Tournament at the end of the regular season.

CSU Pueblo enters the weekend with an 11-8 overall record and a 6-5 mark in the RMAC after a big road victory in Gunnison, Colo. last Friday, staving off Western Colorado in a 61-56 victory.

The two games this weekend will give the Pack a chance to move up in the standings. The ThunderWolves are currently tied with Colorado Christian for the last spot in the top eight, but only sit a half-game behind Black Hills State, whom CSU Pueblo will get a crack at on Saturday. 

ABOUT THE PACK
The Pack enter the weekend match-ups led by redshirt junior forward Alisha Little (Aurora, Colo./Northern Colorado), who continues to dominate NCAA Division II. In Little's last three games she is averaging just under 27 points per game and is pulling down 13.3 rebounds per game. Little leads the RMAC in scoring at 19.4 points per game, rebounding at 11.7 per game, and blocks at 3.5 per game. Little also leads all of NCAA Division II in both double-doubles with 14 and total blocked shots with 66.

Graduate student Romola Dominguez (Denver, Colo./Central Arkansas) has turned up her game lately as she is coming off a season high of 11 points last Friday at Western Colorado, hitting clutch shots down the stretch. She also dished out four assists in the game against the Mountaineers. Dominguez is averaging 5.5 points per game and just under three assists per contest on the season.

Junior guard Tomia Johnson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Florida Gulf Coast) continues to lead the Pack offense as she is averaging 4.0 assists per game and 2.3 assists per game. Johnson is in the top 10 in both categories in the RMAC as she ranks fourth in assists and ninth in steals. Johnson has been shooting lights out as of late, shooting a scorching hot 73 percent from deep in her last four games, really giving the Pack a three-point presence.

CSU Pueblo continues to be one of the better defensive units in the RMAC and in the nation. The Pack only allow 63.6 points per game and hold their opponents to just 37 percent shooting on average from the field. The Pack lead the conference in blocked shots at 5.3 per game and rank seventh nationally. In addition, CSU Pueblo ranks fourth in the RMAC in steals at 10.1 per game.

The Pack continue to be one of the better rebounding teams in the conference, coming in third at 38.4 boards per game. Regis continues to lead the conference at 40.9 rebounds per game.

CSU Pueblo is coached by Tommie Johnson, who is in his fifth season leading the Pack. In his tenure as head coach, Johnson has put together a 59-64 overall record, and an RMAC record of 45-50. Johnson also spent 10 seasons as an assistant for the men's program from 2008-16.

ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA MINES
South Dakota Mines comes into Friday's match-up with the Pack looking to make up ground in RMAC play. The Hardrockers sit in 10th place with a 4-13 overall record and an RMAC record of 4-7. South Dakota Mines will look to stop a two-game slide coming into this match-up against the Pack.

The Hardrockers are coming off a weekend in which they faced Westminster and Colorado Mesa. Last Friday, South Dakota Mines fell to Westminster 69-59 in Salt Lake City, despite having three players score in double figures. The Hardrockers were led by their leading scorer Piper Bauer as she scored 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field. The following day, the Hardrockers fell 71-58 at Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction, Colo. The Hardrockers kept it close, trailing by just four points to start the fourth quarter, but eventually were outmatched by the Mavericks. Once again, the Hardrockers were led by Bauer as she scored 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the field. Bauer also played all 40 minutes of the contest.

Bauer enters the weekend sitting sixth in the RMAC in scoring at 16.8 points per game and is the lone double-digit scorer for the Hardrockers. She has scored in double-figures in 16 out of the 17 games this season, with a season high of 30 points against Adams State.

South Dakota Mines is coached by Jeri Owsley, who is in her fifth season leading the Hardrockers. In her tenure as head coach, Owsley has put together a 38-53 overall record. Prior to South Dakota Mines, Owsley helped lead the University of Idaho to an 84-51 record in four years as an assistant coach, including an NCAA tournament appearance, a WBI appearance, and two WNIT appearances.

ALL-TIME MATCHUP
Friday's game will be the second match-up of the season between the two squads as CSU Pueblo defeated South Dakota Mines, 79-57 on Dec. 15 at Massari Arena. CSU Pueblo leads the all-time series 10-4 over the Hardrockers.

ABOUT BLACK HILLS STATE
Black Hills State, who hosts New Mexico Highlands on Friday before hosting the Pack on Saturday, comes into this weekend's action with a slight lead over the Pack in the league standings, sitting in 7th place, just a half-game ahead of the Pack at 6-4 in RMAC play. Black Hills State is coming off a 1-1 weekend against Colorado Mesa and Westminster as the Yellow Jackets fell 53-51 last Friday at Colorado Mesa and then earned a 72-48 last Saturday at Westminster. 

Against Colorado Mesa, the 'Jackets held the Mavericks to just 38 percent shooting from the field. The Yellow Jackets were led by bench scoring in the match-up behind redshirt freshman guard Kaycee Groves, who scored a career-high 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field and junior forward Haylee Weathersby who scored 10 points on 2-of-4 shooting and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Meanwhile, in the win at Westminster, the 'Jackets shot 49.2 percent from the field and were led offensively by senior forward Morgan Hammerbeck as she scored 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting. The Yellow Jackets also got good production out of freshman guard Jaylen Ostenson as she shot 4-of-6 from the field to score 11 points.

Black Hills State is led by Hammerbeck as she leads the team in scoring at 9.4 points per game, rebounds at 5.1 per game, and minutes played at 31.1 per game. Hammerbeck has scored in double-figures five times this season, with a season-high of 23 points on against Fort Lewis.

Black Hills State is led by Mark Nore who is in his 22nd season leading the Yellow Jackets. Nore, who is also serving as the school's interim athletic director, is the all-time wins leader in Black Hills State women's basketball history with a 382-285 record (.619 winning percentage). A graduate of Black Hills State, Nore played for Hall of Famer Mike Olson from 1993-97, one conference tournament championship, and had four consecutive trips to the NAIA National Tournament.

ALL-TIME MATCHUP
Saturday's game will be the only regular season match-up between the two squads. CSU Pueblo leads the all-time series over Black Hills State 16-7. Black Hills State won the last match-up between the two on Jan. 21, 2023 in a 56-49 victory in Massari Arena.

UP NEXT FOR THE PACK
Following this weekend's slate of games, the Pack will get a week of rest, before returning home on Friday, Feb. 2 at 5:30 p.m. to host Regis University at Massari Arena. Fans can listen to the games on 1350 AM (Fox Sports Pueblo), or stream the games on the RMAC Digital Network.