PUEBLO, Colo. - The Colorado State University Pueblo Women's Basketball team continues their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schedule, hosting their first two home games of league play on Thursday and Saturday at Massari Arena. 

On Thursday, the ThunderWolves will welcome the 2-6 (1-1 RMAC) Chadron State College Eagles into the Steel City. On Saturday, the Pack will welcome the 0-9 (0-2 RMAC) South Dakota Mines Hardrockers to Pueblo.

CSU Pueblo sits atop the RMAC with three other teams, as the Pack are 6-3 overall and 2-0 in league play. The ThunderWolves had a rough 0-2 start to the season, but have been playing much better ball as of late, going 6-1 since the slow start, also riding a four-game winning streak.

The Pack are led by their two-time All-American Alisha Little (Aurora, Colo./Northern Colorado), who has not skipped a beat from her dominant campaign last season. Little is no doubt one of the best players in the country, and the best player in the RMAC. Twice this season Little has been named the RMAC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week (both in the same week), and last week she was the reigning National Player of the Week from the WBCA/D2CIDA.

Little continues to be a double-double machine just like last year. She is averaging 22.4 points per game, leading the RMAC in that category. Little is third in rebounds at 9.6 per game, and leads the conference in blocks by a wide margin at 3.2 per contest.

Point Guard Tomia Johnson (Colorado Springs, Colo./FGCU) is the engine that makes the Pack go. Johnson has really stepped up her play as of late, averaging 15 points per game in league play, while averaging 4.28 assists per game this season. Johnson is also one of the best two-way guards the league has to offer, ranking 11th in the league in steals at 1.9 per game. 

CSU Pueblo is led by Head Coach Tommie Johnson who is in his sixth season leading the ThunderWolves. 

ABOUT CHADRON STATE COLLEGE

Chadron State comes into Thursday's match-up sporting a 2-6 overall record. In league play, the Eagles defeated South Dakota Mines on Dec. 5 at home. Chadron State is coming off a loss on Dec. 7 on the road at Black Hills State 60-52. 

The Eagles do have some balanced scoring, with three girls averaging double-digit scoring.

Chadron State is led by senior forward Ashayla Powers, who is averaging 13.9 points per game. Powers, however has only scored eight points in each RMAC contest.

Allison Richards is averaging 12.6 points per game on the season, while Camren Morris is at 11.4 points per game.

CSU Pueblo took the season series last year two games to none.

The Eagles are led Head Coach Travis Brewster, a veteran head coach who is a three-time Coach of the Year across all levels of collegiate sports, began leading the Chadron State women's basketball program ahead of the 2023-24 season. 

Brewster was previously a head coach at the University of North Dakota for eight seasons, going 128-120 with the Fighting Hawks and winning two Big Sky Coach of the Year awards in 2014 and 2017. In his time at UND, Brewster won two Big Sky co-regular season championships and one Big Sky tournament championship with one NCAA Tournament appearance in 2014 and one WNIT appearance in 2017.  

Prior to joining the Eagles, Brewster had been the coach of Saint Xavier University (NAIA) in Chicago the past two seasons. where he put together a 45-16 record. He was the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Coach of the Year in 2022, a year he also led Saint Xavier to a conference championship and NAIA national tournament berth as the Cougars won their conference regular season championship with a record of 21-1.

ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA MINES

The Hardrockers have had a rough go to start the 2024-25 season, starting off winless at 0-9 overall, and 0-2 in RMAC play. In league play, South Dakota mines has taken defeats to Black Hills State, and Chadron State.

South Dakota Mines is led by a veteran scorer Piper Bauer, one of the league's most gifted buckets. Bauer is averaging 12.3 points per game on the season, just under her career average of 12.6. One season ago, Bauer was a member of the RMAC All-Conference Second Team.

Morning Grace Spotted Bear is another threat on the offensive end for the Hardrockers, as the Montana Native is averaging 20 points per game in conference play. On the season, she is the second leading scorer behind Bauer at 11.9 points per game.

CSU Pueblo and South Dakota Mines split the season series last year. The Pack defeated the Hardrockers on Dec. 15 in Pueblo, while South Dakota Mines won on Jan. 25 in Rapid City.

South Dakota Mines is led by Head Coach Jeri Owsley, who is in her sixth season at the helm for the Hardrockers.