PUEBLO, Colo. - Colorado State University Pueblo Women's Basketball opens the New Year with a non-conference game at Massari Arena on Friday, Jan. 3 at 5:30 p.m. against Regis University.
 
The ThunderWolves, who haven't played since collecting a 62-57 home win on Dec. 14 against South Dakota Mines, enter the first game of the 2025 calendar year sporting an 8-3 overall record and a 4-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Pack has won six straight games since suffering a 70-52 non-conference setback on Nov. 20 at Colorado Mesa.
 
Along with winning six straight games, which is the longest winning streak for the Pack since reeling off eight consecutive wins during the 2021-22 season, including opening RMAC play by winning its first four league games, the Pack are also a perfect 6-0 at home this season and has gone 41-10 at home since the beginning of the 2021-22 season.
 
The Pack is also 4-3 against non-conference foes and has won at least five regular season non-conference games four times since 2014-15, including going 5-3 in regular season non-conference games last season. The Pack's three losses have come against teams sporting a 24-5 overall record this season.
 
ABOUT THE PACK
Leading the way offensive for the Pack through the first 11 games of the 2024-25 season is redshirt senior forward Alisha Little (Aurora, Colo./University of Northern Colorado), who leads the RMAC and is third nationally in Division II in scoring as she is averaging 22.9 points per game and also leads the RMAC in blocked shots per game (3.5), field goal attempts (198), total blocks (38) and double-doubles (8) and is second in the league in field goals made (91), third in rebounds per game (9.9) and fourth in both steals per game (2.8) and field goal percentage (46.4 percent). Additionally, her eight double-doubles are tops among all Division II players. Little, who has been a three-time RMAC Player of the Week this season, enters the weekend fourth in the state of Colorado history with 2,150 career points and is third in state history in career rebounds with 1,159, and is the state's all-time career leader in blocked shots with 358.
 
In addition to Little, senior guard Tomia Johnson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Florida Gulf Coast) is second on the team in scoring as she averages 8.3 points, 4.3 assists, and 2.0 steals per game and is fifth in the RMAC in assists per game and enters the week just 47 assists and 18 steals for fifth place on the school's all-time lists for career assists and steals respectively. Johnson has recorded 288 career assists and 179 career steals.
 
Sophomore forward Brynae Stewart (Colorado Springs, Colo./Pine Creek) is averaging 7.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and has scored in double figures in two games, including tallying a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds against Northern New Mexico.
 
As a team, the Pack, who is coached by sixth-year head coach Tommie Johnson, enters Friday's game with Regis as one of the top-scoring defensive teams in the RMAC as they are allowing 58.7 points per game and have held six of its 11 opponents under 60 points, including limiting five of its last six foes to 60 points or less as only Chadron State scored more than 60 points as they tallied 61 points in the Pack's 72-61 home win over the Eagles. Along with being second in scoring defense, the Pack is second in the RMAC in field goal percentage defense and third in 3-point field goal percentage defense as the Pack's opponents are shooting 36.1 percent from the floor and 28.6 percent from the 3-point line respectively.
 
While the Pack has one of the top defenses in the league, the Pack offense has struggled to score as they are averaging just 59.9 points per game and are shooting 36 percent from the field and 24 percent from the 3-point line. The Pack is 12th in the league in scoring, scoring over 65 points in just four games, and is averaging 64.8 points per game in RMAC play. The Pack is 6-0 this season when scoring 60 or more points and since the beginning of last season, the Pack is 21-6 when scoring 60 or more points.
 
Another strength this season for the Pack is their ability to share the basketball as they enter Friday's game third in the RMAC in assists per game as they are averaging 13.4 assists per game and have recorded an assist on 64.5 percent of its made field goals. The Pack has seven players that have recorded double-digit assists as Johnson leads the way with 39. In addition to Johnson, junior guard Genesis Sweetwine (Aurora, Colo./Northeastern JC) is second with 22, while senior guard Shamahra Henderson (Denver, Colo./Cowley County CC) is third with 18 assists.
 
The Pack is also one of the top shot blocking teams in the country as they lead the RMAC and are fourth nationally in blocked shots per game as they are averaging 5.5 blocked shots per game, and they are second in the RMAC in steals per game as they average 10.7 per game and have collected 118 steals in 11 games.
 
ABOUT REGIS
Regis enters Friday's first game of the 2025 calendar year sporting a 5-5 overall record and a 3-1 mark in the RMAC. The Rangers, who are the two-time defending RMAC regular season and tournament champions, have won three of its last four games after opening the 2024-25 season with a 2-4 record. The lone loss for the Rangers came in its most recent game at home on Dec. 14 as Regis fell 68-50 to Western Colorado in RMAC play. Before the Western Colorado loss, the Rangers had opened RMAC play with road wins over New Mexico Highlands (84-77) and Fort Lewis (76-65) and a home win over Colorado Mesa (63-61).
 
In the Preseason RMAC Coaches Poll, Regis was tabbed to finish sixth as the Rangers earned 150 points and one first-place vote. The Rangers return two starters and seven letterwinners from last season's 26-6 team that lost 74-54 in the first round of the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament to UT-Tyler.
 
Leading the way offensively for the Rangers heading into Friday's action is graduate student guard Erin Fry, who is third in the RMAC in scoring at 21.1 points per game and is also averaging 5.4 rebounds and is second in the league in assists at 6.0 per game. Fry, who was the RMAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2022-23, has reached double figures in all 10 games this season and has recorded three double-doubles, and is the fifth all-time leading scorer in school history with 1,404 career points.
 
In addition to Fry, senior guard Athena Saragoza is averaging 15.7 points per game and is shooting 38 percent from the field and 34 percent from the 3-point line and became the 23rd member of Regis' 1,000-Point Club after scoring 26 points in Regis' loss to defending Division II National Champion Minnesota State, while sophomore guard/ forward Fiona Snashall is third in scoring as she is averaging 9.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. 
 
As a team, the Rangers are the top scoring team in the league as Regis is averaging 70.3 points per game and has scored over 70 points in five games, including tallying a season-high 88 points in its loss to Minnesota State. Along with leading the league in scoring, Regis is also one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the league as they are second in 3-point field goal percentage (31.7 percent) and lead the RMAC in made three-pointers per game (8.5). In addition, Regis also leads the league in 3-point shot attempts per game (26.9).
 
Additionally, Regis is second in the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.12) and is fourth in the league in assists per game as they are averaging 13.1 per game. The Rangers also rank in the Top 5 in the league in both free throws shot per game (19.2) and free throws made per game (13.2). As a team, Regis is shooting 68.8 percent at the line as they are 132-for-192 at the line.
 
Regis is coached by alumnus Molly Marrin. Marrin, who is in her 10th season as the Rangers head coach, has compiled a 161-105 career record and has led the Rangers to three 20-plus win seasons, including tying a school record for wins last season with 26. In addition, she has led Regis to three NCAA Regional Tournament appearances and back-to-back regular season and RMAC Tournament titles.

Friday's game with Regis marks the first of two meetings this season between the two schools as the Pack will travel to Denver to face the Rangers in an RMAC game on Jan. 18. The Pack leads the all-time series between the two schools, 16-11, but Regis has won six of the last 10 games in the series, including earning a 70-65 win over the Pack in the 2023-24 regular season finale on March 2 in Denver, Colo. The Pack leads the series, 9-3 at home, while Regis holds a slim 8-7 lead on its home court.
 
UP NEXT
Following Friday's game with Regis, the Pack will conclude its four-game homestand on Thursday, Jan. 9 with a 5:30 p.m. RMAC game against Colorado Christian, before traveling to Colorado Springs, Colo., for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday, Jan. 11 at UCCS.