DENVER, Colo. – The Colorado State University Pueblo women's basketball team continues its road to St. Joesph, Mo., with a semifinal round match-up tomorrow evening against fourth-seeded UCCS in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament at Regis Field House in Denver, Colo.
The Pack have won the RMAC Championship six times. The last time CSU Pueblo was in the RMAC semi-finals was 2022 and the last time CSU Pueblo won the RMAC Tournament was in 2018. CSU Pueblo has won the most RMAC Tournaments out of any active team in the conference.
CSU Pueblo comes into Friday's match-up with a 17-14 overall record, most recently defeating top ranked Colorado Mesa in the first round, while UCCS comes into Friday with a 23-7 overall record, most recently defeating Colorado School of Mines 71-65. UCCS also took home a share of the regular season RMAC Title.
UCCS led the season series 1-0 as the Mountain Lions defeated CSU Pueblo in a tight matchup, resulting in a 65-59 win for UCCS.
ABOUT THE PACK
CSU Pueblo is led by their All-American forward
Alisha Little (Aurora, Colo./Northern Colorado) who was recently named the RMAC's Defensive Player of the Year. Little was also a First-Team All-Conference nominee, a winner of the RMAC scoring title at 20.4 points per game, the conferences' rebound leader at 11.5 per game, and the block leader at 3.5 per game. Little also leads all of NCAA Division II in double-doubles with 23. Little recorded 20 points and 19 rebounds in Tuesday's first round victory over Colorado Mesa.
Redshirt junior forward
Autumn Watts (Centennial, Colo./McNeese State) is the second-half of one of the best frontcourts in all the NCAA. Watts is coming off being named second team All-RMAC this week and is the other double-digit scorer on this Pack squad with 10.2 points per game. Watts is coming off a 10-point and five rebound performance against Colorado Mesa.
Junior guard
Tomia Johnson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Florida Gulf Coast) is one of the best two-way guards in the conference. Her defensive presence and command of the offense is crucial to the Pack's success. Johnson is arguably coming off her best performance of the season against Colorado Mesa in which the veteran guard scored 10 points, two steals, and led the plus/minus department out of anybody on the court with a plus 16.
The engine of the team is
Romola Dominguez (Denver, Colo./Central Arkansas). The team goes as she goes. The veteran is also coming off arguably her best performance in which she scored 16 points, four assists, and had a plus 10 in the plus/minus category.
THE IDENTITY
CSU Pueblo relies heavily on their strong defensive presence as they continue to be one of the best defensive units in the RMAC and in the Nation. The Pack only allow an average of 64 points per game and hold their opponents to just 37 percent shooting from the field.
The Pack continue to rally around the ball as they lead the conference in blocked shots at 5.5 per game and rank fourth nationally in that category. In addition, the Pack average just under 10 steals and pull down an average of 38 rebounds per game.
OUR FEARLESS LEADERS
CSU Pueblo is led by Head Coach
Tommie Johnson who is in his fifth season at the helm. In his tenure as head coach, Johnson has put together a 65-70 overall record. Johnson also spent 2008-16 as an assistant for the men's program, and played his college ball at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.
Johnson is assisted by
Jalen Little. Little is no stranger to the RMAC postseason as he spent four years coaching at Chadron State College prior to making his way to Pueblo. Little also played high level postseason basketball in the Southland Conference at Abilene Christian University as one of the best passing guards in the conference.
Johnson is also assisted by
Jaylyn Duran. Duran is also no stranger to high level RMAC postseason ball as she played her college ball at Colorado Mesa University, graduating in 2019. At the conclusion of her college days, Duran took her talents to the professional level for three seasons.
THE MATCHUP
CSU Pueblo and UCCS have met just one times this season.
The two squads met late in the season on March 1 in Colorado Springs. UCCS took home the 65-59 victory as it was a dog fight the whole game. This was a game the Pack felt like they should have won, as they led 47-42 going into the fourth quarter and led 59-57 with two minutes left to go in the game.
CSU Pueblo struggled to slow down Amyah Moore Allen as she scored 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Emily Vidal also gave UCCS good production as she scored 16 points and went 4-of-6 from three.
UCCS had no answer for Little as she was just short of a triple-double, scoring 26 points, pulled down 10 rebounds, and recorded nine rebounds.
Junior guard Landrio Hudson (Aurora, Colo./Wyoming) shot the ball well in the game as she scored 14 points and went 4-of-10 from deep.
UCCS outscored the Pack 23-12 in the final frame to pick up the win.
HOW TO WATCH
Fans are encouraged to wear blue and show up to the game on the campus of Regis University in Denver, Colo. If fans cannot attend the game, the ThunderZone in Pueblo will be hosting a watch party, starting at 7 p.m. Friday evening.
