PUEBLO, Colo. - The Colorado State University Pueblo Women's Basketball team concludes the regular season at home this weekend, still with hopes of making the NCAA Tournament. 

The Pack will be at home tomorrow night with a huge game against MSU Denver, starting at 5:30 PM at Massari Arena. Tomorrow night's game is presented by ENT Credit Union and will also be Fan Appreciation Night.

Saturday's contest has been pushed back to 4:00 PM and will be Senior Day presented by MxV Rail, as the ThunderWolves will host Colorado School of Mines. The Pack will honor Alisha Little, Tomia Johnson, Autumn Watts, Shamahra Henderson, Tosjanae Bonds, Yara Garcia, and Landri Hudson on Saturday afternoon.

CSU Pueblo currently sits in fifth place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with a 16-10 overall record and a 11-7 record in league play. CSU Pueblo still has a solid chance of moving into the number four spot in the conference standings, sitting just one game back of Adams State. The top four teams in the conference host their first round matchup in the conference tournament. 

THIS WEEK:
CSU Pueblo returns home after a 1-1 week last week, hosting MSU Denver on Thursday night at 5:30 PM. On Saturday afternoon, the Pack will honor seven seniors on Senior Day as the Pack welcome in the squad from Golden. 

The ThunderWolves are one of the teams "on the bubble" to make the NCAA Tournament.

ABOUT THE PACK:
CSU Pueblo is led by their 2x All-American Alisha Little, who is the front runner for the RMAC Player of the Year award. Little, who is arguably the best player in the nation continues to dominate the league and NCAA Division II with three WBCA National Player of the Week awards and seven conference player of the week awards. Four of the seven weeks that Little has brought home a weekly conference award, she was both the offensive and defensive player of the week. Most recently, Little became the all-time leading scorer in CSU Pueblo Women's Basketball History as she scored her 1,599th point against Black Hills State on Feb. 6. 

Little leads the RMAC in scoring at 25.3 points (second in the country) per game, and in rebounding at 11.9 boards per game. Little leads the conference in blocks by a mile at 3.6 (94 on the season) per game and is second in the nation in that category. Just like last season, Little leads the country in double-doubles with 22. 

Little is complemented by Tomia Johnson, who is the engine for the Pack. Johnson is one of the leagues best two-way players. Johnson is averaging right at 10 points per game against RMAC teams and is averaging 3.3 assists per game, which is seventh in the league. Johnson surpassed the 300 assists for her career a few weeks ago and seventh in the league in assist/turnover ratio. 

One of the biggest strengths this season for the Pack is their ability to hold teams in check on the offensive end as they are fifth in the RMAC in scoring defense, allowing just 63.8 points per game. CSU Pueblo have held seven of their 26 opponents under 60 points, including just 42 points to Westminster just two weeks ago. The Pack have held five of its last 19 opponents to less than 60 points. In addition to allowing 63.8 points per game, the Pack are second in the league in field goal percentage defense (37 percent) and fifth in the RMAC in 3-point field goal percentage defense (29 percent). 

The Pack are led by Head Coach Tommie Johnson, who is in his sixth season leading the ThunderWolves and knows the league well, playing at UCCS during his college days. Johnson had put together a 81-81 career record. Johnson, who is one of the most well-respected coaches in the nation, looks to get the ThunderWolves back in the RMAC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. 

ABOUT MSU DENVER
It has been a down year for Tanya Haave and her RoadRunner squad, as MSU Denver comes into Thursday's matchup on a nine-game losing streak. MSU Denver sits at 6-20 overall this year and 5-13 in conference play. This is the first and only matchup between the two squads this year. Last year, CSU Pueblo won the only game between the two in dramatic fashions 73-69, mounting a fourth quarter comeback.

MSU Denver is led by Nevaeh Millard, a 5-8 freshman who is averaging 10.1 points per game and 2.9 rebounds per game. 

The RoadRunners are led by their long time coach Tanya Haave, who played for Pat Summitt at Tennessee. In her 15th season, Haave has put together a 252-176 record at MSU Denver and a 288-262 overall career record.

ABOUT COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
Colorado School of Mines might be the hottest team in the RMAC right now, as the Orediggers had a rough start to the season, but have come on strong in the second half of conference play. The Orediggers have clawed their way back to a 12-14 overall record and a 10-8 record in league play to put themselves in the eighth and final spot in the RMAC Standings. Mines took the first matchup between the two squads earlier this year on Jan. 16, defeating the Pack 62-56 in Golden.

Leading the way for the Orediggers on the offensive end is Parker, Colorado native Jenna Siebert. The redshirt junior is averaging 19.6 points per game this season on 41 percent shooting. Siebert has upped her scoring from last season more than eight points per game, and has upped her rebounding total from 3.4 to 4.7.

The engine for the Orediggers is Josephine Howery, as the redshirt senior point guard does a little bit of everything. Howery is averaging 10.0 points per game on 38 percent shooting, upping her scoring from 6.3 last year, and leads the team in rebounding at 5.5 per game, despite being a guard. Howery is a solid shooter from deep, and is automatic from the free throw line at 83 percent. The workhorse for the Orediggers is averaging 34 minutes a night, leading the Mines squad.

Josephine is also the older sister of CSU Pueblo's Guards Sam and Max Howery.

Colorado School of Mines is lead by Head Coach Brittany Simpson, who is the winningest coach in the history of Mines Women's Basketball. The 2024-25 season is Simpson's 13th season at the helm for the Orediggers.