SPEARFISH, S.D. - The Colorado State University Pueblo Women's Basketball team is once again back in the postseason, shifting their focus to Black Hills State University in Round One of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament on Tuesday Afternoon.

The ThunderWolves finished the regular season in a tie for fourth place with the Yellow Jackets at 13-7 in league play. Due to the head to head, Black Hills won the tiebreaker and is the four seed in the tournament and will host the Pack the the Donald E. Moore Center in Spearfish.

The Pack did finish one game better than Black Hills State in overall record at 18-10. The ThunderWolves are considered 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 eight conference player of the week awards. Yesterday she was named the Defensive Player of the Week from the Conference, and four of the eight 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 25.5 points (second in the country) per game, and in rebounding at 11.7 boards per game. Little leads the conference in blocks by a mile at 3.7 (103 on the season) per game and is second in the nation in that category. She also leads the conference in steals with 83. Just like last season, Little leads the country in double-doubles with 23. 

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 3.4 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 fourth in the RMAC in scoring defense, allowing just 63.4 points per game. CSU Pueblo have held eight of their 26 opponents under 60 points, including just 42 points to Westminster just two weeks ago and 49 points against MSU Denver last week. The Pack have held six of its last 19 opponents to less than 60 points. In addition to allowing 63.4 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 83-81 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 BLACK HILLS STATE
The Yellow Jackets come into the first round sitting in seventh place in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional rankings. That being said, if the season ended today, the Yellow Jackets would be in the NCAA Tournament as the top eight teams advance to the big dance.

These two teams met on Feb. 6 right here in Spearfish, as Black Hills State was able to defeat the Pack in a low scoring affair, 62-48. 

In the first game, the Pack struggled to score as Little was the leading scorer for the Pack with 14 points and 11 rebounds. In that game, Little eclipsed Natalie Fercha for the All-Time Scoring record in CSU Pueblo history. 

The Pack did a good job in the first matchup on the defensive end, allowing only 62 points to the Yellow Jackets. Bradie Schlabs did get loose in the game, going for 24 points on 11-17 shooting from the field. 

Kalla Bertram and Morgan Hammerbeck joined Schlabs in double digit scoring as Bertram scored 17 points, while Hammerbeck scored 12 points. 

Black Hills State is led by Head Coach Rachel Erickson, who is in her first season coaching at her Alma Mater. Erickson returns to her alma mater after a two-year stint at Colorado State University where she spent time as both the Director of Player Development (2022-23) and as an assistant coach last season (2023-24).