The Colorado State University Pueblo ThunderWolves women’s basketball team wrapped up its final two road games of the season with a win against Fort Lewis, 66-61, and a disappointing loss to Adams State, 84-54. The ThunderWolves finish the regular season with a 6-7 record on the road and a 6-4 record in conference play away from home.
The Pack now sit at fifth place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) standings with a 16-10 overall record, and an 11-7 record in RMAC play. The Pack is still looking to clinch a spot in the RMAC tournament, which begins on March 4. Adams State clinched a RMAC tournament spot after the dominating win over the ThunderWolves on Saturday. The 30-point loss was the largest loss for the ThunderWolves since the 34-point loss in the season opener back in early November against Lubbock Christian University, a non-conference opponent.
The ThunderWolves started the road trip off with a narrow win over Fort Lewis in Durango led by superstar forward Alisha Little, who dominated the game on both ends with 30 points and 16 rebounds to go along with two blocks and two steals in 39 minutes played. Sophomore forward Brynae Stewart was second on the team in scoring, tallying 8 points and 6 rebounds in the game.
Neither team shot the ball well in the game with the ThunderWolves making only 38 percent of their shots. Fort Lewis finished the game shooting 33 percent from the floor, giving the Pack the slight edge in the game. Genesis Sweetwine was a bright spot for the ThunderWolves thanks to her aggressive playmaking that resulted in her tallying three steals and five assists.
The ThunderWolves’ offensive struggles continued in Saturday’s game against the Adams State Grizzlies, scoring only 54 points, which was their lowest since facing Black Hills State when they fell short 62-48. The Pack shot just 31 percent from the field in the loss. The ThunderWolves struggled in the third quarter, making only three of 16 shots amounting to 18.7 percent. Adams State pulled away in the third frame by shooting 72 percent (8-11) from the floor. These trends would continue in the fourth quarter with the ThunderWolves shooting 38 percent from the floor and the Grizzlies shooting 62 percent.
The Grizzlies outscored the ThunderWolves 52-28 in the second half to take over fourth place in the RMAC from the ThunderWolves, who now sit one game back of the Grizzlies. Tosjanae Bonds shot the ball well and led the ThunderWolves in scoring with 19 points and grabbed five rebounds. Little tallied her 1lth straight double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Little continues to lead the NCAA in double-doubles with 22 on the season, including 11 straight games with at least 10 points and 10 rebounds despite shooting only 5-20 from the field in the game.
Outside of Bond and Little combining for 36 points, the Pack struggled to find other offensive contributors with the rest of the team combining for only 18 points. Landri Hudson and Brynae Stewart each finished the game with 5 points for the ThunderWolves.
The Pack returns to Massari this week where they will face MSU Denver tonight (Feb. 27) and Colorado School of Mines on Saturday (March 1) to close out the regular season. CSU Pueblo hopes to secure home court advantage in the RMAC tournament quarterfinal round Tuesday (March 4). The upcoming matchups favor the Pack as MSU Denver sits at 12th place in the RMAC with a 5-13 conference record. Colorado School of Mines occupies the last playoff spot with a 10-8 record in the RMAC this season.
Senior night will headline Saturday night’s action as the Pack will recognize Alisha Little, Tomia Johnson, Shamahra Henderson, Landri Hudson, Autumn Watts, Tosjanae Bonds and Yara Garcia before tip-off at 4 p.m.
