COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Shawn Nelson era of University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's basketball will begin tonight with the Mountain Lions take on Heartland Conference preseason favorite Lubbock Christian at 4 p.m., in the Tony Corbetta Classic at Colorado School of Mines. It will be the first game of the 2014-15 season for both teams.

UCCS had one scrimmage and one closed practice in its only action against outside competition for the preseason, while Lubbock Christian went 2-0 in exhibition games against Wayland Baptist and Our Lady of the Lake. The Lady Chaps are in their second year of transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division II, and the game will count in the regional rankings for the Mountain Lions when postseason selections are made.

The Mountain Lions were picked third in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll and received first place votes in a poll that signaled a season of wide parity in the conference. Five teams received a first place vote and UCCS was one point behind second-place Black Hills State. Abby Kirchoff repeated as the RMAC Preseason Player of the Year after she set the Mountain Lion single-season records with 564 points and 20.9 points per game.

Lubbock Christian went 25-1 last season in its first season of transition to NCAA Division II. The Lady Chaps return one starter from last year's team, Haley Burton, who averaged 13.7 points and nearly three assists per game in 2013-14.

Fans can follow tonight's action with live stats from Colorado School of Mines, live audio from the UCCS Athletics YouTube channel, and with pay-per-view live video streaming through America One Sports.