COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The No. 8 University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's basketball team will go for its second 3-0 start in program history and first since the 2007-08 when the Mountain Lions take on No. 18 California Baptist (2-1) at 6 p.m., MST, in Riverside, Calif.

UCCS is nationally ranked for the first time in program history, and it came in the first Division II Media Poll conducted by the Division II Sports Information Directors Association. The media also put the Mountain Lions atop the South Central Region poll and the only team in the top five from the RMAC.

The Mountain Lions went 2-0 with a season-opening win against Lubbock Christian, a team receiving votes in the media poll, and against Eastern New Mexico. UCCS rallied back from halftime deficits in both games to finish the opening weekend as one of three RMAC teams with a 2-0 record.

UCCS has two of the top three scorers in the RMAC in the early season with Abby Kirchoff's 22.5 points and Brittany Hernandez's 21 points scoring averages in the first weekend. Kirchoff is 99 points away from tying the UCCS career scoring record and has 1,365 points in her career. Hernandez is also fifth in the conference with nine rebounds per game and is the only student-athlete in the conference ranked in the top five for both scoring and rebounding.

The Mountain Lions defeated California Baptist 76-64 last season in Colorado Springs in the only meeting between the two teams in program history. Kirchoff had 18 points in that game as one of five UCCS student-athletes with 10 or more points.

The Lancers won their first two games of the season but fell 76-57 to California State-San Bernadino on Tuesday in their last appearance. Friday night will be the first home game of the season after a 9-2 home record in 2013-14. Darsha Burnsie is leading California Baptist with 15.7 points and 12 rebounds per game.