COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's basketball team will look to remain perfect in 2016 when the Mountain Lions (8-5, 4-3 RMAC) return to the Gallogly Events Center for a Friday game against Westminster (5-6, 2-5 RMAC) and a Saturday game against Colorado Mesa (7-4, 4-3 RMAC).
The Mountain Lions went 2-0 last weekend on the road at Fort Lewis and Adams State and have won three straight road games. UCCS is tied for fifth in the conference standings with Fort Lewis, MSU Denver and Regis with a third of the schedule completed.
Friday's game will tip off at 5:30 p.m., and it will mark an attempt for the Mountain Lions to earn a season sweep of the Griffins. UCCS won the first game between the two teams 69-58 on Dec. 12, in Salt Lake City.
Lauren Bennett scored 17 points and
Brittany Hernandez, the defending RMAC Defensive Player of the Week, finished with a double-double that night with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Henandez is leading the conference with 21.1 points per game, is third in steals with 2.5 and is fourth with 7.8 rebounds. Teammate
Jen Vigil leads the RMAC with 3.2 steals per game and the Mountain Lions hold a slight edge as a team with a conference-leading 11.5 steals per game.
The Griffins are coming off a 71-49 victory against South Dakota Mines last Saturday night and held the Hardrockers to 49 points. Westminster has held two RMAC teams under 50 points this season and has the fourth-best scoring defense in the league. Natalie Parsons is averaging 11.6 points per game and Jessica Sorensen leads the rebounding effort with 5.8 per game.
Saturday's game against Colorado Mesa was moved up to 5 p.m., earlier this week. UCCS will be playing for a season split against the Mavericks after Mesa earned a 72-65 victory against the Mountain Lions on Dec. 11, in Grand Junction, Colo. Hernandez scored 22 points with five steals and three blocked shots, but UCCS struggled at the three-point line in that game.
Colorado Mesa also went 2-0 last weekend and Saturday's meeting will feature the two RMAC Players of the Week. Bryanna Adams averaged 27 points and shot 61 percent from the three-point line for the Mavericks. She leads the Mavericks with 18.5 points per game and is second in the conference for scoring behind Hernandez. Colorado Mesa has the best three-point shooting in the RMAC with 36.5 percent and the best three-point defense with 22.9 percent.
Free live video, audio and stats will be available for fans unable to attend the game in person through Stretch Internet. Southern Colorado Basketball players and their families will receive free admission for both games this weekend and Colorado Wildland Fire and Incident Management Academy attendees on campus will receive free admission for Saturday's game with their academy credential.
