UCCS (6-9, 5-4 RMAC) vs. Black Hills State University (9-4, 5-4 RMAC) | Friday, Jan. 18 | 5:30 p.m. | Live Stats | Video
UCCS vs. South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (5-8, 2-7 RMAC) | Saturday, Jan. 19 | 5:30 p.m. | Live Stats | Video
 
THIS WEEK
UCCS will return home to Gallogly Events Center Jan. 18-19 to play host to Black Hills State University and South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.  Both games will tip-off at 5:30 p.m.
 

ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN LIONS
UCCS enters the weekend in a five-way tie for fifth place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.  The Mountain Lions are 6-9 overall and are tied with Black Hills State, Regis University, Colorado School of Mines, and Colorado Christian University with a 5-4 conference record.
 
The Mountain Lions are coming off a road split against Fort Lewis College (L) and Adams State University (W).
 
UCCS ranks in the top half of the league in several statistical categories, including assists (second, 206), rebounds (second, 594), blocked shots (fifth, 46), defensive rebounds per game (sixth, 27), and seventh in the league in blocked shots per game (2.9), free throw percentage (70.3 percent), offensive rebounds per game (11), and rebounds per game (37.1).
 
Jae Ferrin is averaging 8.5 points per game and has made a team high 44 field goals while leading the team in rebounds (5.5).  Abby Feickert is second on the team in scoring (8.0 points per game), has netted 18 three-pointers and 26-of-29 free throws for 89.7 percent.
 
Anna Davern's 14 blocks this season are the seventh most in the league.  She has added 93 points, 49 rebounds and dished out 23 assists.
 

LAST TIME OUT
The Mountain Lions traveled to Fort Lewis College and Adams State University last weekend.
 
On Friday in a 67-50 loss to the Skyhawks, UCCS entered halftime down eight points, 36-28, and were held to 26.7 field goal shooting percentage in the second half, netting 8-of-30 (2-of-9 from three-point range).
 
Elly Johnson came off the bench to score a team high eight points.  Johnson made 4-of-8 from the floor and pulled down a team high five rebounds.  Tatum Tellin chipped in seven points, with six of her points coming from long range.  Feickert made both of her free throw attempts and finished with seven points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal.  Emily Seifert and Davern each netted six points.
 
Behind Johnson's and Tellin's 15 points, the Mountain Lions bench outscored the Skyhawks bench, 24-14.  UCCS finished the game shooting 30.9 percent from the floor (17-of-55) and 68.8 percent from the charity stripe (11-of-16).
 
The Mountain Lions bounced back Saturday night with a convincing 77-46 win at Adams State.  The 31-point win is the largest for UCCS since Feb. 11, 2017 (90-49 win vs. Chadron State College).  The 77 points are the most scored by the Mountain Lions this season, and the 46-points are the fewest allowed.
 
UCCS used an 8-1 lead to close out the first stanza to lead the Grizzlies 14-7 after 10 minutes.   Both teams netted 16 points in the second quarter as UCCS took a 30-23 lead into the break.  The Mountain Lions hit 12-of-26 field goals in the first half (46.2 percent) and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe (80 percent).
 
The second half was a story of runs for the Mountain Lions.  In the course of three minutes in the third quarter, the Mountain Lions went on a 17-0 run, followed by a 13-0 run in the final quarter.  The Mountain Lions shot an astounding 69.2 percent from the floor in the third quarter (9-of-13).  Twenty-one of their 29 points came from long distance as they nailed 7-of-9 three-pointers and made all four free throw attempts.
  
The Mountain Lions never trailed the Grizzlies and held the lead for more than 38 minutes. UCCS recorded a season high 13 steals and their seven blocks are the second most this season. Offensively, the Mountain Lions made a season high 52.8 percent from the floor (28-of-53) and a season high 58.8 percent from three-point range (10-of-17).
 
Davern and Seifert each blocked three shots and grabbed two steals.  Davern finished with 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.  Seifert added eight points, seven rebounds and three assists.  Barnard made all six of her free throw attempts as part of her 10 points and stole the ball three times.  Madi Gaibler came off the bench to net 11 points.  She hit 4-of-6 field goals and went 2-for-2 from long range.
  

SCOUTING BLACK HILLS STATE UNIVERSITY
The YellowJackets started the season winning their first five games and nine of their first 10 but have since lost three straight games to Colorado Mesa University, Colorado Christian University and Regis University. 
 
BHSU is 6-1 on the road this season and are tied with UCCS for fifth place in the conference standings.  They enter the weekend owning a 9-4 overall record and a 5-4 league record.  The YellowJackets are outscoring their opponents by 5.7 points per game and have a 3.5 rebounding advantage.
 
Morgan Ham leads BHSU with 14.9 points per game and a team high 76 made field goals.  She and Julia Seamans are the two YellowJackets to have started all 13 games this season.  Seamans leads BHSU in made three-pointers (32), assists (44) and steals (19).  Katie Messler, who has started 12-of-13 games, owns a team best 10 blocked shots and 6.5 rebounds per game.
 

SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA SCHOOL OF MINES & TECHNOLOGY
South Dakota School of Mines & Technology is coming off a 66-60 home win over Colorado Christian University – their second conference win of the season.  The Hardrockers are tied for 13^th place in the RMAC standings with a 2-7 record (5-8 overall).
 
SDSMT is scoring an average of 59.2 points per game and holding their opponents to 58.4 points.  They have made nearly 20 more three-pointers and attempter almost 50 more free throws than their opponents.
 
Taylor Molstad is averaging 10.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.  Sami Steffeck has made a team high 32 three-pointers, Anna Haugen has recorded 30 assists, 16 steals and blocked six shots.
  

HEAD COACH LYNN PLETT
After the first RMAC championship in program history in his first season in 2016-17, Lynn Plett returns for his third year on the sideline for the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. He guided the Mountain Lions to the RMAC Tournament Championship in 2017 and the third straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

In the 2017-18 season, Plett coached All-RMAC honorable mention Shanah Leaf as well as five Mountain Lions who received honors on the RMAC All-Academic team. Last season proved to be a rebuilding year for the Mountain Lions as they lost three starting seniors while adding six new players to the roster. UCCS finished the season with an overall 10-17 record with a 10-12 conference record, which placed the Mountain Lions 10th in the RMAC conference.

Plett coached two All-RMAC First Team student-athletes for the 2016-17 season in Brittany Hernandez and Tori Fisher. The Mountain Lions tied for second in the RMAC standings and won the tournament with the best defensive performance in championship game history in a 53-37 victory against Regis. UCCS advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in its furthest postseason run since 2015.

Plett spent four seasons at Northern Kentucky, where the Norse qualified for the Women's Basketball Invitational postseason tournament each season during the transition from NCAA Division II to Division I. Prior to NKU, he spent five seasons as the head coach at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Mo. Plett served as the head coach at Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill. from 2002 through 2007.  Plett entered Division II coaching at Saint Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Ind., in 1994, where he also doubled as the athletic director.
 

UP NEXT
UCCS will begin a four-game road trip next weekend, Jan. 25-26.  The Mountain Lions will tip-off at Chadron State College on Friday at 5:30 p.m., followed by a 5 p.m. game at MSU Denver on Saturday.