UCCS (7-10, 6-5 RMAC) at Chadron State College (3-14, 2-9 RMAC) | Friday, Jan. 25 | 5:30 p.m. | Live Stats | Video
UCCS at MSU Denver (7-10, 6-5 RMAC) | Saturday, Jan. 26 | 5 p.m. | Live Stats | Video
 
THIS WEEK
The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's basketball team will begin a four-game road trip this coming weekend when they travel to Chadron State College on Jan. 25, and MSU Denver on Jan. 26.
 

ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN LIONS
UCCS enters the weekend in a four-way tie for sixth place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.  The Mountain Lions are 7-10 overall and are tied with Black Hills State, MSU Denver, and Colorado Christian University with a 6-5 conference record.
 
UCCS has remained at or above the .500 mark in conference games this season and have split all five back-to-back RMAC series.
 
UCCS ranks in the top half of the league in several statistical categories, including assists (fourth, 13.5), rebounds (third, 38.4), blocked shots (sixth, 3.2), free throw percentage (fifth, 71.9 percent), offensive rebounds per game (seventh, 10.6), and three-point field goal percentage (32.6 percent).
 
Abby Feickert, Kelly O'Flannigan and Caley Barnard have each started 16-of-17 games this season.  Feickert leads the team in scoring with 7.9 points per game, and the most made three-pointers on the team (21).  O'Flannigan has handed out a team high 39 assists and has contributed 98 points, 12 steals, 54 rebounds and blocked three shots.  Barnard has made and attempted the most free throws for UCCS (30-of-41) while adding a team hig 23 steals.
 
Anna Davern's 15 blocks this season are the 11th most in the league.  She has added 107 points, 60 rebounds and dished out 27 assists.
 
Jae Ferrin returned to the lineup this past weekend.  She is averaging the second most points on the team (7.7) and is the leading rebounded with 5.1 rebounds per game.
 

LAST TIME OUT
The Mountain Lions split their series at home this past weekend against Black Hills State University (L, 58-62) and South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (W, 57-45).
 
On Friday against BHSU, Madi Gaibler finished with a team high 13 points and four assists as the Mountain Lions edged out BHSU 40-39 in rebounds. The UCCS bench scored 32 points, but the YellowJackets turned around to register 19 points off Mountain Lion turnovers.

After the first half, UCCS continued the defensive pressure and physical defensive play with Barnard flying up and down the court making two huge hustle plays that resulted in steals for Barnard. Both teams matched shots in the third quarter as they shot 7-of-16 from the field. 

Elly Johnson helped spread the floor on the offensive side of the ball for the Mountain Lions by providing four rebounds and eight points off the bench. In the second half, Johnson brought UCCS within one to make the score 59-58, by draining a jumper from the paint and drawing the and-1 with 35 second left in the game.
 
The following night against the Hardrockers, the Mountain Lions were perfect from the free throw line, making all 13 attempts.
 
UCCS took their largest lead of the game in the second quarter with a 12-point advantage and headed into halftime leading the Hardrockers, 32-27. The Mountain Lions closed the game making six straight free throws while holding SDSMT scoreless in the final three minutes. The Mountain Lions dominated the boards and held a 15-rebound advantage, 47-32, including a 14-7 difference on the offensive glass.
 
Gaibler and Chelsea Pearson combined for 20 points off the bench.  Gaibler tied for game high honors with 11 points after making 4-of-8 field goals and both free throws.  She added four dimes, three rebounds and two steals in 11 minutes of action.  Pearson chipped in nine points off the bench with all nine points coming from behind the arc.  Pearson made 3-of-6 from long distance to go with four rebounds.  All nine of Feickert's field goals came from long range. 
 

SCOUTING CHADRON STATE COLLEGE
The Eagles of Chadron State College enter this weekend in the middle of a four-game homestand. CSC is 3-14 overall and 2-9 in the RMAC.  They charted wins against Adams State University and Fort Lewis College, but are 0-4 since.
 
Chadron State is getting out-scored by their opponents an average of 15.2 points per game.  They are scoring 55.6 points per game but allowing almost 71 points per game.
 
Taryn Foxen paces the Eagles with 12.2 points per game and a team high 21 steals.  Fox is shooting at a 43.1 percent clip and is the only Eagle to average double-digit points
 

SCOUTING MSU DENVER
The Roadrunners are coming off a home sweep against CSU-Pueblo and New Mexico Highlands University.  MSU Denver enters the weekend owning a 7-10 overall record (6-5 RMAC) and a 5-4 home record.
 
The Roadrunners are averaging 61.8 points per game and holding their opponents to 60.1 points per game.
 
Jaelynn Smith and Emily Hartegan lead the Roadrunners offense with 16.2 points and 13.5 points per game, respectively.  Smith is ranked third in the RMAC in scoring and leads the conference in assists (5.6 per game).  Hartegan has the second highest rebounding average in the RMAC (8.3 per game) and the 10^th highest scoring average.
 
Jonalyn Wittwer is this week's RMAC Offensive Player of the Week after tying an NCAA Division II mark for the most made three-pointers in a game.  Wittwer made 11 3-pointers in Saturday's 81-41 win over New Mexico Highlands, breaking the previous RMAC record of 10.  Wittwer, who made 11 of 14, tied a 29-year-old NCAA Division II record by making her last nine treys in a row.  While scoring a career-high 33 points, Wittwer helped the Roadrunners set a school record with 17 made 3s (17 for 29, 58.6 percent).
   

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 stay on the road next weekend when they travel to New Mexico Highlands University on Friday, Feb.1, and Colorado State University-Pueblo on Saturday, Feb. 2.