UCCS (10-11, 9-6 RMAC) vs. MSU Denver (11-10, 10-5 RMAC) | Friday, Feb. 8 | 5:30 p.m. | Live Stats | Video
UCCS vs. Chadron State College (4-17, 3-12 RMAC) | Saturday, Feb. 9 | 5:30 p.m. | Live Stats | Video
 
THIS WEEK
The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's basketball team returns home to Gallogly Events Center after playing their last four games on the road.  The Mountain Lions will play host to MSU Denver on Feb. 8, and Chadron State College on Feb. 9.  Both games will start at 5:30 p.m.
 
PROMOTIONS
Friday's doubleheader games against the Roadrunners marks the annual UCCS Black Out Night.  The first 1,000 UCCS students to the game will receive a free Black Out t-shirt.
 
Following the women's game and prior to the start of the men's game, the UCCS Department of Athletics will retire Alex Welsh's No. 25 jersey.  Welsh was a part of the men's basketball team from 2012-13 to 2015-16. An All-American, he is the all-time leading scorer (1,947) and rebounder (884) for the Mountain Lions.

ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN LIONS
UCCS enters the weekend 10-11 overall and tied for fifth place with Colorado School of Mines and CSU-Pueblo in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with a 9-6 record.
 
The Mountain Lions are coming off a road sweep against New Mexico Highlands University (W, 80-47) and Colorado State-Pueblo (W, 67-59).  The sweep marks the first time this season UCCS has won both games on the same weekend.  UCCS has won four of their last five games, and five of their last seven.
 
UCCS has remained at or above the .500 mark in conference games this season and have either swept or split all seven back-to-back RMAC series.
 
The Mountain Lions faced off against the Roadrunners and Eagles just two weeks ago.  Chelsea Pearson hit the game-winning three-pointer at CSC on Jan. 25, before the Mountain Lions lost a 14-point second half lead, falling to the Roadrunners the following night.
 
The Mountain Lions rank in the top half of the league in several statistical categories, including assists (third, 14.1), rebound margin (fifth, +4.0), blocked shots (fifth, 3.3), free throw percentage (fourth, 71.0 percent), rebounding offense (fourth, 38.3), and three-point field goal percentage (fourth, 34.6 percent).
   
Jae Ferrin is second on the team in scoring with 7.4 points per game.  She leads the team in rebounding (4.9 per game) and has chipped in 34 assists, 16 steals and eight blocks.
 
Kelly O'Flannigan, who has started all but one game this season, owns a team best 45.4 field goal shooting mark (49-of-108) while dealing out a team high 55 dimes.
 
Pearson is shooting at a 41 percent clip from long range.  Thirty-two of her 34 made field goals this season have come from behind the arc.  She has made at least three three-pointers in a single game eight times this season, including the last four games where she has netted 17 treys.
 
LAST TIME OUT
All nine Mountain Lions scored at least three points in the Mountain Lions win Friday night at New Mexico Highlands, 80-47. 
 
The Mountain Lions jumped to a 10-0 lead right from the tip.  Pearson hit two of her four three-pointers in the game and Madi Gaibler added two baskets to give UCCS a 10-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game.  All 12 of Pearson's points came from three-point range.  She dished out four assists and pulled down nine rebounds. Gaibler came off the bench to lead all scorers with 17 points.  Gaibler made 8-of-11 from the floor and added five rebounds, three assists and a steal.
 
Forty-six of the Mountain Lions 80 points came from the bench.  Bo Shaffer and Maddie Golla registered 10 and 11 points, respectively. Golla sank three three-pointers and pulled down seven rebounds.
 
UCCS dished out 25 assists, the second most by any RMAC team this season.  O'Flannigan handed out a game high five assists, followed by four assists from Ferrin and Tatum Tellin.  The Mountain Lions made 32-of-70 field goals (45.7 percent) and 12-of-28 from three-point range (42.9 percent).  Only four points came from the free throw line as UCCS made all four attempts. 
 
The next night at CSU-Pueblo, UCCS made 18 free throws, including five in the final 52 seconds to clinch a 67-59 win over the ThunderWolves, handing CSUP their fourth straight loss at home. 
 
A bucket by CSU-Pueblo to start the final stanza put the Mountain Lions at a five-point deficit, 46-41.  UCCS turned the game around for a 10-point swing after going on a 14-4 run.  Golla accounted for six of the Mountain Lions 14 points with a trey and an old-fashioned three-point play.  O'Flannigan, Ferrin and Caley Barnard each netted a layup on the 14-4 run, and Tellin hit both of her free throws to give UCCS a 55-50 advantage.
  
Gaibler came off the bench to tie for team high honors with 13 points.  She made all but one of her seven field goal attempts and 1-of-2 free throws.  She added seven rebounds and a blocked shot.  O'Flannigan made 8-of-10 free throws and added four assists as she finished with 13 points.  Pearson tallied 12 points, nine from downtown, and chipped in three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
 
UCCS ended the game making 18-of-27 free throws for 66.7 percent.  The Mountain Lions shot 44 percent from the floor (22-of-50) and 41.7 percent from three-point range (5-of-12).

SCOUTING MSU DENVER
MSU Denver is currently on a six-game winning streak and are tied for third place in the RMAC standings with a 10-5 conference record (11-10 overall).  The Roadrunners are averaging 62.7 points per game and allowing 58.4 points on defense. 
 
MSU Denver is led by Jaelynn Smith and Emily Hartegan.  Smith has the third highest scoring average in the RMAC (15.4 points) and leads the league in assists (5.7).  Hartegan's 13.9 points per game are the ninth most by any player in the league.  She owns the best field goal shooting mark, making 118-of-218 for 54.1 percent.  She also has the third most rebounds per game, pulling down 8.3 per game.

SCOUTING CHADRON STATE COLLEGE
Chadron State College is currently in 14^th place in the conference standings.  The Eagles, who have lost two straight games and seven of their last eight, have collected one win on the road this season (Texas A&M International).
 
Jessica Harvey and Taryn Foxen are averaging double digits offensively.  Harvey is scoring 11.1 points per game followed by Foxen's 11.0 points per game.  Jessica Lovitt is pulling down a team high 4.9 rebounds per game. 
   
CSC is getting outscored an average of 13.7 points per game.  The Eagles are netting 56.5 points per game but surrendering 70.2. 

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
The Mountain Lions will play their final home games of the regular season Feb. 15-16 against Colorado State-Pueblo and New Mexico Highlands.  Both games will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. from Gallogly Events Center.