THIS WEEK'S GAMES
The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's basketball team will play their final two games of the regular season this week when they play two mid-week games.  The Mountain Lions will play host to New Mexico Highlands University on Tuesday, followed by Thursday's matchup with South Dakota School of Mines.  Both games are slated to tip-off at 5:30 p.m.
 
GAME COVERAGE

• Live Stats: https://gomountainlions.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
• Video: https://rmacnetwork.com/gomountainlions/

 
BLACK OUT NIGHT
After nearly a two-year absence, Black Out Night returns to UCCS in an abbreviated fashion.  The Mountain Lions will hold two Black Out Nights on Feb. 22 against New Mexico Highlands and Feb. 24 against South Dakota Mines. The first 500 UCCS students each night will receive a free Black Out t-shirt.
 
LAST TIME OUT

• UCCS picked up two key wins on the road this past weekend against Colorado Christian University (72-51) and MSU Denver (82-78 in overtime), bringing their winning streak to three.
• On Friday at CCU, Shelby Megyeri came off the bench to lead all scorers with 15 points.  In 23 minutes on the court, she made 5-of-11 field goals, 3-of-4 free throws and both attempts from downtown.  Ellie Moore was second on the team in scoring as she netted 12 bench points on 5-of-9 field goals.  Moore tied Jasmine Jeffcoat with a game high eight rebounds each. Gracie Haneborg chipped in 11 points to go with three rebounds and a game high three dimes.
• The following night against the roadrunners, Jeffcoat went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 22 seconds of overtime to lead UCCS to an 82-78 victory.  Jeffcoat scored a game high 25 points after making all nine free throw attempts and 8-of-9 field goals.  She added five rebounds, four blocks and two assists.  Haneborg chipped in 20 points after draining 7-of-8 free throws and 6-of-15 field goals.  She added a game high four assists and pulled in six rebounds and snagged six steals.  Agar Farres matched Haneborg's game high four assists while notching a team high eight rebounds.

RMAC RECORD/STANDINGS

• Colorado School of Mines suffered their third league loss of the season this past weekend but continue to stay on top of the RMAC standings with a 17-3 RMAC record (22-4 overall).
• After sweeping their opponents this weekend, the Mountain Lions are tied for seventh in the league standings with Adams State University as each team is 10-10 in league games.
• The Cowgirls enter the week 14^th in the standings at 3-17.  South Dakota Mines is sitting outside the top eight teams and are tied with Colorado Christian University for 12^th place (5-14 RMAC).
• The top eight teams to qualify for the RMAC Tournament will be based on a Performance Indicator (PI) system.

 
THE SERIES

• Vs. NMHU: New Mexico Highlands holds a slight edge over the Mountain Lions in the all-time series, 25-24, but UCCS has won the last 10 games against NMHU, and 13 of the last 14 games.  The Mountain Lions defeated the Cowgirls in their first meeting this season, 66-48, on Jan. 25, 2022 in Las Vegas, N.M.
• Conversely, the Mountain Lions hold a one-game lead against South Dakota Mines, 7-6.  Both teams have split their last four games against each other, with the Hardrockers defeating UCCS earlier this season, 73-71, on Jan. 29, 2022 in Rapid City, S.D.

 
SCOUTING THE COWGIRLS

• New Mexico Highlands will enter Gallogly Events Center on a three-game losing streak.  The Cowgirls (6-20, 3-17 RMAC) last win came on Feb. 11 at home against Chadron State College, 76-71.
• NMHU is averaging 54.8 points per game while giving up 68.3 points.  NMHU is shooting the ball at a 33.5 percent rate from the floor, 28.1 percent from downtown and nearly 70 percent from the charity stripe.  The Cowgirls' 3.5 blocks per game is the fourth highest average in the league.
• Graduate student Jordyn Lewis leads NMHU with 11.2 points per game.  Redshirt-sophomore Maiah Rivas is second on the team in scoring with 8.3 points per game and leads the team in assists (60) and steals (42).  Teammate freshman forward Sana'a Baker has blocked a team high 41 shots and is pulling down 4.1 rebounds per game.

 
SCOUTING THE HARDROCKERS

• After dropping their first three games in February, the Hardrockers have won three straight games and five of their last eight.  All six of South Dakota Mines' wins this season have come in league games, and all six wins have come on their home court (0-12 in road games).
• The Hardrockers are one of the top long-range shooting teams in the league, averaging the second most made three's (7.1 per game).  SDM is netting 60.2 points per game but are getting outscored by an average of 11.2 points per game.
• Leading the Hardrockers is redshirt-senior guard Ryan Weiss who is 10^th in the league in scoring (13.1 points), sixth in three-point field goal percentage (33.7 percent), and first in made three-pointers per game (2.3).  Freshman guard Piper Bauer is second in the league with 2.2 three's per game and fourth in three-point field goal shooting, hitting 34.1 percent from beyond the arc.  Taking care of the ball for the Hardrockers is senior point guard Anna Combalia who has the third highest assist average (3.4 per game) and the sixth best assist turnover ratio (1.4).

 
HOT TAKES

• UCCS is 2-1 in overtime games this season.
• The Mountain Lions are on their longest winning streak of the season (three).
• Friday's win at CCU completed the series sweep against the Cougars and marked the second series sweep of the season for UCCS (Adams State University).
• The 21-point win on Friday is the second largest win this season (22-point win against Southwest on Nov. 27, 2021).
• Against CCU, UCCS made 20 free throws and attempted 31 free throws which are the fourth most in a game this season, and the most since the two teams paired up on Jan. 22, 2022 when UCCS went 25-of-36 from the line.  In both games this season, the Mountain Lions went 45-of-67 in free throws against CCU.
• The Mountain Lions forced CCU to commit 26, marking the second most this season, and the most since the season opener at Midwestern State University on Nov. 12, 2021 (28).
• Jeffcoat's 25 points at MSU Denver are a career high and the most scored by any Mountain Lion this season.  She also tied career highs in blocks (four) and made free throws (nine).
• Haneborg also tallied career highs on Saturday against the Roadrunners in rebounds (six), assists (four) and steals (six).
• Farres is one of the top rebounders in the league, ranking fourth in rebounds (173), defensive rebounds per game (5.1), and sixth in rebounds per game (6.7).
• UCCS has outrebounded their opponent in 21 games this season and have held a double-digit rebounding advantage eight times.
• The Mountain Lions have shot the ball 40 percent or better from the floor in 18 games, while posting a higher shooting mark than their opponent 19 times.
• UCCS has blocked at least one shot in all but one game this season and have blocked at least two shots in 22 games.
• The Mountain Lions are one of the top rebounding teams in the conference, ranking first in rebounds (1,082) and rebounds per game (41.6).  UCCS is second in the RMAC in offensive rebounds per game (14.3), rebound margin (7.6) and free throw attempts (520), and third in defensive rebounds per game (27.3).

 
AWARD WINNERS

• The RMAC announced the 2021-22 RMAC All-Academic Teams on Jan. 31.  Five Mountains were named to the Honor Roll:
  • Emily Doolittle (3.911 GPA, Psychology)
  • Ellie Moore (3.973 GPA, Biology)
  • Jessica Nation (3.826 GPA, Biology)       
  • Bo Shaffer (3.428 GPA, Applied Psychology)
  • McClain Walker (4.000 GPA, Social Work)

 
UCCS UNDER HEAD COACH LYNN PLETT

• Lynn Plett is in his sixth season as head coach of the Mountain Lions in 2021-22, and his 24th season overall.  He owns a career record of 304-351 and a 73-84 record at UCCS.
• UCCS has been named to the WBCA Top 25 Team Academic Honor Roll for four straight years. Plett guided the Mountain Lions to their first RMAC championship title in program history in his first season in 2016-17, and their third NCAA Tournament appearance. 
• Plett has coached at St. Joseph's (1994-95 to 2001-02), Lewis (2002-03 to 2006-07), and Missouri Western State (2007-08 to 2011-12) prior to joining the Mountain Lions.

 
ADMISSION AT UCCS HOME MATCHES

• General admission tickets will be available one hour before game time (cash only).
• Ticket Prices:
  • Adults: $10
  • Non-UCCS students (with student ID), children ages 13-17: $5
  • Military members, seniors (age 55+): $3
  • UCCS faculty, staff, students (with ID), children ages 0-12, UCCS Alumni Association members: Free
• Masks are required at all times indoors.

 
FACE COVERINGS

• Per campus policy, all students, faculty, staff and visitors on the UCCS campus are REQUIRED to wear a face covering while indoors, regardless of vaccination status.

 
UPCOMING GAMES

• The Mountain Lions, who are seventh in last week's PI rankings, will await the RMAC Tournament bracket which will be announced following the conclusion of this weekend's regular season games.

 
SOCIAL
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 16 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.