Men's Basketball | 12/18/2014 5:27:00 PM
DEC. 19 WOMEN vs. UC-COLORADO SPRINGS 5 P.M. : LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
DEC. 19 MEN vs. CSU-PUEBLO 7 P.M. : LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
DEC. 19 WOMEN vs. UC-COLORADO SPRINGS 5 P.M. : LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
DEC. 19 MEN vs. CSU-PUEBLO 7 P.M. : LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The New Mexico Highlands basketball teams both play crucial games this weekend as UC-Colorado Springs and CSU-Pueblo will visit Las Vegas, New Mexico. Both Friday (Dec. 19) and Saturday (Dec. 20) games kick off with the women's contest at 5 p.m., with the men's game beginning approximately 20 minutes following.
While neither of the women's opponents are ranked either by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) or the D2Sida polls, the New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls (3-5, 2-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) are facing the top teams in the conference when UC-Colorado Springs (8-2, 3-1 RMAC) and CSU-Pueblo (6-2, 4-0 RMAC) visit the Meadow City.
If the excitement around the opponents for women's basketball was not enough, the New Mexico Highlands Cowboys (1-6, 1-3 RMAC) welcome in a top-5 team to the Wilson Complex in UC-Colorado Springs (10-0, 4-0 RMAC) while also facing CSU-Pueblo (5-4, 2-2).
Listen Live! All four games will be live in 96.7 with SAM FM in the Las Vegas and surrounding areas. On the call will be Art Abreu. The games will also be live on America One (Click
here) for $8 a game.
We Want You We want to pack the Wilson Complex for the final home games of the calendar 2014 year this weekend against UC-Colorado Springs and CSU-Pueblo. The men's and women's basketball teams, who boast seven combined players from New Mexico, have three players Las Vegas. Representing the Robertson Cardinals is sophomore
Justin Bustos for the men's basketball team. On the women's side are former West Las Vegas Lady Dons, junior
Miranda Martinez and freshman
Michelle Tapia.
While tickets will not be free, those fans from Las Vegas, New Mexico, and surrounding areas who have never experienced a basketball game or cannot afford it are encouraged to email Athletic Director
Jeff Falkner or
Matthew Lofton or tweet at @NMHUcowboys for free tickets so fans can experience Cowboys and Cowgirls basketball! There will be a contest at halftime and at the media timeouts so fans are encouraged to come to the game, make some noise and have the possibility of winning some great prizes!
Calling All Young Cowboys and Cowgirls
LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The New Mexico Highlands women's basketball team and first year head coach
Brianna Finch is pleased to announce the return of the 2014-15 Junior Cowgirls and Cowboys Basketball Camp before every home Saturday game this season. All boys and girls in kindergarten through eighth grade can participate.
There will be six sessions total – two each in December, January and February. Each camp will take place from 9-10 a.m. on the Saturday morning before every home game. It will feature one hour of instruction to work on fundamental basketball skills, ball-handling, shooting and passing.
The cost of each session in $15 or $60 for all six sessions. However, every participant will get in free to the home women's and men's basketball game that night beginning at 5 p.m. (or 2 p.m. against rival Western New Mexico on Jan. 24).
All checks can be sent to:
NMHU c/o
Brianna Finch, WBB
Box 9000
Las Vegas, NM 87701
Participants can also pay at the session.
Please see the attached form for further information and a waiver form required of all campers. Any questions, please contact assistant coach
Thomas Pool at (505) 454-3217 or tgpool@nmhu.edu.
CAMP FLIERAnd We're Off It was quite the opening road conference weekend for the Cowboys as head coach
Craig Snow picked up his first win as a collegiate head coach as Highlands led for most of the game and knocked off Western State Colorado, 77-68, last Friday (Dec. 12).
The Cowboys fought tough the following night against regionally-ranked Colorado Mesa before an 84-73 loss.
To read more about the win against Western State, click
here. To read more about the game at Colorado Mesa, click
here. For scoring 36 points on the weekend, including 22 in the win at Western State, junior
Jonathon Mines was named the New Mexico Highlands Subway Athlete of the Week. To read more, click
here. The Cowgirls The Cowgirls will be looking to extend its three-game home winning streak when the Mountain Lions and ThunderWolves come to town.
When Highlands hits its three-pointers, they are a tough team to beat. Save the win against Colorado Christian, the Cowgirls have made at least 48.1 percent of their treys. In the upset against Texas-Permian Basin of Dec. 2, Highlands was quite successful from beyond the arc, hitting 6-for-11 (54.5 percent) from distance. The Cowgirls are third in the RMAC and 48th in the nation by hitting 36.4 percent of their threes.
Seniors
Anngelina Sanchez and
Jenny Johnson both average double-digit points. Sanchez leads the way with 14.8 points per game; however, her streak of five double-digit scoring games came to an end with only four points at Colorado Mesa this past weekend. Johnson adds 10.7 points while senior
Claudia Meneses has 7.3 rebounds per game.
Scouting UC-Colorado Springs Women If you like offense, the Friday night game between the Cowgirls and Mountain Lions may be for you. UC-Colorado Springs is 15th in the nation with 81.3 points per game; however, they need every one of them as they are giving up 69.2 points per game (211th in the nation). In contrast, the 12.1 points per game spread is 51st in the nation.
Abby Kirchoff, the reigning NBWCA Player of the Week nationally, is fifth in the nation with 22.8 points per game. However, she sets up her teammates very well as she leads the team and is 85th in the nation with 4.2 assists per game. Kirchoff is hard to stop as she is 41st in the country by hitting better than 55 percent from the field. She is 23rd in the nation with three triples per game while Kirchoff is hitting her free throws at a 92.6 percent clip.
Brittany Hernandez is ONLY 48th in the nation with 18.2 points per game. The Mountain Lions are seventh in the region according to the latest D2Sida poll.
Scouting CSU-Pueblo The ThunderWolves are almost the exact opposite of the Mountain Lions, using a stingy defense to race out to a 4-0 conference record. CSU-Pueblo is 73rd in the nation by only allowing 61.1 points per game.
Ashley Piper leads the team with 14.5 points per game while Katie Nehf is pulling down 8.3 rebounds per game. Nehf is also 25th in the nation with 2.38.
CSU-Pueblo is fifth in the latest D2Sida poll, the highest RMAC team.
The Cowboys Junior
Kendrick Nichols continues to lead the team, is sixth in the conference and 58th in the nation with 19.0 points per game. He is also 33rd in the nation with more than three triples per game and is 87th in the nation in three-point percentage, hitting threes at a 41.5 percent clip. Mines is second on the team with 16.4 points per game.
Scouting UC-Colorado Springs Men The Mountain Lions, ranked fourth by the NABC and fifth by D2Sida, is one of 14 teams coming into the weekend undefeated. They are 16th in the nation scoring nearly 90 points per game, but they are 72nd on defense with 67.2 points per game. However, UC-Colorado Springs is a stellar eighth in the nation, averaging a 22-point scoring margin.
Three different Mountain Lions average double-digit scoring. Derrick White Leads the way as he is 14th in the nation with 23.4 points per game. Alex Welsh adds 14.2 points per game while him and Welsh lead the team with 6.4 rebounds per game each. White passes the ball well as he is 44th in the nation with five assists per game while he is 46th in the nation with a 2.63 assist/ratio.
Scouting CSU-Pueblo Men The ThunderWolves take a 5-4 overall record and a 2-2 RMAC mark into this weekend's contests. Last weekend, CSU-Pueblo split a pair of home games, rolling past Regis, 89-53, before falling in a hard-fought game against No. 7/5 Metropolitan State University of Denver by one. Friday's win over Regis extended the ThunderWolves 10-game winning streak against the Rangers. The ThunderWolves are looking for their first road win of the season as CSU-Pueblo is 0-2 away from home, dropping games at West Texas A&M and Midwestern State (Texas).
Tyrone Marshall leads a group of three players averaging more than 12 points per game with 13.7. He is shooting 78.9 (45-of-57) percent from the free-throw line, while averaging 5.4 rebounds per game and a team-best 1.7 blocks per contest. Rico Spikes leads the team in shooting, holding a 54.6 (30-of-57) percent from the field and 82.4 (56-of-68) percent from the charity stripe. Spikes is second on the team in scoring at 13.6 points per game and first in assists at 4.0 helpers per contest. Bronson Moton owns 12.7 points and a team-best 7.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 50.7 percent from the floor.
Next Up The Cowboys and Cowgirls take two weeks off for the holiday, returning to action against Regis and MSU of Denver in the "Mile High City" Jan. 2-3.
