JAN. 16 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL vs CHADRON STATE: LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
JAN. 16 MEN'S BASKETBALL vs CHADRON STATE: LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
JAN. 17 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL vs BLACK HILLS STATE: LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
JAN. 17 MEN'S BASKETBALL vs BLACK HILLS STATE: LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The New Mexico Highlands basketball teams begin a two-week home stand Friday (Jan. 16) when they take on Chadron State at 5 p.m. The women's game is slated to begin at 5 p.m., with the men's game scheduled for 20 minutes following.
On Saturday (Jan. 17), Black Hills State will come to Las Vegas. The women's game will also begin at 5 p.m. with the men's game 20 minutes after.
Both teams are looking for their first win in 2015.
The New Mexico Highlands women's basketball team (4-10, 3-7 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) is coming off a tough 0-4 road trip, including a 75-55 loss to Fort Lewis last Friday before a 57-48 loss to Adams State.
To read more about the game from Fort Lewis, click
here. To read more about the game from Adams State, click
here. Senior
Anngelina Sanchez leads the team and is seventh in the RMAC with 14.1 points per game. Sanchez is also sixth in a conference full of great free throw shooters, as she is 49th in the nation by hitting 85.7 percent of her shots from the charity stripe. The Cowgirls are the only team in the conference with a pair of players in the top-8 in free throw percentage, as classmate
Jenny Johnson hits her free throws at an 82.8 percent clip.
Sophomore
Giulia Simioni is 98th in the country with 3.9 assists per game.
The New Mexico Highlands men's basketball team (1-13, 1-9 RMAC) is coming off a stretch where they played five road games in nine days. After only falling to NCAA Division I New Mexico State 75-67, they came up short on Friday against regionally-ranked Fort Lewis, 83-76. Adams State won 100-59 on Saturday.
To read more about the New Mexico State game, click
here. To read more about the Fort Lewis game, click
here. To read more about the Adams State game, click
here. The Cowboys are led by junior
Kendrick Nichols, who is sixth in the conference and 87th in the nation with 17.8 points per game. It is a competitive conference as three of the nation's top-15 scorers reside in the RMAC. Against Fort Lewis, sophomore
Charles George recorded the second double-double of the season for the Cowboys with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Mines added 20 points, seven assists (against no turnovers) and six rebounds.
Scouting Chadron State Women The Chadron State women's basketball team is having a tough season as it is 2-11 overall and 2-7 in conference play.
The Eagles rank near the bottom of the RMAC in most statistical categories, but both Chadron State and Highlands like to shoot from deep. The Cowgirls are 56th in the nation with 6.9 threes per game while Chadron State contributes 5.2 threes per game. Like how this is New Mexico Highlands first home game of 2015, this is Chadron State's first away game of the new year.
The Eagles are not a high scoring team, averaging less than 59 points per game, nearly a 13 points per game deficit. Emma Black is the only player on the team averaging double figures with 13.7 points per game. Maka Daysh adds 8.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Black hits 1.8 threes a game.
Scouting Chadron State Men Chadron State (3-10, 2-7 RMAC) will be playing their first road game of 2015. Both the Eagles and Cowboys last win on the season was Western State. Chadron State has not won a road game all season while Highlands has not won a home game.
It is also uncanny that both the Cowboys and Eagles leading scorer not only wears jersey 23, but both players are named Kendrick. Kendrick Holliman scores 14.2 points per game and adds a team-best 5.4 rebounds. He also leads the team with 3.5 assists per game.
However, the Cowboys need to keep a close eye on Christopher Smith. He is second on the team with 11.7 points per game. He also hits 48.2 percent (53-110) of his shots, including a blazing 45.9 percent (28-61) from beyond the arc.
Scouting Black Hills State Women Black Hills State (9-4, 7-2 RMAC) sits third in a very balanced RMAC. However, the last home weekend of 2014 saw the Cowgirls play a pair of teams at or near the top of the conference standings. UC Colorado Springs rallied for the 84-81 win while CSU-Pueblo, 5-0 in the RMAC at the time, fell by double-digits. In fact, the Cowgirls are still the only team to beat CSU-Pueblo by double-digits this season.
The Yellow Jackets are middle of the road in the nation with only 65 points per game, but Black Hills State is 51st in the nation by only allowing 60.2 points per game. The Cowgirls three point shooting will seriously be tested as Black Hills State is third in the nation by allowing teams to only shoot 22.7 percent from beyond the arc.
Black Hills State uses a well-rounded offensive attack against opponents. Chelsey Biegler leads the team with 12.5 points per game while Dakota Barrie leads the team in both rebounds (4.9) and assists (3.5) per game.
Scouting Black Hills State Men Black Hills State (5-11, 3-6 RMAC) has only played one game in the last two weeks, having erased a seven-point deficit to knock off Chadron State 62-61. The Yellow Jackets seemingly want to slow down the game as they are 277th in the nation with 63.4 points per game. Black Hills State, in turn, is 76th in the nation with only 12.6 turnovers per game.
Myles Henry is the only player who average double digits for Black Hills State with 10.2 points per game. However, three other players average eight points or more per game. Riley Ryan adds 4.4 rebounds per game.
Next Up The Cowboys and Cowgirls get a bit of a break as the battle rival Western New Mexico next Saturday (Jan. 24). However, the games will be moved up to 2 and 4 p.m.
