COWGIRLS at MSU Denver, FRI. Jan. 2, 5 p.m.: LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
COWBOYS at MSU Denver, FRI. Jan. 2, 7 p.m.: LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
COWGIRLS at REGIS, FRI. Jan. 2, 4 p.m.: LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
COWBOYS at REGIS, FRI. Jan. 2, 5 p.m.: LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
DENVER, Colo. – The New Mexico Highlands basketball teams look to kick off the new year in style when they travel to the "Mile High City" to take on Metropolitan State University of Denver and Regis this weekend (Jan. 2-3).
The Cowgirls (4-6, 3-3 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference), who are coming off of handing CSU Pueblo its first conference loss, are still searching for their first road win of the season against MSU Denver (6-3, 3-2 RMAC) Friday (Jan. 2, 5 p.m.). The Roadrunners, who are ranked 10th in the latest South Central Regional poll by D2SIDA, are the sixth regionally-ranked the Cowgirls have faced this season. Highlands holds a 3-2 record in such games. It will be the third-straight contest where the opposing team is regionally ranked – fourth straight if you include the Dec. 13 game at Colorado Mesa, who was not ranked at the time but moved into the rankings in the latest poll.
To read more about the win against CSU-Pueblo, click
here.
On Saturday (Jan. 3) at 3 p.m., the women battle Regis (6-3, 2-3 RMAC). The Rangers dropped out of the rankings in the latest regional poll.
It will be right out of the frying pan, in to the fryer for the Cowboys this weekend against MSU Denver (9-2, 4-1 RMAC) Friday (Jan. 2) at 7 p.m. The Roadrunners are hard to judge, as they are ranked 10th in the latest NABC poll but 24th in the D2SIDA poll. It will be the third time in the last four games that Highlands will face a regionally-ranked squad.
The Cowboys conclude the weekend on Saturday (Jan. 3) at Regis (3-6, 1-4 RMAC).
Scouting MSU Denver Women The Roadrunners have problems holding on to the ball as the average more than 18 turnovers per game and are 275th in the nation with nearly five more miscues a game than their opponents. However, when MSU Dever is able to get a shot off, it can be lethal. The Roadrunners are 23rd in the nation by hitting 46 percent of their shots from the field. They are nearly last in the nation in offensive rebounding per game but are 40th in the nation with 30 defensive rebounds per game.
Deni Jacobs leads the team in both points (15.3) and rebounds (7.9) per game. In fact, Jacobs is seventh in the conference in points, just behind Cowgirls senior
Anngelina Sanchez (15.6 points per game). Georgia Ohrdorf is 16th in the nation with a 59.2 shooting percentage.
Scouting Regis Women Regis does not stand out in any statistically in any category but is a well rounded team that ranks in the top half of NCAA Division II in most categories. The Rangers like to play more uptempo, as they average more than 70 points per game (100th in the nation). The Cowgirls, one of the smallest teams in the nation, has split the season in terms of rebounding margin (more rebounds in five game, less rebounds in five). They may be able to exploit this against Regis, who is 153rd in the nation with only a 1.2 rebounding margin for the year.
Bay'Lee Purdy leads the Rangers with 17.3 points per game while Kaycee Hert grabs 6.9 boards per game.
Scouting MSU Denver Men The jury is still out on the Roadrunners men with a 14-point difference in the national polls (10th by the NABC but 24th by D2SIDA). The two losses for MSU Denver are to the current second (Florida Southern) and third (UC Colorado Springs) ranked teams in the nation.
While MSU Denver is middle of the road in the country with 75 points per game, it uses a suffocating defense as the Roadrunners are 14th in the nation by only allowing 61.7 points per game. They do not force many turnovers (only 14.5 per game), but they more than make up for it by ranking 11th in the country with only 10.5 miscues per game.
MSU Denver comes at teams with the two-headed monster of Nicholas Kay and Mitch McCarron, who both average 20.5 points per game. However, McCarron also contributes 4.6 assists per game to lead the team.
Scouting Regis Men Regis is the polar opposite of its travel partner, only scoring 65 points per game but giving up 77 points per game. But, the Rangers do have significant size inside as Regis is 11th in the nation with five blocks per game.
Brent Hartshorne leads the team with 12.8 points per game while Dexter Sienko adds a solid 10.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.
Next Up The Cowboys return to action Tuesday (Jan. 6) at 7 p.m. against New Mexico State in Las Cruces. The Cowgirls will take on Fort Lewis next Friday (Jan. 9) at 5:30 p.m.
