First Games of New Year At Home For Cowgirls Basketball

Las Vegas, New Mexico - The Cowgirls will open up the 2026 calendar year at home with a pair of tests.

COACH FEARING:

Coach Fearing enters her second year as the head coach of the Cowgirls. Last season, Coach reached the RMAC Tournament with a 13-13 record before falling to Colorado Mesa in the first round on the road. It was the first time in 20 years that a Cowgirls basketball team had reached the postseason.

RMAC COACHES POLL: 
New Mexico Highlands women's basketball was picked 8th in the 2025-26 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, released last month. The Cowgirls were 13-14 overall and 10-10 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference last season.

LAST TIME OUT: 

1st half Western Washington (WWU) 31 - NMHU 23

The first quarter was primarily the Cowgirls as they took an 18-13 lead headed into the second quarter.

 However, the Vikings outscored the Cowgirls 18-5 in the second quarter to take the lead and hold it, 31-23.

 

Second Half WWU  39 - 61 - NMHU 41-61

 The second the Cowgirls took over, outscoring the Vikings 38-30 to tie it up, sending the game to overtime.

Kapiolani Anitielu led the way for the Cowgirls with 22 points.

OT WWU 68 - NMHU 71

The Cowgirls' defense would step up in overtime, providing just enough defense for the Cowgirls to get the win to close out their time in the Other Las Vegas.

SHARING THE WEALTH: 

The Cowgirls enter the weekend at fourth in the conference in assists, and in each game this season, the Cowgirls have had two or more players in double digits in scoring.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION:

Colorado Mesa:

The Cowgirls will open the weekend with the tenth-ranked Colorado Mesa Mavericks on Friday. The Mavericks come in coming off a win over the Rangers of Regis last Saturday to open the new year. Taylor Wagner enters his 14th season at Colorado Mesa in 2025-26. The Mavericks are 14-1 coming into this weekend, with their only loss coming to West Texas A&M.

Western Colorado: 

The Cowgirls' second game will be against the Western Colorado Mountaineers. Western Colorado will face the Skyhawks of Fort Lewis before coming into Historic Las Vegas. Entering the weekend at 5-5 overall and 3-1 in conference. Their lone conference loss comes against Colorado Christian. The last time Western Colorado played was the 20th of December in an overtime loss to the 12th-ranked Pittsburgh State. Adam Jacobson is in his fourth season at the helm of the program.

UP NEXT: The Cowgirls will head to Black Hills State and Chadron State on the 15th of January. 

GET YOUR TICKETS: Season tickets for NMHU basketball are on sale now and can be purchased online at NMHUAthletics.com/Tickets.