CHADRON, Neb. -- After opening their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schedules by playing three games at home, the Chadron State College basketball teams will play at Metro State in Denver and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs this weekend.
The Chadron State men are 4-3 for the season and 2-1 in the conference while the Lady Eagles are 1-6 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
A couple of newcomers, guard
Warren Gordon and forward
Billy Johnson, are averaging between 11 and 12 points a game to lead the CSC men in scoring. The Eagles' most profound statistic is a 5.5 per game rebounding margin over their foes.
Sophomore center
Maka Daysh leads the Chadron State women in scoring and rebounding at 13.6 points and 5.3 rebounds a game. Senior guard
Emma Block is averaging 10 points and has sunk 15 of 34 3-pointers. But the Lady Eagles have twice as many turnovers as they have assists.
The Metro State men are 4-5 overall and 2-1 in the RMAC. The Lady Roadrunners are 3-6 and 1-2. The Colorado Springs men are 5-5 and the women are 6-3 overall. Both are 2-1 in the conference.
The Colorado Springs women opened their conference slate by edging Metro State 86-82.
Last weekend, both teams played at Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction and Westminster in Salt Lake City. Metro lost to Westminster 55-45, but beat Mesa 73-61. Meanwhile, Colorado Springs lost at Mesa 72-65, but defeated Westminster 69-58.
Metro's top scorer is 6-1 sophomore Hannah Stipanovich, who is averaging 15.4 points and 6.0 rebounds. She scored 28 points in the victory at Mesa.
The Colorado Springs Mountain Lions are led by 6-1 junior Brittany Hernandez, who is averaging 21.4 points and 7.9 rebounds. CSC coach
Tim Connealy calls Hernandez "the best player in the conference." His colleagues apparently agree. They named her the RMAC preseason player of the year.
Hernandez scored 37 points in a victory over St. Martin's of Washington State and 31 in the win over Metro.
When the UCCS and Metro men met in Colorado Springs to open their RMAC schedules, Metro won 69-66. Last weekend, when both teams headed west, Westminster edged Metro 70-67, but Mesa prevailed Saturday night 76-69.
Colorado Springs won both games, 82-62 over Mesa and 81-68 over Westminster.
The Metro men have an almost entirely new roster this winter after graduating their terrific one-two punch of Nicholas Kay and Mitch McCarron, both of whom averaged more than 20 points a game last year while also earning Academic All-American honors.
So far, the Roadrunners' only player averaging in double figures is 5-11 guard Tony Dobbinson at 13 points a game. He tallied 24 against UCCS and 23 at Westminster.
The Mountain Lions also lost their best player from a year ago, Derrick White, who averaged 25.8 points a game and scored 50 in a regional playoff game at the end of last season. He transferred to Boulder for one more year of college basketball, but is redshirting this season.
The Mountain Lions still have plenty of clout. Alex Welsh, a 6-7 senior, is averaging 19.7 points and 8.1 rebounds. Kendall Godley, a 6-5 senior, is scoring at a 13.3-point clip.
The weekend's trip will conclude the Eagles' 2015 schedule. Both teams will be at home Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 2 and 3, to help bring in the New Year against Western State and Colorado State-Pueblo.
