CHADRON, Neb. -- After having a two-week break during the holidays, the Chadron State College basketball teams will return to action Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 2 and 3 by hosting a pair of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference double-headers in the Chicoine Center.
The Eagles will entertain the Western State Mountaineers on Saturday with the women's game to tip off the action at 3 p.m. On Sunday, the guests will be Colorado State-Pueblo starting at 1 o'clock.
The Chadron State women ended the 2015 portion of their schedule by playing two of their best games of the season. They rallied to nearly upset Metro State in Denver before losing 61-59, then thumped highly-regarded Colorado-Colorado Springs 83-63, also on the road, for their second win of the season.
Sophomore center
Maka Daysh led Chadron State by scoring 45 points and grabbing 27 rebounds in the two games to earn the RMAC's Offensive Player of the Week award.  She's now averaging 15.6 points and 7.1 rebounds.
The Lady Eagles still committed too many turnovers (38), but their 83 to 70 rebounding advantage in the two games and their 30 of 56 field goal shooting against Colorado Springs were bright spots.
On the other hand, the Chadron State men did not play as well during the trip as they had previously. They shot just 32.7 percent from the field while losing to Metro 69-53 and an even worse 28.3 percent while falling to Colorado Springs 86-63. CSC also was out-rebounded in both games after owning a 5.4 per game margin off the glass through the first seven games.
The CSC men are now 4-5 overall and 2-3 in the conference. They hope to benefit by having 6-7 transfer
Jordan Green available after an eligibility matter was cleared up. He's regarded as the team's most talented big man.
Coach
Brent Bargen said the Eagles need to develop more consistency. He noted that through the first nine games, the team has had five leading scorers and six players at least share the rebounding lead.
Both Western State teams are 1-4 in the conference. Overall, the women are 3-4 and the men are 2-9.
The Lady Mountaineers are paced by sophomore guard Taylor Long at 14.6 points a game and junior forward Sally Stroup at 9.9. Their conference win was a 63-38 decision over New Mexico Highlands, but they lost at home to Fort Lewis by an 84-45 score in their final game before Christmas.
The Western men are being led by 6-4 senior guard Danny Hopkins at 15.2 points and 5.5 rebounds. He's meshed 39 of 45 free throws for 86.7 percent. Both Ben Beauchamp and Robert Romero are scoring 10.2 points per game.
The Pueblo women are riding high. They lost their season-opener on Nov. 13 to Lubbock Christian by a 68-43 score, but since then have won 10 games in a row and are outscoring their foes by a 68.7 to 55.2 margin. They will begin the weekend ranked No. 17 in NCAA Division II.
The wins include a 68-48 verdict over Western State in Gunnison to open the RMAC schedule. The Lady Thunderwolves are led in scoring by 5-8 sophomore Tuileisu Anderson at 14.6 points a game. Molly Rohrer and Lauren Hayn, both tall freshmen, are averaging 10.5 and 10.3 points, respectively.
The Pueblo men are 7-4 for the season and 3-2 in the RMAC. They edged Western State 87-84 when they visited Gunnison.
Chris Golden, a 6-2 senior, is averaging 17.7 points to lead the Thunderwolves in scoring. He's canned 38 of 88 3-pointers and 39 of 44 free throws. Another guard, Syrus McDonald, is averaging 10.4 points to rank second on the scoring chart.
