Both Chadron State College basketball teams will be wrapping up their home schedules during the next two weeks, before finishing their schedules with three road games.

The countdown begins this weekend, when Colorado Mines and Colorado Christian will visit the Chicoine Center on Friday and Saturday nights, respectively.  Both double-headers will start at 5:30.
 
Although they have lost two of their last four games at home, the Mines women lead the RMAC with a 13-2 record, one game ahead of CSU-Pueblo and Black Hills State, which share second place.   Those are the teams which slipped past the Lady Orediggers, recently.  Pueblo won 59-50 on Jan. 22 and Black Hills won 71-54 last Saturday night.
 
As the scores would indicate, the Mines women generally do not "run and gun."  Most of their stats are not too impressive, but they are tall and know how to win.  Seven of their first nine conference victories were by no more than four points.  Three of them were by just one point and two were in overtime.

One thing the Orediggers do extra well is rebound.  They are averaging 46.5, 10 per game better than their opponents.  The team's top scorer and rebounder is Courtney Martin, a 6-foot-2 senior who is averaging 11.5 points and 7.2 rebounds. Martin was ranked the No. 3 overall player in the RMAC this week by HERO Sports. Laura Tyree, a 5-6 junior is second in scoring at 11.3 per game.

As usual, the Colorado Mines men are in the thick of the RMAC race.  They are 15-6 for the season and 10-5 in the conference while sharing fourth place in the standings.  Fort Lewis is the leader at 12-3, followed by Metro State and Colorado Mesa at 11-4.  New Mexico Highlands is also 10-5 in the RMAC.

The Orediggers' top gun is 6-5 junior Gokul Natesan, who is averaging 21 points, has nailed 60 3-pointers and stolen the ball 40 times, most in the conference.  Second on the team's scoring chart is 6-8 sophomore Adam Lane, who is averaging 10.5 points and is shooting an RMAC-best 64.3 percent from the field.

The Colorado Christian women also are flying high this winter.  They are 14-5 overall and 11-4 in the conference to share fourth place among the 16 teams.  Their top scorers are 5-11 senior Kate Louthan at 13.5 points and 6-2 Claire Paxton at 11.6.  The Cougars' rebounding leader, 6-1 Ali Meyer at 8.8 a game, is also averaging 9.2 points. Meyer was No. 5 on the same publication ranking as Martin of CSM.
 
The Christian men are 11-10 for the season and 7-8 in the RMAC, but have won four games in a row, including a 115-113 decision over CSU-Pueblo.  Last weekend, they spilled both Black Hills State 72-68 and South Dakota Mines 82-68.

The Cougars are led by 6-foot sophomore Zach McLemore at 16.3 points a game.  Wayne McCullough and Ty McGee, both 6-5, are averaging nearly 14 points.

Sophomore center Maka Daysh, ranked No. 2 among all conference players by HERO, leads the CSC women at 15.5 points and 8.8 rebounds. Senior guards Stephanie Knowles and Emma Block are chipping in nearly 10 points a game, but Block suffered a severely sprained ankle last Saturday night at Fort Lewis and  probably won't play this weekend, coach Tim Connealy indicated.

The CSC men have three players averaging in double figures. Guards Warren Gordon and Sharif Black are at 12.7 and 11.2 per game, and forward Billy Johnson is at 10.8. Three CSC players are poised to hit the same career 300-point milestone this season. Fifth-year senior Justyn Anderson enters the weekend needing just six points to get there. Sophomore Sharif Black can hit 300 with a standout showing of 40 points in two games. Senior Davante McCallam needs just a single basket, sitting at 299 currently.